 Pari gbolohun ti o tẹle: Nikitin darapọ mọ Red Army ni Oṣu Karun ọdun 1918 lakoko Ogun Abẹle Russia o si di olori ti sotnya ti 5th Soviet Cossack Regiment lori Tsaritsyn Front, lẹhinna di olori squadron ni 4th Peasant Cavalry Regiment ti Brigade labẹ aṣẹ ti Bulatnikov lati Oṣu Kẹwa ti ọdun yẹn. O di oluranlọwọ olori ti 22nd Voronezh Cavalry Regiment ti Ẹgbẹ Ẹgbẹ Ẹgbẹ Ẹṣin ọtọtọ Ẹgbẹ Ẹṣin kẹrin lati Oṣu Kẹta ti Ogun kẹwa ni Oṣu Kini ọdun 1919. Ẹka náà di ara Ẹgbẹ Ẹṣọ Ẹṣin ti Semyon Budyonny ní oṣù kẹfà ọdún 1919, tí wọn tú sí Ẹgbẹ Ẹṣọ Ẹṣin Àkọkọ ní oṣù kọkànlá ọdún náà. Pẹlu awọn eka, Nikitin ja lori awọn Guusu iwaju ni awọn Ijakadi ti Tsaritsyn ati awọn agbegbe ti awọn Don Host Oblast ni awọn : Iṣẹ Voronezh  Kastornoye, Iṣẹ Kharkov, Iṣẹ Donbass, Iṣẹ Rostov  Novocherkassk, Iṣẹ North Caucasus, ati Ogun ti Yegorlykskaya. 