Bolshevism as a political ideology.

Bolshevism

BOLSHEVISM

(Bolshevism) The political theory and practice of the Bolshevik Party, which, under the leadership of Lenin, came to power during the Russian Revolution in October 1917. The Bolshevik (from the word "majority") radical communist faction arose at the congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903 as a result of a split with the more moderate Mensheviks (from the word “minority”). In 1912, after successive periods of cooperation and confrontation with the Mensheviks, the Bolshevik Party was officially formed as an independent party. The revolution of 1905 took the Bolsheviks by surprise, and they did not show themselves in any way. The repressions that followed the revolution forced the party to go underground, and connections with the emigration led by Lenin were difficult. After the outbreak of World War I, while Lenin proclaimed “revolutionary defeatism,” the Bolsheviks in Russia were practically inactive. They turned out to be unprepared for the February Revolution of 1917. Many members of the Central Committee and the editorial board of the newspaper Pravda (headed by Stalin) conditionally supported the Provisional Government and began negotiations with the Mensheviks on unification. The size of the Bolshevik Party increased sharply, partly due to the return of emigrants, and party leaders faced a decline in discipline and a loss of political orientation. The “April Theses” (no support for the Provisional Government; the revolution is moving from a democratic stage to a socialist one; Soviets with a Bolshevik majority must take power), brought by Lenin to Russia, did not receive much support. A split emerged in the party: the left wing advocated an immediate uprising; The conservative-minded Central Committee sought a peaceful seizure of power. Lenin addressed the rank and file of the party, claiming that “the masses are hundreds of times to the left of us.” However, back in June-July, he spoke out against an armed uprising, declaring that “one wrong step on our part could ruin everything.” The split in the party lasted until October; Shortly before the uprising, Zinoviev and Kamenev opposed an armed seizure of power, but Lenin threatened to resign if this did not happen. The first post-revolutionary years - the period of war communism - testified to the beginning of the transformation of the Communist Party into an apparatus bureaucratized from top to bottom, the decline of the Soviets and trade unions and the suppression of the opposition (however, socialist and anarchist critics were also periodically persecuted and worked in a semi-legal position). The party continued to be rocked by internal divisions. Many objected to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed in March 1918, which ceded large areas of Russia to Germany. Left communists protested against bourgeois “specialists” in the government and army. The "Workers' Opposition" (1920–21) declared that the leadership had abandoned the "spirit of the Revolution" and demanded the establishment of workers' control in industry. Right-wing dissidents advocated for state capitalism, since Russia, in their opinion, is not yet ready for socialism. End Civil War was marked by a transition from temporary dictatorship to institutionalized peacetime repression. The X Party Congress (1921) played a decisive role in this. The proclamation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) coincided with the ban on factions and the bloody suppression of the uprising in Kronstadt. Shortly before his death (1924), Lenin criticized “bureaucratic perversions in the workers’ state” and unsuccessfully appealed to Trotsky with a joint effort to remove Stalin, who had enormous power as the head of the central apparatus of the party. Bukharin and Stalin advocated the construction of socialism in one single country (retreat on the world stage, enrichment of the peasantry, indefinite preservation of the NEP). Trotsky and the Left Opposition (1923–24), arguing that it would destroy the socialist character of the revolution and lead to the creation of a new one ruling class, advocated accelerated industrialization, financed, in the words of Preobrazhensky, through “primitive socialist accumulation” (unequal exchange between agriculture and industry in favor of the latter). Having proclaimed the first five-year plan in 1928, Stalin and Bukharin borrowed much from the leftist program, although, naturally, it did not endorse forced collectivization and the horrors associated with it. The left opposition criticized Stalinism most sharply, drawing attention to the ever-deepening gap between party structures and the people and to the growing bureaucratization Soviet state and society. However, Trotsky refused to violate party discipline and directly address the rank and file of the party. At the same time, the social composition of the party changed dramatically: the Civil War took away an entire generation of party activists, and the “Leninist call” (1924) “infused” 240 thousand new, careerist-minded members into the party. The left opposition was the last serious challenge to Stalin. By 1929, he removed the old Bolshevik guard from power, and then sent some into exile and prison, put others through show trials and destroyed them. Supporters of Bolshevism evaluate it as a firm revolutionary position, consonant with the interests of the advanced part of the working class, while opponents emphasize its inherent dictatorial character. The main features of Bolshevism are a strong organization, commitment to the idea of world revolution, and political practice based, in Lenin’s words, on the principle of democratic centralism. The question remains controversial as to whether the transformation of Bolshevism into Stalinism was inevitable or whether such a deformation occurred due to certain historical conditions. As Victor Serge noted, “the microbes of Stalinism may have been present, but there were others too.” The watershed was the period after the end of the Civil War, when the Bolshevik Party did not put an end to authoritarian practices and did not restore Soviet democracy.

Policy. Dictionary. - M.: "INFRA-M", Publishing House "Ves Mir". D. Underhill, S. Barrett, P. Burnell, P. Burnham, etc. General editor: Doctor of Economics. Osadchaya I.M.. 2001 .

Bolshevism

(from "Bolsheviks")

1) political movement, movement in social democracy associated with the RSDLP(b). Is integral part Russian revolutionary movement of the twentieth century;

2) political, social ideology and practice, which set as their main tasks: the implementation of a socialist revolution; building a socialist state based on the dictatorship of the proletariat and the elimination of private property; achievement of communist formation. The absolute dominance of class ideology and morality has led to extreme political extremism in judgments, assessments and actions, ideological fanaticism, social-class intolerance and totalitarianism. In modern political science it is often analyzed from the standpoint of similarities and differences with fascism and national socialism.

Political Science: Dictionary-Reference Book. comp. Prof. Science Sanzharevsky I.I.. 2010 .

