Following the October Coup of 1917 and the turmoil of the ensuing wars the city of Kharkiv changed hands several times. From June to December 1919 Kharkiv was held by Denikin's White Army (Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR)). The White regiments were replenished with a significant number of volunteers in the city. In his memoirs, Sergei Pushkarev, the nephew of Professor Shatilov, writes that, when he joined the White Army as a volunteer, his entire family including his uncle supported this decision.