Of or relating to Bolshevism; Also called: bolshevik, Bolshevist, Bolshevistic.

Member of the majority of the Russian Social Democratic Party who split from the Mensheviks 1903. The Bolsheviks, under Lenin, advocated the destruction of capitalist political and economic institutions, and the setting-up of a socialist state with power in the hands of the workers. The Bolsheviks set the Russian Revolution 1917 in motion.
They changed their name to the Russian Communist Party 1918.
They maintained power after the Civil War 1918–1921.
Emotionally charged terms used to refer to extreme radicals; Also called: Marxist, pinko, red.