who were the bolsheviks

The Bolsheviks were a radical faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, established in 1903 and led by Vladimir Lenin. They were orthodox Marxists who called for the violent overthrow of the Russian monarchy and the establishment of a socialist state. The Bolsheviks seized power in Russia during the October Revolution of 1917, transforming Russia into the first socialist state, later known as the Soviet Union. They implemented policies of nationalization and workers' control, ultimately creating a one-party socialist state under their rule. Key leaders included Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin. The Bolsheviks' ideology became known as Bolshevism, based on Leninist principles and Marxist theory, advocating for a dictatorship of the proletariat to lead towards communism.