Lenin and the Bolsheviks took power in a bloodless revolution over the provincial government in October 1917. The main ideology of the Russian Bolshevik party or the social democratic party was that the proletariat were going to ascend to power via revolution. Although the bolsheviks were primarily focused on class, the issue of nationality that had arisen during the early 20th century had to be addressed by their political platform. Lenin, in conjunction with his aid Stalin, elaborated that the Bolshevik party believed any nationality within the Russian empire had the right to autonomy up until and including secession, as long as that decision was made by the proletariat of that nationality. Immediately, however, the political elite in Kyiv declared Ukrainian statehood, and denounced the political authority of the bolsheviks.
