After the White Czechs took Yekaterinburg, eight days after the execution of the royal family, Medvedev along with the remnants of the Red Army detachments retreated to Perm, and in the winter of 1918 participated in the defense of the city. By orders of his commanders, he was supposed to blow up the bridge over the Kama River while retreating, but did not have time and was captured by the Whites as a prisoner of war.