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, believe that reform and democracy will gradually bring Russia into communism. They thought
that the formulation of a parliament and organization into different parties will allow Russia's working class to gain more
power. Lenin gave his group the name "Bolshevik", which means majority-class. His opponents he 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.
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