Parties that set the task of freeing the proletariat from exploitation by parasitic classes have traditionally been called Social Democrats since the end of the 19th century. Moreover, the ideological basis of these organizations lay Marxism of the most revolutionary sense. The decoding of the "RSDLP" includes the Sotsdeck formula, but during its early development the party platform was much more diverse than traditional Marxism. It allowed maneuvering in a wide range, from legal and legitimate forms of struggle to terrorism. There were disadvantages and advantages to the young party of the Russian Social Democrats.
The creation of the RSDLP
At the end of 1895, the “Union for the Emancipation of the Working Class” was created, which was an association of Marxist circles in order to coordinate their work. Only three years later, on the basis of this organization, it was possible to develop a single party program and to declare the emergence of a single party. The founders of the RSDLP were nine delegates of the “Union of Struggle” from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev and representatives of the Bund (the Jewish Labor Union). This event took place in early March 1898 in the city of Minsk.
Then the name arose. The decoding of the "RSDLP", five letters, clearly spoke about the revolutionary essence of the organization, social democracy on the slang of the then politicians was synonymous with radical Marxism.
"Spark" and the first split cracks
Another two years passed, and the party moved from declarations to action. At the end of 1900, the first print run of the Iskra newspaper, edited by Lenin (V.I. Ulyanov), was released, assisted by Plekhanov, Martov, Zasulich, Axelrod and Potresov. In the course of the work of this printed organ, serious contradictions were revealed in the approach to the methods of the coming class struggle. The essence of the conflict was in relation to the legal struggle and the compromises that had to be made in its process, as well as to discipline. The comrades argued, sometimes to a hoarseness, they could not come to a common denominator, the split was brewing, and it was initiated by Vladimir Ulyanov, then still a rather young (thirty-year-old) man with a runny beard and a burning look. He insisted on a quick, revolutionary overthrow of the foundations of the "old world", and the old man Plekhanov, the patriarch of Russian Marxism, intelligently objected to him.
The split and emergence of Bolshevism
The Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party has existed for seven years, bearing in itself a kind of two-pronged principle, Plekhanov-Leninism. But nothing lasts forever. Conversations and discussions only deepened the contradictions, making them antagonistic, and at the Second Congress the question was posed with an edge: who will make the revolution, the representatives of the bourgeoisie or the proletariat? Who will become the hegemonic class after her?
Lenin, with his supporters, voted for the dictatorship of the working class, and won by gaining a majority. As a result, the party was organizationally divided, a split occurred, the decoding of the RSDLP remained the same, but depending on the affiliation to one of the two fractions, the abbreviation was supplemented with the letter “b” or “m” in parentheses. Those who voted for proletarian hegemony at the Second Congress became Bolsheviks, while Plekhanov's supporters, on the contrary, became Mensheviks.
Minimum program and maximum program - two components of Russian Marxism
These organizational issues did not prevent the adoption of a two-part common program (minimum and maximum). At the very least, what the Russian social welfare agreed to was the abolition of the monarchist-landlord system, the bourgeois revolution, the distribution of land to the peasants (free of charge), and the provision of eight-hour working days for workers. And in the future, much more large-scale transformations loomed, during which the proletarian was to become a dictator. This is the maximum that the Bolsheviks expected. Further progress in social thought was not in their plans.
Seventh Congress - Rubicon
The split between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks was completed by the third, fourth and fifth congresses of the RSDLP. The Bolsheviks completely expelled the Mensheviks from the party leadership by 1907. At this point, they constituted a disciplined, cohesive and very active detachment, including, among other things, a military wing capable of conducting underground work and owning propaganda means. The Mensheviks could not boast of such assets, for which they paid in the future.
Social Decks and War
The RSDLP party experienced another internal conflict at the start of World War II. This time, the conditional “front line” was more complicated, it divided the Bolsheviks into three main groups: internationalists, pacifists and patriots. To advocate for the defeat of one’s homeland, and, in fact, to become its traitor, one needs to have special personal qualities, this is not everyone can do. But Plekhanov failed to cross the line. Lenin did it.
At that time, the Social Democratic Labor Party could be called Russian only on a territorial basis. The Bolshevik agitators made great efforts to convince the soldiers that they should not fight for their homeland, but that they should fraternize with the enemy, killing their commanders. Only the softness shown by the "bloody tsarist regime" in relation to the traitors caught is surprising. In fact, the fate of the country of Lenin and his accomplices was of little interest to them; they raved about the world revolution, which seemed to be close, but in fact had never come.
Why did the RCP (B) become the CPSU (b)
After the seizure of power in 1917, the Bolsheviks had serious disagreements with the Social Democratic movement, whose representatives in many countries held less radical views, showing "precariousness." The positions of German, French and other European Social Democrats expressed their desire to use legal mechanisms, in the worst case, combining them with underground work, and achieve victory by promoting their representatives to government through elections. This path did not suit Leninists, they understood that if the people were given the opportunity to freely express their will, they would hardly have come to power, and therefore they would have made a coup, overthrowing the Provisional Government (the very fact of its dispersal is absurd, because it was created for the time before the election).
The decoding of the RSDLP ceased to express the essence of the party, and in order not to be confused with other public associations, in 1918 it was renamed to the CPSU (All-Union Communist Party) with the indispensable letter (b) in the end, so that doubts would not torment anyone. The first letter of the abbreviation until 1925 meant "All-Russian," and after the formation of the USSR, the party became all-Union. It remained such until 1952, which marked the onset of the mature Stalinist socialism. This year the next XIX Congress was held, at which the CPSU (b) was renamed the CPSU, already without any small letters in brackets. This was the last name of the Leninist party.