Political science. Dictionary. - RSU. V.N. Konovalov. 2010.

See what “Bolshevism” is in other dictionaries:

BOLSHEVISM, Bolshevism, many. no, husband (polit.). The same as Leninism, i.e. Marxism of the era of imperialism and proletarian revolutions, the theory and tactics of the proletarian revolution in general, the theory and tactics of the dictatorship of the proletariat in particular. "Bolshevism... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Ideology, theory and practice of the extremist trend in the Russian revolutionary movement of the early 20th century. The emergence of B. as a self-aware intellectual and political movement is traditionally associated with the split of social democracy at the 2nd Congress... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

BOLSHEVISM, ah, husband. A movement in the labor movement that arose in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. and based on Marxist theory, subsequently developed by the Bolshevik Party. | adj. Bolshevik, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Bolshevism- Bolshevism, Bolshevik Russian education, appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. (in 1903 at the congress of the RSDLP), from where it was borrowed into many languages of the world ... Etymological dictionary Russian language Krylov

Lenin at the meeting ... Wikipedia

Revolutionary, consistent Marxist political movement. thoughts in international workers' movement, which was embodied in a party of a new type, in the Bolshevik party, created by the successor of the work of K. Marx and F. Engels, V. I. Lenin. Its name... Soviet historical encyclopedia

A; m. An extremely radical movement of political theory and practice that arose at the beginning of the 20th century. in Russia, which resulted in the creation of the Bolshevik Party, the overthrow of the legitimate government and the establishment of the dictatorship of this party in Russia. ◁ Bolshevik (see). * * *… … Encyclopedic Dictionary

Bolshevism- , a, m. The revolutionary, consistently Marxist current of political thought in the international labor movement, which arose in the beginning. 20th century in Russia and was embodied in the proletarian party of a new type of Bolshevik party. KPS, 39. ◘… … Explanatory dictionary of the language of the Council of Deputies

Originated at the beginning of the 20th century. in Russia, a revolutionary, consistent Marxist current of political thought in the international labor movement, which was embodied in a proletarian party of a new type, in the Bolshevik party created by V.I... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

ENE material

Bolshevism, a revolutionary Marxist movement in the Russian and international labor movement. It originated in the depths of Russian social democracy. From the very first days of its emergence, Bolshevism strongly diverged from the understanding of other, non-Bolshevik groups (legal Marxists, “economists,” Mensheviks). These latter adopted Marxism in an open or covert revisionist manner (see. Revisionism) and opportunistic form. Bolshevism through the teachings of Lenin (see. Leninism) revived the revolutionary Marxism of Marx and Engels, which took shape in the teaching of the proletariat in the era of revolutionary upheavals in the 1840s. Bolshevism, however, is not a simple repetition of revolutionary Marxism. eras of the last century. Bolshevism arose and developed in another era - in the era of finance. capital, in the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. Therefore, Bolshevism made the idea of the conquest of political power by the proletariat, the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the central point of the theory and practice of the labor movement it led. In this respect, Bolshevism diverged and diverges not only from the clearly opportunist trends in European and Russian social democracy, but also from some trends that call themselves orthodox Marxist and recognize in words the dictatorship of the proletariat, but in reality push it into the background (subsequently these directions renounced dictatorship in words). Bolshevism thereby revived the main central idea of revolutionary Marxism, for, as Marx himself said, his teaching is not the recognition of the class struggle itself (this was taught before him), but that it inevitably leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat. Under Marx, however, there were still no conditions for the imminent possibility of the proletariat gaining power, so he could not go further than the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat. For Bolshevism, the task of conquering power became a practical task.

Moreover, Bolshevism solved this problem. Therefore, Bolshevism developed and resolved all the most important theoretical and tactical issues related to the question of the conquest of power and the dictatorship of the proletariat. The question of the hegemony of the proletariat in the struggle against autocracy, the question of the peasantry, the national and colonial question, the doctrine of the state and Soviet power as a form of proletarian dictatorship, the doctrine of the party, questions of tactics and strategy - all these questions were resolved by B. exclusively from the angle of gaining power the proletariat and retaining it in order to build socialism and communism. It can therefore be said that Bolshevism “is the theory and tactics of the proletarian revolution in general, the theory and tactics of the dictatorship of the proletariat in particular” (Stalin). Bolshevism has always recognized that in order for the proletariat to come to power, it is necessary that it not only participate in the political struggle, but also play the role of a hegemon (supreme leader) in it. Bolshevism therefore declared a merciless war on Menshevism, which gave the hegemony of the liberal bourgeoisie in the revolution and turned the proletariat into a companion of this bourgeoisie, trailing in its tail. Bolshevism highly valued the hegemony of the proletariat already in the revolution of 1905, because “the destruction of the most powerful stronghold of not only European but also Asian reaction would make the Russian proletariat the vanguard of the international revolutionary proletariat” (Lenin), i.e., the leader in the world socialist revolution. In order to move towards a socialist revolution, to seize power, the proletariat had to have allies, because it could not solve this problem on its own: “whoever goes and prepares for power cannot help but be interested in the question of his real allies” (Stalin). Bolshevism finds such real allies in “all working and exploited” (Lenin) non-proletarian groups - primarily in the peasantry. Bolshevism put forward the idea of an alliance of workers and peasants already in the revolution of 1905. “With all our might,” Lenin wrote in 1905, “we will help the entire peasantry to make a democratic revolution, so that it will be all the easier for us, the party of the proletariat, to move as quickly as possible to a new and higher task - socialist revolution." Bolshevism, therefore, in the first revolution puts forward the slogan of a revolutionary democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry (see All-Union Communist Party). On the most pressing issue for the peasantry - the land question - Bolshevism, as the revolution unfolded, increasingly expanded its demands. From the “program of cuts” (see Agrarian programs), which demanded the return to the peasants of lands cut off from them in favor of the landowners in (during the “liberation” of the peasants), the Bolsheviks moved on to supporting the peasant movement right up to the confiscation of landowners’ lands (at the Third Party Congress and at December conference 1905), and then to the demand nationalization of land(see), which “shakes off from the people at once and completely all the putrid rags of all forms of medieval land ownership” (Lenin). After the February Revolution of 1917, B. faced the task of conquering power by the proletariat as the immediate practical task. This confronted Bolshevism with the task of attracting the peasant masses to the side of the proletariat and its party. Between the first and second revolutions, the peasantry made a complete departure from the liberal bourgeoisie (since the Cadet-Octobrist Dumas did not want and could not satisfy even the slightest degree the demands of the bulk of the peasantry). The peasantry followed the Social Revolutionaries. The task of the moment was to liberate the peasantry from the influence of this petty-bourgeois party. B. succeeded, because the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks refused to confiscate the land and insisted on continuing the war, which was hated by the working peasantry. Having won the sympathy of the peasantry of the proletarian revolution, Bolshevism ensured the triumph of the proletarian revolution.

