The Mensheviks were more focused on changing Russia peacefully through an evolutionary
process, while the Bolsheviks wanted revolutionary,
violent change.
On July 30, 1903, the second congress of the
Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) was held in Brussels, Belgium. While the meeting was supposed to unite the party, instead it split in
two. Lenin headed the Bolsheviks, who believed that violence was necessary for the revolution to succeed. The Bolsheviks thought that only a violent uprising in the proletariat can truly create a
communist state, with the rebellion to be headed by a small number of intelligent revolutionaries. The Mensheviks, on the other hand, believed that reform and
democracy would gradually bring Russia into
communism. They thought that the formulation of a parliament and organization into different parties would allow Russia's working class to gain more power. Lenin gave his group the name "Bolshevik", which means majority-class. His opponents were called "Mensheviks", which means minority-class, although, at the congress in Brussels, there were more Mensheviks than Bolsheviks. During the civil war following the overthrow of Czar the Bolsheviks represented the red
army and the Mensheviks represented the white
army. The Mensheviks wanted to later establish a monarchy, which was not supported by the Mensheviks.
