Question

the main, or central, idea of the passage is the bolsheviks wanted a small governing group with complete and immediate control, while the mensheviks wanted a larger, more democratic government. how does the detail in bold develop the main idea? in the early 1900s, the russian social democratic labour party, unhappy with the poverty and war that plagued russia, sought to rid the country of the czar, its absolute ruler. unable to agree on tactics, the party split into two groups. the bolsheviks, led by vladimir lenin, believed that russia should be governed by a small group that would have complete power and would not tolerate dissent from its members. they favored immediate reform, and they viewed violence as an acceptable means of achieving this. in contrast, the mensheviks, led by julius martov, felt that russia should have a larger, more democratic government that would tolerate varying opinions. unlike the bolsheviks, they favored a gradual transition of power, and they preferred to avoid violent means of gaining control. eventually, the bolsheviks were victorious, seizing control in the october revolution of 1917. it illustrates one way that the mensheviks differed from the bolsheviks. it demonstrates the impact of the bolsheviks violent methods. it explains in detail how the mensheviks planned to take over.

Explanation:

The bolded detail "Unlike the Bolsheviks, they favored a gradual transition of power, and they preferred to avoid violent means of gaining control" is a contrast between the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. The main idea is about the differences in their governing group preferences (small - complete control vs larger - democratic). This detail shows another difference (gradual vs immediate, non - violent vs violent) which supports the overall contrast between the two groups.

Answer:

It illustrates one way that the Mensheviks differed from the Bolsheviks.