The social, political and economic policies of the Bolsheviks were imperative to the degree to which they were able to solidify their power between 1917 and 1928. Initially the Bolsheviks saw themselves in a position of insecurity - self inflicted through their premature revolution in 1917. The turbulent political atmosphere of the late 1910s saw that the Bolsheviks ruled de facto not de jure. Hence the Bolsheviks pursued policies that were egalitarian and aimed at empowering the proletarian in the hope of creating an èlan which was similar to that of 1880s French Revolution. The Bolsheviks ultimately found themselves upon the precarious knife-edge of ideology and stability, with the regime requiring to take pragmatic steps in order to consolidate power which would have otherwise contradicted with their own beliefs. This is evident through their betrayal of ideology as they instituted capitalist measures such as the NEP - and later, built a machine of suppression.