1920. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. Read Note.
Bolshevik -- Russian term for a communist in the early 20th Century. The name originated from the Russian word “bolshinstvo” – majority. In 1903 during the congress of the Social-Democrats of Russia the party split ideologically. The majority, which supported the radical program of Lenin, was known hence as the “Bolsheviks”. Their opponents became known as “Mensheviks” (from the Russian word “menshinstvo” – minority)