The Socialist (then, Communist) Ukrainian Party. The Borotbist [Fighters] movement arose within the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (UPSR), which acted from 1903–1904. In November 1917, at the 3rd Congress of the UPSR, the left-wing (Ignat Mikhailichenko, Vasily Blakitny, Aleksander Shumsky) separated and began to publish the “Borotba” (“Struggle”) newspaper. The Borotbists adhered to the program of the Socialist Revolutionaries and advocated the national and territorial autonomy of Ukraine. They criticized the policy of the Central Rada for an insufficiently radical solution to the agrarian issue. Under their influence, in January 1918, the Rada adopted a temporary law on land socialization.

After Hetman Pavel Skoropadsky came to power in Ukraine in April 1918, the socialist parties were banned and shifted to illegal operations. In May–June 1918, at the 4th Congress of the UPSR, a split occurred. The left-wing won the elections to the Central Committee, announced the re-registration of party members, and resumed the publication of the banned “Borotba” newspaper. From that moment, the UPSR (Borotbists) name was assigned to the left-wing. On June 3, the Borotbists approved their platform, in which they called for the continuation of the struggle for the social and national revolution. Ideologically, they drew closer to the Bolsheviks.