Power would then be held by a small group (the dictatorship of the proletariat) until the workers were ready to rule themselves. However, the Bolsheviks led by Lenin, believed revolution should come as soon as possible. The Mensheviks, led by Martov, wanted revolution from below (by the workers) to occur naturally. In 1903, the group split after an ideological disagreement. They focused on agitation amongst the workers in the cities. They did not expect the peasants to rise in revolution. The Social Democrats' beliefs were based on Marxism. Although they were greatly uncoordinated in their efforts, they carried out approximately 2,000 political assassinations in the years leading up to the 1905 Revolution. They wanted to overthrow the government in favour of giving power to the peasants. The Social Revolutionaries adopted a combination of Marxist and Populist beliefs. Revolutionary groups which combined Marx’s aims with their own goals developed. Karl Marx had promoted the idea that power should be in the hands of the masses. Marxist thinking had developed in Russia in the late 1800s. 1903-1904 became known as the Years of the Red Cockerel when peasants seized a great deal of land in the countryside.
Populism existed in the universities, while the People’s Will tried to assassinate Alexander III in 1887. Radical opposition groups often carried out political assassinations. Many liberal thinkers wanted the same for Russia. Western European countries had developed constitutional governments and increased political rights for their citizens. Liberals wanted the emerging middle class to have increased political influence. Opposition groups began to grow as a consequence of successive Tsars’ refusal to grant reform and improve living conditions: As a result of the Tsar’s unlimited power the only way to challenge Tsarist autocracy was through acts of rebellion.
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