Bolsheviks
A radical political party, led by Vladimir Lenin, that split from the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903. The Bolshevik Party favored a closed party consisting of and run by professional revolutionaries and supported the idea of a dictatorship that would accelerate the transition to socialism. It placed an emphasis on the working class, from which it drew much of its support.
Cadets
A political group (an acronym for (Constitutional Democrats) that wanted to see Russia established as a democratic republic governed by a constitution and an elected parliament. This stance put the Cadets at sharp odds with the Bolsheviks, who favored a dictatorship of the proletariat. The Cadets drew support primarily from professional workers and the bourgeois class.
Mensheviks
A political group that, like the Bolsheviks, split from the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. The Mensheviks were less radical than the Bolsheviks and supported the idea of a socialistic party that was open to all who wished to join and that would be ruled and organized in a democratic manner.
Petrograd Soviet
Existed prior to the February Revolution as a sort of underground revolutionary labor union for workers and soldiers, with members spanning different political parties. During the February Revolution, members saw an opportunity and declared themselves to be the government of Russia. However, they quickly found themselves competing with the provisional government.
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Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP)
A party that formed in 1898 and was among Russia’s earliest revolutionary movements, though by no means the first. In 1903, the RSDLP split into two factions, the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks.
Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs)
A Russian political party during the revolutionary years that was more moderate than the Bolsheviks but less than the Mensheviks. They drew their support primarily from peasants and therefore had a bigger support group than other parties in Russia. Before and during the October Revolution, the SRs were probably the Bolsheviks’ closest allies among Russia’s many political movements.
A radical political party, led by Vladimir Lenin, that split from the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903. The Bolshevik Party favored a closed party consisting of and run by professional revolutionaries and supported the idea of a dictatorship that would accelerate the transition to socialism. It placed an emphasis on the working class, from which it drew much of its support.
Cadets
A political group (an acronym for (Constitutional Democrats) that wanted to see Russia established as a democratic republic governed by a constitution and an elected parliament. This stance put the Cadets at sharp odds with the Bolsheviks, who favored a dictatorship of the proletariat. The Cadets drew support primarily from professional workers and the bourgeois class.
Mensheviks
A political group that, like the Bolsheviks, split from the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. The Mensheviks were less radical than the Bolsheviks and supported the idea of a socialistic party that was open to all who wished to join and that would be ruled and organized in a democratic manner.
Petrograd Soviet
Existed prior to the February Revolution as a sort of underground revolutionary labor union for workers and soldiers, with members spanning different political parties. During the February Revolution, members saw an opportunity and declared themselves to be the government of Russia. However, they quickly found themselves competing with the provisional government.
.
Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP)
A party that formed in 1898 and was among Russia’s earliest revolutionary movements, though by no means the first. In 1903, the RSDLP split into two factions, the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks.
Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs)
A Russian political party during the revolutionary years that was more moderate than the Bolsheviks but less than the Mensheviks. They drew their support primarily from peasants and therefore had a bigger support group than other parties in Russia. Before and during the October Revolution, the SRs were probably the Bolsheviks’ closest allies among Russia’s many political movements.