Since Bolshevism allowed and allows the greatest and the most difficult tasks proletarian revolution and dictatorship of the proletariat, he had to realize the need for a militant and at the same time sufficiently experienced and flexible party of the proletariat, which would lead its struggle and creative work for the construction of socialism and communism. Lenin not only gave the doctrine of the party, but also created it, created the Bolshevik party. According to the Bolshevik, Leninist understanding, the proletarian party should be the vanguard of the working class - its most conscious and active layer, organized on the basis of iron discipline, and therefore capable of leading the working class and its various organizations (trade unions, cooperation, parliamentary factions, councils, educational organizations etc.). Consciousness, activity, discipline - relatively few, a minority of the class, can meet such requirements, and B. therefore sought to involve the most seasoned and active elements of the working class in the party. But at the same time he demanded that the party be connected with the broad masses by thousands of threads, that it should participate in all manifestations of working life, that it should be everywhere where the proletariat acts, and that it should skillfully direct this action everywhere. Bolshevism waged a tireless struggle for ideological consistency of theory and Bolshevik organizational principles both with the Mensheviks and opportunists, and with oppositionists of various stripes, who equally, however, sought to break through the front of party discipline. B.'s tactics were subordinated to the same goal - the conquest of power and the strengthening of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Bolshevism does not fetishize (deify) any methods of waging class war - only those methods are good that lead to the final victory of the proletariat and the triumph of its cause. Both offensive and retreat, and bright revolutionary actions, and long, painstaking work, etc. - everything is applicable and necessary to do if the future of the proletarian cause requires it. See also Leninism And Tactics.

The enemies of Bolshevism from the bourgeois and compromising camps declare Bolshevism to be a “purely Russian national product”, “a manifestation of the national character of Russians”, “a product of Asiaticism and barbarism”, etc. The real reason for the emergence and development of Bolshevism is precisely in Russian. The basis is the peculiarities of the historical development of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. These features boil down to an unprecedentedly acute contradiction between the highest forms of economy (comparatively developed capitalism with its large cadres of workers and large industrial centers) and backward, barbaric, pre-capitalist forms of social - political system. The Russian proletariat had to carry out both an anti-feudal and anti-capitalist revolution; it had to resolve a wide variety of revolutionary tasks (from the overthrow of the autocracy to the proletarian revolution and socialist construction). For such a complex historical situation, such a complex and at the same time skillful tool as B. was needed, and this tool appeared. However, the roots of B. go to the soil of world capitalism and the world labor movement. Development imperialism(q.v.) made a close and decisive clash between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie inevitable and put forward the task of seizing power by the proletariat as the next task. Bolshevism could thus have appeared due to the conditions of world capitalist development, but it first appeared in Russia due to the special conditions of the development of Russian capitalism. In the countries of advanced capitalism, B. appeared later, because it had to overcome the inertia of the previous era of relatively peaceful development, when the revolutionary passion of the proletariat was extinguished by small concessions and when the “socialist” parties had significant influence, with the greatest skill covering up the conciliatory cause with revolutionary words. Left movements, however, existed all the time. During Martov's time, the Bolsheviks abandoned the Mensheviks and formed a separate Bolshevik party, which was called the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks), since the concept of B. became widespread and recognized among the proletariat and the working masses. The party later included the word "Bolsheviks" in its new names given to it in 1918 and 1925 - "Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)" and "All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)". The new concept of “Bolshevisation” appeared in the practice of the Comintern; it is understood as the process of assimilation by fraternal communist parties of the basic principles of Bolshevism - its worldview, program and tactics.

Literature:

Stalin I.V., On the foundations of Leninism [Nizhny Novgorod], 1924, and in collection. “Questions of Leninism”, M.-L., 1926;
Bukharin N.I., Lenin as a Marxist, dep. broch., L., 1925, and in collection. “Attack”, M., 1924.

Both the history of Bolshevism and its comprehensive theoretical justification can be found in all of Lenin’s writings (which are best consulted), especially the following collections of his articles and speeches:

“Preparation of Bolshevism”, 2nd ed., M.-L., 1925;
“The Working Class and the Peasantry”, M., 1926;
“On the National Question”, 2nd ed., Leningrad, 1925;
“On the New Economic Policy”, Moscow, 1924;
“On the State”, comp. Goikhbarg, Moscow-Leningrad, 1925.

BOLSHEVISM

BOLSHEVISM -A; m. An extremely radical movement of political theory and practice that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. in Russia, which resulted in the creation of the Bolshevik Party, the overthrow of the legitimate government and the establishment of the dictatorship of this party in Russia.

