Bolsheviks I WW1, I Wars of Independence
The Bolsheviks were the radical wing of the Russian Social Democratic Workers 'Party, which won a majority in the party's congress under Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) in 1912 and split from the party to form the Russian Social Democratic Workers' (Bolshevik) Party. Since then, the term "big ones" has been introduced as opposed to "small ones" or minorities.
The big ones differed from the little ones in both ideological and party organization aspects. The Bolsheviks believed that the party should be organized as a centralized combat organization. The principle of class had to be strictly observed when recruiting members. The members of the party had to observe discipline, strictly obeying the decisions of the party's leadership - the Central Committee. The basic structure of the party had to be formed by a relatively small group of professional revolutionaries. Lenin believed that industry was not able to develop socialist demands on its own.
The Bolsheviks believed that socialism could not be achieved through an evolutionary (gradual reform) path, but through a violent revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat as a transitional regime from capitalism to socialism. The Bolsheviks strongly opposed cooperation with the citizens (bourgeoisie), allowing it only in certain emergencies. The Bolsheviks denied parliamentary democracy in principle, believing it to be in the interests of the bourgeoisie. They campaigned for a classical representation of the working people (proletariat) as opposed to universal representation.
On November 7, 1917, in the Russian capital Petrograd (modern-day St. Petersburg), the Bolshevik coup dug up the Provisional Government led by Alexander Kerensky and formed a Soviet government led by Lenin. At the end of 1917, in the Bolshevik-controlled part of Latvia, power was gradually taken over by the Executive Committee of the Latvian Council of Workers, Soldiers and Landless Deputies, or the School (abbreviated translation of the name into Russian). The new government launched radical political and social reforms with strict censorship.
The Soviet rule in the unoccupied part of Latvia was not long - it lasted only a few months. When Germany resumed hostilities on the Eastern Front and occupied the entire territory of Latvia by the end of February 1918, the Bolshevik regime in Vidzeme and Latgale was overthrown. The Bolsheviks and the most loyal riflemen fled to Russia.
During these few months, part of the Latvian population was able to get to know the Bolshevik regime directly. The school's activities revealed a number of trends, which were fully felt a year later after the return of the Bolsheviks. These were: the regime's undemocracy, concentrating power in the hands of a narrow circle of party workers; the dismantling of democratically elected institutions and the fight against freedom of expression; reviving the principle of class struggle, which has led to repression against whole groups in society; economic reforms in the form of partial nationalization of enterprises, confiscation of manors and a course towards the nationalization of all property and land.
Considering the introduction of communism to be its goal, the Bolshevik Party renamed the Russian Communist (Bolshevik) Party after the 1917 coup and retained the name until 1925. From 1925 to 1952, the party was called the All-Union Communist (Bolshevik) Party, and from 1952 to 1991 it was called the "Communist Party of the Soviet Union." In 1991, the party was dissolved in the Russian Federation.
More information sources
1. Latvian Bolsheviks. Published on the portal ir.lv, 03.01.2018. Available: https://ir.lv/2018/01/03/latviesu-lielinieki/ [accessed: 06.05.2021.].
2. Šiliņš J. "Lielinieki". National Encyclopedia. Available: https://enciklopedija.lv/skirklis/88272-lielinieki [accessed on 06.05.2021].
3. Šiliņš J. Doctoral Thesis “Military and Political Development of Soviet Latvia (December 1918 - June 1919)”, 2012. Available at: https://dspace.lu.lv/dspace/handle/7/4674 [viewed : 06.05.2021].
4. The blizzard of souls. Digital Museum. Available: https://www.dveseluputenis.lv/lv/laika-skala/notikums/85/ziemassvetku-kauju-sakums/ [accessed: 06.05.2021].
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