Most official Communist Party (CP) chapters in the west did in fact have some communication with Russia, and considered themselves ideologically allied with the Bolsheviks. Their activities in the '20's consisted largely of union organizing (unions were still illegal then), and advocating for government-run services such as health care, public transportation, etc. They also advocated violent overthrow of Capitalist governments, but chapters varied in how they thought this would come about. Many were not particularly violent, but thought "historical inevitability" would take care of Capitalism for them. Some were actively revolutionary, but had so little support in the west they never really got very far.
There were a number of other groups with similar ideas at this time, including the Wobblies, the anarchists, the socialists, etc. In general, the communists hated them, they hated the communists, and they all hated each other. There were some exceptions to this general rule.
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