◁ Bolshevik (see).

BOLSHEVISM

BOLSHEVISM, a movement in the Russian social democratic and then communist movement, speaking from radical Marxist positions.
The emergence of Bolshevism
Bolshevism arose in 1903 with the split of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) into radical (Bolsheviks) and moderate (Mensheviks) factions. V. I. Lenin became the leader of the Bolsheviks (cm. LENIN Vladimir Ilyich). The reason for the separation of factions was the controversy between Lenin and Yu. O. Martov (cm. MARTOV Yuliy Osipovich) on the issue of the second paragraph of the charter of the RSDLP at its Second Congress in London (1903). Lenin insisted on a more cohesive, centralized organization and on the constant participation of party members in the work of one of the organizations (instead of the assistance of the RSDLP under the leadership of one of the organizations, as Martov proposed). The congress supported Martov’s formulation, but supporters of Lenin and G.V. Plekhanov won in the elections of the central committee (cm. PLEKHANOV Georgy Valentinovich), from the Second Congress, Lenin’s supporters began to be called Bolsheviks, Martov’s - Mensheviks (cm. MENSHEVIKS). The Bolsheviks' intransigence to the freedom of discussion accepted among the Social Democrats made their faction the most united, but relatively small - in the RSDLP they found themselves in the minority.
Bolsheviks and the Revolution of 1905
The Bolsheviks took an active part in the revolution of 1905-1907 (cm. REVOLUTION 1905-07 IN RUSSIA). They advocated a boycott of the Bulyginskaya elections (cm. BULYGINSKAYA DUMA) and the 1st State Duma (cm. FIRST STATE DUMA), participated in organizing armed uprisings - primarily the December uprising in Moscow and other cities. In the changing situation, Lenin advocated a more radical interpretation of Marxism than was customary in the international socialist movement. He argued that the leading force, the hegemon of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, is the proletariat and its party, which can come to power in alliance with the peasantry without the bourgeoisie. However, Bolshevism was not yet ready to make concessions to the peasantry; on the agrarian issue, Lenin advocated the nationalization of the land, and only a part of the Bolsheviks (“divisionists”) proposed transferring the land to the peasantry.
The Bolsheviks took part in the elections of the Second and subsequent State Dumas (cm. STATE DUMA of the Russian Empire) in order to more actively promote their views from the Duma rostrum. The use of the Duma for conspiratorial activities by the Social Democrats became the reason for the dissolution of the Second Duma. After the defeat of the revolution, part of the Bolsheviks (“otzovists” (cm. REVIEWERS)") advocated a return to exclusively underground methods of work, but Lenin and the Bolsheviks continued to use both underground and legal methods of political struggle. Despite the fact that one of the Bolshevik deputies R.V. Malinovsky (cm. MALINOVSKY Roman Vatslavovich) was later exposed as an agent of the secret police, Lenin believed that he had brought more benefit to the party than harm.
The activities of the Bolsheviks between the two revolutions
By 1912, Bolshevism became a separate party, the RSDLP (b). It was distinguished from other social democratic organizations by strict discipline, the subordination of party members to the party leadership, and the desire for the speedy achievement of socialism and communism. The Bolsheviks were irreconcilably opposed to the autocracy and advocated the defeat of their government in the First World War (cm. FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-18) and, as Lenin put it, for turning the imperialist war into a civil war. For supporting this position, the Bolshevik deputies of the Fourth Duma were sent to hard labor.
In the conditions caused by the war and the October Revolution of 1917 (cm. OCTOBER REVOLUTION 1917) social crisis, the marginalization of the population grew, people lost their former social niche, mass despair, absolutely unrealistic expectations and, as a result, the desire for quick and decisive measures with the help of which it would be possible to qualitatively change society in one leap. All this led to social radicalism, which the Bolsheviks began to resolutely implement, taking leadership in the struggle of the radical soldiery and working masses.
Returning from emigration to Russia in April 1917, Lenin, who had been absent from Russia for more than ten years and practically did not know its real situation, despite the resistance of the more moderate leaders of Bolshevism (L. B. Kamenev (cm. KAMENEV Lev Borisovich), I.V. Stalin (cm. STALIN Joseph Vissarionovich)) insisted on a new course towards a socialist revolution and the transfer of power to the soviets - the newly emerged bodies of workers', soldiers' and peasants' self-government. This strategy, outlined by Lenin in several speeches and the “April Theses,” looked extremely radical, since it assumed the elimination in the near future of the very foundations of the existing society. Despite the preservation of significant influence behind the moderate wing of the Bolshevik Party (Kamenev, G. E. Zinoviev (cm. ZINOVIEV Grigory Evseevich), A. I. Rykov (cm. RYKOV Alexey Ivanovich) etc.), which was focused on transforming the party into a left opposition in a democratic republic, Lenin’s line won at the VII Bolshevik Conference. This predetermined the alliance and subsequent merger of the Bolsheviks with the group of Social Democrats-Mezhraiontsev (cm. INTER-DISTRICT), whose leader is L. D. Trotsky (cm. TROTSKY Lev Davidovich) adhered to the same concept as Lenin of the development of a “bourgeois” revolution into a “socialist” one. By socialism, the Bolsheviks understood a society without private property and the market, not divided into classes, controlled from a single center, which develops according to a single plan. Despite the fact that following Marx (cm. MARX Karl) Formally, the Bolsheviks advocated the withering away of the state in the future; the desire to create a society governed from a single center, in fact, led to the strengthening of state structures up to the formation of a totalitarian regime. At the same time, the Bolsheviks adopted radical slogans that enjoyed mass support, even if they diverged from the strategic plans of Bolshevism, such as “Factories for the workers!” and “Land for the peasants!” The Bolsheviks also advocated the abolition of the death penalty and respect for civil liberties. But after they came to power, it turned out that they defended freedom for themselves, and their policies had nothing to do with democracy.
In the context of a deepening socio-economic crisis and socio-political instability, the influence of the Bolsheviks grew. The strengthening of the soviet system, which was dominated by moderate socialists, led to the fact that Lenin’s slogan “All power to the soviets!” was supported not only by the Bolsheviks, but also by anarchists, part of the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. But during the July crisis, the Bolsheviks and other supporters of the transfer of power to the soviets were defeated.
After the July events, Lenin abandoned the peaceful path of transferring power to the Soviets and called on his supporters for an armed uprising with the goal of bringing the Bolsheviks and the organizations controlled by them to power. The power of the councils was acceptable to the Bolsheviks only to the extent that the councils were controlled by the party.
Bolshevik policy after gaining power
In the fall of 1917, the economic situation further deteriorated, the government refused to carry out any reforms before the Constituent Assembly (cm. CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY), the effectiveness of Bolshevik agitation (as opposed to the agitation of their opponents) led to a significant increase in the influence of the Bolsheviks in large industrial centers, the Bolshevization of the soviets, and the transfer of army and navy units concentrated in and around the capital to the control of the Bolsheviks. During the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks seized power (with minimal casualties), power passed to the government supported by the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies - the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) headed by Lenin. At the local level, the main bodies of power became councils, party organizations of the Bolsheviks and their allies (primarily the Left Socialist Revolutionaries), emergency bodies (military revolutionary committees, etc.). Initially, the new system of councils was considered temporary (until the convening of the Constituent Assembly), and after the Constituent Assembly was dispersed by the Bolsheviks, it became permanent.
