Sentence:  He and other Soviet leaders responsible for the document <WSD>were</WSD> proud of having brought forward some new formulas , such as the early replacement of the dictatorship of the proletariat by an `` All People 's State '' , and also of having laid down the lines for a much greater `` democratization '' of the whole hierarchy of Soviets , starting with the Supreme Soviet itself . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)