In the aftermath of the October Revolution, politicians and army officers hostile to the Bolsheviks gravitated to the Don Cossack Host after its ataman, General Aleksey Kaledin, publicly offered sanctuary to opponents of the Soviet regime. Among those seeking refuge in the Don was the former chief of staff of the tsarist army, General Mikhail Alekseyev, who immediately began organizing a military unit to oppose both the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers. Alekseyev was soon joined by other prominent tsarist generals, including the charismatic Lavr Kornilov. The two men, along with Kaledin, assumed top roles in the anticommunist White movement taking shape in the Don region during the winter of 1917 – 18.