The Bolsheviks proclaimed the transfer of landowners' lands to the peasantry, which helped to gain their support for some time. But after the introduction of the food dictatorship in 1918 (one of the main internal political measures of war communism (cm. MILITARY COMMUNISM)) the Bolsheviks began to almost completely confiscate grain from the peasants, which caused numerous protests among the peasantry. Having declared their withdrawal from the war, the Bolsheviks were unable to achieve “peace without annexations and indemnities,” which they advocated when they came to power. Despite the fact that, while in opposition, the Bolsheviks criticized the slightest violation of democratic norms, having come to power, already in November 1917 the Bolsheviks did not hesitate to close opposition newspapers, in January 1918 they restored the death penalty, and in September 1918, after the assassination attempt on Lenin, they declared the Red Terror .
The “radical” solution to the labor issue in favor of the state quickly turned against the interests of the workers. Immediately after the coup, workers began to take over the factories. But if before October, in such cases, they tried to organize production self-government and manage things independently, now the collectives had to submit to representatives of the party and Soviet bodies. Since such representatives, as a rule, understood production even less than ordinary workers, production fell apart. The city had nothing to give to the village. Famine began in large cities.
Socio-economic character of Bolshevism
Became available at the end of the 20th century. sources practically exclude the version about the “working” nature of Bolshevism. The social character of Bolshevism remains controversial. It can be assessed as a synthesis of the radical technocratic intelligentsia and the declassed and declassed strata seeking to restore and improve their social position.
The new officials and activists of the “party in power” came from all social strata of old Russia, but primarily from the least affluent and cultural urban strata. Part of the working class, also marginalized, took part in the social movement of the radical masses, led by the Bolshevik elite. But this did not prevent Bolshevism from suppressing the actions of the working class as soon as the proletarians refused to submit to “their” dictatorship. The inconsistency of the Bolshevik measures led to divisions among workers, peasants and intellectuals on the issue of supporting the Bolsheviks.
Bolshevik politics
Dispersal of the Constituent Assembly and conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty (cm. BREST PEACE) sharply contrasted the Bolsheviks with the majority of the country's population. The coalition of the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries that existed in December 1917 - March 1918 collapsed. The forced creation of a system of state “socialism” (replacing commodity-money relations with state redistribution), low management competence in the context of increasing the role of the state, ignoring the interests of the peasantry and intelligentsia - all this led to the collapse of industrial production, supply paralysis, the escalation of the economic crisis into a catastrophe, and from May 1918 - large-scale Civil War (cm. CIVIL WAR in Russia), which only exacerbated all these problems. Seeking to solve them by the most drastic means, the Bolsheviks created a system of oligarchic military-bureaucratic domination and non-market state distribution, an early, unstable version of totalitarianism known as "war communism" (cm. MILITARY COMMUNISM)».
The revolution in Russia and the Civil War were considered by the Bolsheviks as part of the world revolution, victory in which would solve the problems associated with the low culture of the population and the Bolshevik elite, which was insufficient to solve the creative tasks of building socialism. At every opportunity, the Bolsheviks tried to provide military support to centers of socialist protests in Europe and nationalist anti-imperialist protests in Asia. In March 1919 this process led to the founding of the Communist International (cm. COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL)(Comintern). All parties of the Comintern were considered Bolshevik. Since 1918, the RSDLP (b) began to be called the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). (cm. COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE SOVIET UNION) In 1919, a party program was adopted, which planned to create a non-commodity communist society in the foreseeable future. A large role in the program was given to the development of workers' democracy, but an attempt to raise this issue practically during the discussion on trade unions in 1920-1921 did not receive the support of Lenin and the majority of party members.
The system of “war communism” made it possible to mobilize the most active part of the masses radicalized by the revolution to support the revolutionary elite and partly in its composition and direct their energy to serve the dictatorship and suppress resistance to its policies from other social strata, to victory in the Civil War. But this system could only exist in conditions of constant confrontation. After the defeat of the white movement (cm. WHITE MOVEMENT) resistance to Bolshevism began to grow on the part of workers and peasants. Introduction of the NEP (cm. NEW ECONOMIC POLICY) X Congress of the RCP(b) led to the refusal (according to at least temporarily) from totalitarian methods of domination in favor of authoritarian ones, a retreat from the anti-market policy of state distribution. At the same time, the Bolsheviks liquidated legally operating opposition parties, establishing one-party rule for many decades to come.
From Bolshevism to Stalinism
After Lenin's death in 1924, the party leaders continued to consider themselves as successors of his work; Marxism-Leninism was considered the official ideology of the party. However, different trends in Bolshevism interpreted Lenin's ideas differently.
After the creation of the USSR, the party began to be called the All-Union Party - abbreviated as the VKP(b). In the conditions of factional struggle in the 1920s, left Bolshevism (Trotskyism) and the “right deviation” were defeated, and supporters of a strictly centralized and monolithic party model led by I.V. Stalin prevailed. Under his leadership, the Bolsheviks carried out industrialization (cm. INDUSTRIALIZATION), collectivization (cm. COLLECTIVIZATION) and the cultural revolution. Their results displeased a significant part of the Bolsheviks themselves. As a result, most of the old leaders of Bolshevism did not survive the Great Terror (cm. GREAT TERROR). Destruction and removal from political life Most of the leaders of Bolshevism during the revolution of 1917 led to the fact that the relatively diverse ideological and political current was replaced by a strictly monolithic state-political system of Stalinism - nomenklatura-bureaucratic domination, unquestioning subordination to the “leader”, dogmatic adherence to ideological provisions in which Stalin interpreted ideas in a simplified manner Marx and Lenin. “Socialism” created at that time in the USSR did not correspond to the goals proclaimed by Bolshevism. In this regard, we can talk about the historical defeat of Bolshevism and the cessation of its existence as an ideological and political movement by the end of the 1930s. But the communist regime created by Bolshevism and the associated communist movement continued to develop.
After the Second World War, one can talk about Bolshevism only as a historical past of the communist parties. Despite the fact that the Soviet leadership moved away from the radicalism and internationalism inherent in Bolshevism, the party formally continued to be considered Bolshevik even after the mention of the Bolsheviks disappeared from its name, and from 1952 it became known as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Radical features of Bolshevism were revived from time to time in the communist movement (Tito (cm. TITO Josip), Mao Zedong (cm. MAO ZEDONG), Che Guevara (cm. GUEVARA Ernesto)). During the collapse of the CPSU in 1990-1991, small communist groups and parties arose that are trying to continue the traditions of Bolshevism as a radical movement in Marxism.

Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

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At one time, the RSDLP (Russian Social Democratic Labor Party), formed in 1989 at the Minsk Congress, suffered extremely unpleasant and numerous losses. Production was dying, the crisis completely engulfed the organization, forcing society in 1903 at the Second Congress in Brussels to split into two opposing groups. Lenin and Martov did not agree with the views of the membership management, so they themselves became leaders of associations, which later served as the reason for the formation of the abbreviations in the form of a small letter "b" and "m".

The history of the Bolsheviks is still covered in some mysteries and secrets, but today we have the opportunity to at least partially find out what happened during the collapse of the RSDLP.

What caused the discord?

It is impossible to find out in history the exact cause of the events that occurred. Official version split of the RSDLP there was a disagreement between the two sides regarding the solution of important organizational issues that were raised during the fight against the monarchical system of government and foundations. Both Lenin and Martov agreed that internal changes in Russia required a network of worldwide proletarian revolutions, especially in well-developed countries. In this case, you can only count on a wave of uprisings both in your native state and in countries that are lower in ranking. social level.

Despite the fact that the two sides had the same goal, the disagreement lay in the method of obtaining what was desired. Yuliy Osipovich Martov advocated the ideas of European countries, based on legal methods of obtaining power and rule. While Vladimir Ilyich argued that only through active actions and terror can one gain influence on the Russian state.

Differences between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks:

closed organization with strict discipline;
opposed democratic conditions.

Menshevik differences:

were guided by the experience of Western rule and supported the democratic foundations of society;
agrarian reforms.

In the end, Martov won the discussion, calling everyone to an underground and quiet struggle, which served to split the organization. Lenin called his people Bolsheviks, and Yuliy Osipovich made concessions, agreeing to the name “Mensheviks.” Many believe that this was his mistake, since the word Bolsheviks caused people associations with something powerful and huge. While the Mensheviks were not taken seriously because of considerations of something small and hardly so impressive.

It is unlikely that terms like “commercial brand”, “marketing” and “advertising” existed in those years. But only the ingenious name of the group that was invented led to popularity in narrow circles and obtaining the status of a trusted organization. Vladimir Ilyich’s talent, of course, manifested itself in those very moments when, with unpretentious and simple slogans, he was able to offer ordinary people outdated ones since the time of the French Revolution ideas of equality and brotherhood.

People were impressed by the loud words promoted by the Bolsheviks, the symbols that inspired strength and radicalism - the five-pointed star, hammer and sickle with red in the background immediately fell in love with a large number of residents Russian state.

Where did the money for the activities of the Bolsheviks come from?

When the organization split into several groups, there was an urgent need to raise additional finances to support their revolution. And the methods of obtaining the necessary money also differed between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. The difference between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks in this regard was their more radical and illegal actions.

If the Mensheviks came to the idea of a membership fee for the organization, then the Bolsheviks were not limited only to the contribution of participants, they did not disdain bank robberies. For example, in 1907, one of these operations brought the Bolsheviks more than two hundred and fifty thousand rubles, which greatly outraged the Mensheviks. Unfortunately, Lenin regularly carried out large number similar crimes.

