Copy of Modern History - Social Democrats.pdf

slide show about who they social democrats ( sdlp) were, what they do, when they formed, how they formed, and why they ended

1. Social Democrats (SDLP)

2. Aim and philosophy of social democrats
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party founded in
1898, as we aim for democratic socialism, emphasizing
welfare and workers rights. We claim that fostering a
progressive evolution of capitalism will gradually result in
the evolution of a capitalist economy into a socialist
economy. Our party is split into two, Bolsheviks (derived
from the word bolshinstvo meaning majority) and
Mensheviks (derived from the work menshinstvo meaning
minority). Mensheviks favor a larger party, advocating for
a gradual transition to socialism through democratic
means, accommodating a broader range of political
views. Where as Bolsheviks advocate for a small,
disciplined revolutionary party, aiming for a swift
overthrow of the capitalist system and establishment of a
centralized Marxist state. The split between our groups
occurred due to differences in our leaders beliefs over the
future of our party in 1912, with the Bolsheviks remaining in
majority of the SDLP after the vote on the future.


MENSHEVIKS BOLSHEVIKS

3. Why are we in this position?
We, the Social Democratic Labour Party (later spilt into the Bolsheviks
and the Mensheviks) were in this position because we were an
amalgamation of various Marxists groups in Russia, part of the SDLP
believing that it would be impossible to overthrow the Russian
government and replace it with peasants (due to reasons like the fact
that a large number of them were self-educated, meaning they
wouldn’t have been able to successfully run a government or country
without the needed literacy rate).
Since the SDLP was banned in Russia and many of the leaders were
forced into exile, our group began publishing a journal named Iska
about our beliefs, specifically those of Karl Marx, that capitalism would
eventually destroy itself as more people became working class
citizens and inequality rose, meaning there needed to be change and
soon.
Part of the group (those who later became known as the Bolsheviks)
believed that Russia needed rapid change to adapt, preferring violent
revolution as the way for this change while the other half (later known
as the Mensheviks) wanted the same change, but knew that it
wouldn’t be able to happen rapidly or with violent revolutions.
Leaders of the Menshevik Party at Norra Bantorget in Stockholm, Sweden, May
1917. Pavel Axelrod, Julius Martov and Alexander Martinov

4. Issues with the Romanov government
We as faithful and loyal Russian people oppose the Romanov
government due to its autocratic rule, lack of political freedoms,
socioeconomic inequality, and suppression of workers' rights and
dissent. When under the rule of an autocratic leader workers are the
victims of the wealthy industrialists, whereby they are taken advantage
of and treated very poorly. Efforts to demolish the autocratic
government from our party can be seen through
-Organizing workers' strikes and protests to demand political
reforms, improved working conditions, and greater rights for the
proletariat.
-Publishing newspapers, pamphlets, and other literature to raise
awareness about social injustices and the need for political
change.
-Engaging in underground revolutionary activities, such as
forming secret societies and cells to coordinate resistance
against the autocratic regime.
-Collaborating with other opposition groups, such as liberals and
constitutionalists, to amplify their demands for political reform
and democratic representation.

Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia
(1894 - 1917 )

5. Demands from the social democrats
We, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party demands
change in Russian society, making us into a modern and
industrialised society.
The Bolsheviks are advocating for this change immediately. We
are concrete in our beliefs, wanting rapid change and believe it
will happen through violent revolution, just like it has in the past.
The Mensheviks advocate for this change to occur gradually.
We acknowledge that change on this large of a scale cannot
occur at a rapid rate, and we believe that it can occur devoid
of any violent means.

6. Bibliography
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSbolsheviks.htm
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSsdp.htm
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSmensheviks.htm
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Russian-Social-Democratic-Workers-Party
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pavel-Borisovich-Akselrod
http://fallofromanovs.weebly.com/political-grievances.html
https://socialistworker.co.uk/features/who-were-the-mensheviks/