History glossary
Bolshevik
a member or supporter of the revolutionary party led by Vladimir Lenin in Russia.
- Category
- Political movement
- Region
- Russia
- Date range
- 1903-1920s
What it means
The Bolsheviks were a radical socialist faction that argued for a tightly organized revolutionary party. In 1917 they seized power in Russia, withdrew from the First World War, and helped create the Soviet state.
Related terms
Stories using this term
Operation Barbarossa
From Hitler's ideological war in the east to Soviet survival before Moscow, Barbarossa turned expected blitzkrieg into prolonged attritional catastrophe.
The Russian Revolution
From the 1905 crisis to the creation of the USSR, the Russian Revolution transformed imperial collapse into a new one-party socialist state.
The Soviets
From revolution to superpower, the Soviet Union rose, struggled internally, and collapsed in 1991.
Weimar Republic
A fragile democracy marked by crisis and innovation, whose collapse paved the way for Nazi rule.
The First World War
World War I reshaped empires, borders, and societies, setting the stage for World War II.
The Rise of Adolf Hitler
From the ashes of World War I to the Night of the Long Knives, this story traces the political rise of Adolf Hitler and the collapse of the Weimar Republic.
