The White movement was a monarchist and anti-communist movement which was formed in the former Russian Empire in 1917 in response to the Bolsheviks' seizure of power during the Russian Revolution. The White Army was led by former tsarist officers such as Anton Denikin, Nikolai Yudenich, Pyotr Wrangel, and Alexander Kolchak, and the army had the support of cossacks from the Kuban and Don regions in addition to the middle and upper classes of society. 2,400,000 people fought for the White Army during the Russian Civil War of 1917-1923, and the White Army was crushed by the communist Red Army after years of determined resistance. The White movement would survive as former White supporters went into exile in other countries, but the Soviet Union would remain in power until 1991.