I just meant that Jacobins did not start the revolution, moderate constitutional monarchists (and the mob in Paris) did. Of course things went out of hands and

I just meant that Jacobins did not start the revolution, moderate constitutional monarchists (and the mob in Paris) did. Of course things went out of hands and by 1794 most of the original leaders from 1789: Duc d'Orléans, Lafayette, Mirabeau, Sieyès, Necker etc. were all out of power, dead or in exile. All of them were considered to liberals when the Estates-General were initially convened however compared to the Jacobins they might as well had been ultra-conservatives. The Bolsheviks publicly called for whatever was popular at the time and what they thought would allow them to get into power. In 1918 they basically copied the entire Socialist Revolutionary programme (ending the war and distributing all land to the peasants without compensation to previous landowners and giving controls of the factories to their workers) and promised to end the war which basically guaranteed that most soldiers and ordinary people would not oppose them (they never had mass public support prior to the October revolution, at best a plurality in Major cities and approximately 0% in the countryside). However after they ousted the socialist government they proceeded with a policy of collectivization and centralization instead. "aren't really calling for more than what we'd view as actual democracy" No, the Bolsheviks lost the first democratic elections in Russian history, decided they don't like the results and dispersed Russian Constituent Assembly 13 hours after it convened. Unlike most other socialists in Russia at the time Bolsheviks were totally anti democratic from the outset, which is why they were so effective at gaining and holding power. While other socialist or liberal parties were organizing peaceful public protests, strikes or walkouts expecting that the masses would rally around them the bolsheviks simply sent in their troops.