A commissioned officer of the Imperial Russian Naval Academy, Mouravieff rose through the ranks, in particular from 1909 to 1912 when he served aboard the Russian cruiser Aurora. The Aurora won fame in 1917, giving the signal for the start of the Bolshevik Revolution. During the First World War, he served in the Black Sea Fleet. Promoted to lieutenant commander in 1916, he commanded a flotilla of fast torpedo boats of which he had been the designer and the promoter.