But the revolution was not the only waste for the Bolshevik party. Vladimir Ilyich was deeply convinced that only people who are completely passionate about their work can bring good results coup. This meant that the Bolshevik staff had to receive a guaranteed salary so that workers could perform their duties all day long. Compensation in the form of monetary incentives supporters of radical views really liked it, so in a short period of time the party’s size increased noticeably, and the wing’s activities noticeably improved in quality.

In addition, significant expenses came from printing brochures and leaflets, which party accomplices tried to spread throughout the state in various cities at strikes and rallies. This also reveals a characteristic difference between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, since their funding was spent on completely different needs.

The ideas of the two parties became so different from each other and even contradictory that Martov’s followers decided not to take part in the Third Party Congress of the RSDLP. It took place in 1905 in England. Despite the fact that some Mensheviks took part in the First Russian Revolution, Martov still did not support armed uprisings.

Bolshevik ideas and principles

It seemed that people with such radical and significantly different views from democratic and liberal views could not have principles. The first time one could notice ideological glimpses and human morality in Lenin was before the outbreak of the First World War. At that time, the party leader lived in Austria and at the next meeting in Bern, he expressed his opinion about the brewing conflict.

Vladimir Ilyich is happy spoke out strongly against the war and everyone who supports it, since in this way they betrayed the proletariat. Therefore, Lenin was very surprised when it turned out that the majority of socialists supported military activities. The party leader tried to prevent a split between people and was very afraid of the Civil War.

Lenin used all his perseverance and self-organization so as not to relax discipline in the party. Another difference can be considered that the Bolsheviks went to their goals by any means. Therefore, sometimes Lenin could renounce his political or moral views for the good of his party. Similar schemes were often used by him to attract new people, especially among the poor layer of citizens. Sweet words about how their lives would improve after the revolution forced people to join the party.

U modern society Naturally, there is a lot of misunderstanding about who the Bolsheviks are. Some people present them as deceivers who were ready to make any sacrifice to achieve their goals. Someone saw them as heroes who worked hard for the prosperity of the Russian state and the creation better conditions life for ordinary people. In any case, the first thing to remember is the organization that wanted remove all ruling officials and put new people in their places.

Under slogans, beautiful brochures and promises that offered ordinary people to completely change the conditions of their lives - their faith in own strength was so large that they easily received support from citizens.

The Bolsheviks were an organization of communists. In addition, they received part of the funding from German sponsors who benefited from Russia's withdrawal from the war. This significant amount helped the party develop in terms of advertising and PR.

It is worth understanding that in political science it is customary to call some organizations right or left. The left stands for social equality, and the Bolsheviks belonged to them.

Dispute at the Stockholm Congress

In Stockholm in In 1906 there was a congress of the RSDLP, where it was decided by the leaders of the two groups to try to find compromises in their judgments and meet each other halfway. It was clear that the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks had many tempting offers for each side, and everyone benefited from this cooperation. At first it seemed that everything was going well, and soon they even planned to celebrate the mutual rapprochement of the two rival parties. However, one issue that was on the agenda created some differences between the leaders and a debate began. The issue that caused Lenin and Martov to argue concerned the possibility of people joining parties and their contribution to the work of the organization.

Vladimir Ilyich believed that only full-fledged work and a person’s dedication to work could produce noticeable and significant results, while the Mensheviks rejected this idea.
Martov was confident that ideas and consciousness alone were enough for a person to be part of the party.

On the surface this question seems simple. Even without reaching agreement, it is unlikely that it can do much harm. However, behind this formulation one could discern the hidden meaning of the opinion of each of the party leaders. Lenin wanted an organization with a clear structure and hierarchy. He insisted on strict discipline and abandonment, which turned the party into something like an army. Martov lowered everything to the simple intelligentsia. After the vote was held, it was decided that Lenin's proposal would be used. In history, this meant the victory of the Bolsheviks.

The Mensheviks gaining political power and initiative

February Revolution made the state weak. While all organizations and political parties were moving away from the coup, the Mensheviks were able to quickly find their bearings and direct their energy to the right direction. Thus, after a short period of time, the Mensheviks became the most influential and visible in the state.

It is worth noting that the Bolshevik and Menshevik parties did not take part in this revolution, therefore the uprising was a surprise to them. Of course, both of them assumed such a result in their immediate plans, but when the situation occurred, the leaders showed some confusion and lack of understanding of what to do next. The Mensheviks were able to quickly cope with inaction, and 1917 became the time for them when they were able to register as a separate political force.

And although the Mensheviks were experiencing their best time, unfortunately, many of Martov’s followers decided to go over to Lenin’s side. Party lost its most prominent figures, finding themselves in the minority before the Bolsheviks.

In October 1917, the Bolsheviks carried out a coup. The Mensheviks extremely condemned such actions, trying in every possible way to achieve their former control over the state, but everything was already useless. The Mensheviks clearly lost. And besides this, some of their organizations and institutions were dissolved by orders of the new government.

When the political situation became more or less calm, the remaining Mensheviks had to join the new government. When the Bolsheviks gained a foothold in government and began to more actively lead the main political places, persecution and struggle against political migrants of the former anti-Leninist wing began. Since 1919 it has been accepted decision to liquidate all former Mensheviks by shooting.

U modern man It is not for nothing that the word “Bolshevik” is associated with the bright symbolism of the proletariat “Hammer and Sickle”, since at one time they bribed a large number of ordinary people. It is now very difficult to answer the question of who the Bolsheviks are - heroes or swindlers. Everyone has their own point of view, and any opinion, whether supporting the policies of Lenin and the Bolsheviks or opposing the militant policies of communism, can be correct. It is worth remembering that this is all the history of our native state. Whether their actions are wrong or reckless, they still need to be known.

