In Russia, before the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), the term "intelligentsiya" described the status class of educated people whose cultural capital (schooling, education, enlightenment) allowed them to assume practical political leadership. In practice, the status and social function of the intelligentsia varied by society. In Eastern Europe, intellectuals were deprived of political influence and access to the effective levers of economic development; the intelligentsia were at the functional periphery of their societies. In contrast, in Western Europe, especially in Germany and Great Britain, the "Bildungsbürgertum" (cultured bourgeoisie) and the British "professions" had defined roles as public intellectuals in their societies.