Koltsov participated in the Russian Revolution of 1917, became a member of the Bolshevik Party in 1918 and took part in the Russian Civil War. A convinced communist, he soon became a key figure of the Soviet intellectual elite and arguably the most famous journalist in the Soviet Union, chiefly because of his well-written satirical essays and articles in which he criticised bureaucracy and other negative phenomena in the Soviet Union.
Koltsov was involved in the Russian Revolution of 1917, joined the Bolshevik Party in 1918, and participated in the Russian Civil War. As a committed communist, he rose to prominence as a prominent intellectual figure in the Soviet Union, becoming arguably its most famous journalist due to his satirical writing that critiqued bureaucratic practices and other issues within the Soviet system.