Bolshevism- a revolutionary Marxist current of political thought and political movement associated with the formation of a party of social revolution as the vanguard of the working class, consistent internationalism and the setting up of a social experiment: taking power before all the necessary prerequisites have matured. It originated at the beginning of the 20th century in Russia and was associated with the RSDLP (b).

Bolshevik Party

Bolshevism as a political party is a proletarian party of a new type, fundamentally different from the parties of the 2nd International that existed during the period of its organization and development. Bolshevism is the party of social revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, the party of communism. Bolshevism fought against liberal populism, which replaced the revolutionary liberation movement with petty-bourgeois reformism, against “legal Marxism,” which, under the flag of Marxism, tried to subordinate the labor movement to the interests of the bourgeoisie, against “economism,” the first opportunist trend among Marxist circles and groups in Russia. Bolshevism grew and became tempered in the fight against hostile political parties and currents: Cadets, bourgeois nationalists, Socialist Revolutionaries, anarchism, Menshevism. Greatest historical significance was the struggle of Bolshevism against Menshevism - the main type of opportunism in the labor movement of Russia, for a proletarian party of a new type, for the leading role of the working class in revolutionary battles against autocracy and capitalism. Bolshevism has always strictly monitored the purity of its ranks and fought against opportunist trends within the Bolshevik Party.

History of Bolshevism

At the 2nd Congress of the RSDLP, the opportunism of Menshevism manifested itself in organizational issues: denial of the need to create a centralized Marxist party, strict party discipline, orientation towards social democratic parties Western Europe who pursued the policy open doors", hence the thesis of Menshevism about the unlimited admission into the party of everyone without the obligation to work in the party organization and subordination to party discipline. After the congress, Menshevism took shape within the RSDLP as a special faction that took the path of splitting and disorganizing the RSDLP. At the IV Congress of the RSDLP in 1906, the organizational unity of the party was temporarily restored, but already in 1912, at a conference in Prague, the Bolsheviks created an independent party, which in April 1917 began to be called the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks).

Bolshevik ideology

A characteristic feature of Bolshevism is consistent proletarian internationalism. From the moment of its inception, Bolshevism led a decisive, principled struggle in the international labor movement for the purity of Marxist-Leninist theory, for the union of scientific socialism with the labor movement, against all kinds of opportunists, revisionists, sectarians, dogmatists, the struggle against centrism and social chauvinism of the 2nd International . At the same time, the Bolsheviks, faithful to the ideas of proletarian internationalism, tirelessly rallied the left elements of Western European social democratic parties. By guiding the left Social Democrats into the channel of consistent revolutionary struggle, patiently explaining their mistakes and deviations from Marxism, the Bolsheviks contributed to the consolidation of revolutionary Marxists. Since the First World War, on the basis of Lenin’s unification of the left elements of Western European social democratic parties, Bolshevism has led the revolutionary trend in the international labor movement, which took shape after the October Revolution into the communist parties and their unification - the 3rd International (Comintern). As the most consistently implementing the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of the socialist revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat and the construction of socialism, as well as the organizational, strategic and tactical principles of socialism, Bolshevism was recognized by the Comintern as a model for the activities of all communist parties. At the same time, the 5th Congress of the Comintern (1924) emphasized that this “... should in no way be understood as a mechanical transfer of the entire experience of the Bolshevik Party in Russia to all other parties” (“Communist International in documents. 1919 -1932", 1933, p. 411). The Congress determined the main features of the Bolshevik Party: in any conditions, it must be able to maintain an inextricable connection with the mass of workers and be an exponent of their needs and aspirations; be maneuverable, that is, its tactics should not be dogmatic, but, resorting to strategic maneuvers in the revolutionary struggle, in no case deviate from Marxist principles; under all circumstances, make every effort to bring the victory of the working class closer; “...must be a centralized party, not allowing for factions, trends and groupings, but monolithic, cast from one piece” (ibid.). The history of Bolshevism has no equal in its wealth of experience. True to its program adopted in 1903, the Bolshevik Party led the struggle of the Russian people against tsarism and capitalism in three revolutions: the bourgeois-democratic Revolution of 1905-07, the February bourgeois-democratic Revolution of 1917 and the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917.

Bolshevik practice

Implementing revolutionary theory, strategy and tactics, the Bolshevik Party united into one revolutionary stream the struggle of the working class for socialism, the national movement for peace, the peasant struggle for land, the national liberation struggle of the oppressed peoples of Russia and directed these forces to overthrow the capitalist system. As a result of the victory of the socialist revolution of 1917, the dictatorship of the proletariat was established in Russia, and for the first time in history a country of socialism arose. The first party program, adopted in 1903, was implemented. Having ensured the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution, the Bolshevik Party led the creation and consolidation of Soviet power and organized the defense of the Soviet Republic during the Civil War of 1918-20. In March 1919, at the Eighth Congress of the RCP (b), the party adopted its second program, developed under the leadership of Lenin, putting forward the practical task of building a socialist society. By organizing the forces of the Soviet people to restore the national economy, implement the socialist industrialization of the country and collectivize agriculture, and carry out the cultural revolution, the party ensured the victory of socialism in the USSR. Thus, a high road to socialism was paved for the working people of all countries. The Bolshevik Party led the Soviet people to victory during the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War 1941-45, organized the restoration and further development of the socialist national economy. “As a result of the victory of socialism in the USSR, the strengthening of the unity of Soviet society, the Communist Party of the working class turned into the vanguard of the Soviet people, became the party of the whole people...” (CPSU Program, 1965, p. 136). The completion of the construction of socialism marked the implementation of the second party program. The program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, adopted by the 22nd Congress of the CPSU (1961), is a program for building communism. Embodying the development of revolutionary theory in inextricable connection with life, Bolshevism played a huge role in revealing the basic laws and developing ways to implement the socialist revolution, build socialism and communism, create and develop the world socialist community.