AP World History: Modern
The Bolsheviks were a radical political party in Russia led by Vladimir Lenin. They seized power during the Russian Revolution in 1917 and established a communist government.
The Bolsheviks emerged from the broader Russian Social Democratic Labour Party as a distinct faction in the early 20th century, led by Vladimir Lenin. They believed in a form of socialism that called for a vanguard party to lead a proletarian revolution. The political and social unrest in Tsarist Russia, exacerbated by military defeats and economic turmoil during World War I, set the stage for the Bolsheviks' rise to power during the October Revolution of 1917.
The Bolsheviks' seizure of power had profound implications for Russia and the world. They established the first communist state, which led to the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922. Their revolutionary model and Marxist-Leninist ideology influenced numerous other movements worldwide, contributing to the spread of communism throughout the 20th century. The Cold War can also be traced back to their radical transformation of Russian society and subsequent ideological rivalry with capitalist states.