Already since November, Bolsheviks made several attempts to seize power in Ukraine (see Kiev Bolshevik Uprising). Following another failed uprising in Kyiv, on December 17 the Russian Bolshevik Government (Sovnarkom) announced ultimatum to the Ukrainian Central Council, which the Central Council rejected and then the Bolshevik Troops began offensive in Ukraine. Convened in Kyiv on December 17 the Congress of Soviets of Peasants, Soldiers, and Workers Deputies expressed "his full confidence and his strong support for the Ukrainian Central Council". The Bolsheviks' Deputies were forced to move to Kharkiv where on December 25 they created an alternative government to the Central Council and General Secretariat, called the People's Secretariat. At the same time, the Central Council sent its delegation to the Peace Conference with the Central Powers in Brest-Litovsk.
