When the Bolsheviks seized power in November, there was no Bolshevik presence in the Kirsanov, where the Duma was dominated by liberals and moderate Socialists and the Soviet by Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. There was a gradual transfer of power from the Duma to the Soviet. The Bolshevik presence in Kirsanov began to grow as Bolshevik-supporting soldiers returned from World War I, and the Bolshevik regime began to impose its control on the countryside. A branch of the Cheka was founded in Kirsanov in April 1918. Non-Bolshevik officials like Antonov were placed under pressure to align themselves with the regime or leave their posts. It is known that Antonov eventually joined the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who were initially aligned with the Bolshevik regime, however he had little involvement in their party implying this was probably a pragmatic decision to keep his position.