Bolsheviks vs. Mensheviks — What's the Difference?

Advocated for a vanguard party of the proletariat.

Supported a broad, democratic socialist party.

Led by Lenin, they favored immediate revolution.

Played a secondary role in the 1917 Revolution.

Suppressed opposition, including Mensheviks.

Favored a gradual transition to socialism.

Believed in the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Eventually marginalized and suppressed by Bolsheviks.

Gained control and established the Soviet Union.

Advocated for international socialism.

The Bolsheviks (Russian: Большевики, from большинство bolshinstvo, 'majority'), also known in English as the Bolshevists, were a radical, far-left, and revolutionary Marxist faction founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov that split from the Menshevik faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), a revolutionary socialist political party formed in 1898, at its Second Party Congress in 1903.After forming their own party in 1912, the Bolsheviks took power during the October Revolution in the Russian Republic in November 1917, overthrowing the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky, and became the only ruling party in the subsequent Soviet Russia and later the Soviet Union. They considered themselves the leaders of the revolutionary proletariat of Russia.

The Mensheviks (Russian: меньшевики́), also known as the Minority were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The factions emerged in 1903 following a dispute within the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) between Julius Martov and Vladimir Lenin.

A member of the left-wing majority group of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party that adopted Lenin's theses on party organization in 1903.

A member of the liberal faction of the Social Democratic Party that struggled against the Bolsheviks before and during the Russian Revolution.

A member of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party that seized power in that country in November 1917.

A member of a Marxist-Leninist party or a supporter of one; a Communist.

Often bolshevik An extreme radical

Plural of bolshevik

The main difference lay in their approach to party organization and the path to socialism; Bolsheviks favored a tightly controlled party and immediate revolution, while Mensheviks supported a broad, democratic party and a gradual transition.

The split originated from disagreements over party membership and organizational strategy at the 2nd Congress of the RSDLP in 1903, which later evolved into deeper ideological divides.

The Bolsheviks came to power through the October Revolution in 1917, when they successfully overthrew the Provisional Government and established Bolshevik control.

The Bolsheviks maintained control through a combination of political reforms, suppression of opposition, and the creation of a one-party state, eventually leading to the establishment of the Soviet Union.

Lenin was the key leader and ideologue of the Bolsheviks, shaping their revolutionary strategy, leading the October Revolution, and establishing the foundations of the Soviet state.

Some Mensheviks did join the Bolsheviks after the revolution, either due to ideological alignment with certain Bolshevik policies or in response to the political realities of Bolshevik dominance.

The Mensheviks were divided on World War I, with some advocating for a defensive stance in support of the Allies and others calling for an end to the war and a focus on domestic reforms.

After the Bolsheviks took power, the Mensheviks were gradually marginalized, persecuted, and eventually outlawed as political opposition.

Both factions shared the ultimate goal of establishing socialism but differed significantly in their methods and strategies for achieving it.

The Bolsheviks saw the peasantry as a necessary ally in the revolution but believed that the working class should lead the revolutionary movement, with the peasantry supporting this proletariat-led revolution.

World War I created significant economic and social strain in Russia, leading to widespread discontent with the Tsarist regime and the Provisional Government, which the Bolsheviks capitalized on to gain support and ultimately seize power.

The Mensheviks, like many other socialist factions, were involved in the February Revolution, which led to the fall of the Tsarist regime, but they had differing views on the subsequent direction of the revolution.

The split had a significant impact on international socialism, influencing socialist and communist parties worldwide and contributing to the division between reformist and revolutionary approaches within the international socialist movement.

The general Russian population's reaction to the split was mixed, with some supporting the Bolsheviks' call for immediate revolution and others favoring the Mensheviks' more moderate, reformist approach, reflecting the broader societal divisions and diverse political aspirations within Russia at the time.

Bolshevik ideology was heavily influenced by Marxist theory, particularly the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, with Lenin further developing these ideas to suit the Russian context.