In Kirsanov he organised and became one of the leaders of the Tambov Rebellion against the Bolshevik regime. On 24 June 1922, cornered by a Cheka detachment near the village of Shybriay near Borisoglebsk, he was killed in a firefight along with his brother, Dmitriy. Documents state that he fought to the end, never laying down his weapon. Antonov was buried in Tambov, along with the other members of his group and his brother Dmitriy, near the walls of the monastery Kazan Mother of God on the fifth day after he perished.