The People's Secretariat of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Народний секретеріат, romanized: Narodnyi sekreteriat) was the executive body of the Provisional Central Executive Committee of Soviets in Ukraine. It was formed in Kharkiv on December 30, 1917, as a form of the Soviet concept of dual power by the Russian and other local Bolsheviks thus forming the Ukrainian Soviet government and the opposition to the Central Rada and the General Secretariat of Ukraine. The government claimed the same jurisdiction over Ukraine as the General Secretariat. The Central Executive Committee of Ukraine that was elected by the First All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets canceled the declaration of independence, declared that Ukraine is in a federal subordination to the Russian SFSR, and called on to fight against the separatists, the Ukrainian Central Rada and the General Secretariat of Ukraine.

All secretaries were members of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and the newly organized RSDRP(b) - Social-Democracy of Ukraine (RSDRP(b)-SDU) that was established on December 3, 1917, at the regional party congress in Kiev. The new party was directed by its Chief Committee (GK SDU) that was headed by Yevgenia Bosch. The government was elected at the 1st All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets in Kharkiv.

At first no agreement was reached who would be heading the government, however it was decided that for the time being the chair will belong to the Secretary of Internal Affairs. The following Secretariat was located in Kharkiv and late January 1918 moved to Kyiv after the Red Army had captured the city.

On March 4, 1918, some changes took place in the cabinet as Bosch resigned in protest to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty and Mykola Skrypnyk was elected as the president of the People's Secretariat. Skrypnyk was also appointed the Secretary of Trade and Industry. The secretary of Internal Affairs was elected Yevhen Neronovych, Labor Affairs - Ivan Klymenko, Social Security - Georgiy Lapchinsky, Foreign Affairs - Volodymyr Zatonsky (temporarily). The Soviet government relocated to Yekaterinoslav and with the advance of the Central Powers to Taganrog in April 1918.

Later Ya. Martyanov (secretary of Postal and Telegraph) was added to the cabinet. On March 7, 1918, the Secretariat of Military Affairs was reformed into the triumvirate as the Petrograd sovnarkom and included Vladimir Antonov and Yevhen Neronovych. Antonov was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Ukrainian military.

Although the government had its own Secretariat of Internal Affairs the state security was conducted by the All-Russian Extraordinary Committee.

Both Bosch and Antonov took orders only from Lenin as the last one performed duties of People's Commissar of Russia and Ukraine. At the Second All Ukrainian Congress of Soviets (see Central Executive Committee of Ukraine) that took place in March 1918 with the advance of the Central Powers armed forces across Ukraine the People's Commissariat declared Soviet Ukraine independent from Soviet Russia. However, with the rapid advance of the forces of Central Rada and Central Powers, the Soviet government withdrew to Taganrog.

On April 4, 1918 Joseph Stalin telegraphed Volodymyr Zatonsky with the following: