Buzdugan volunteered as an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, engaged in the Romanian theater of war. At some point during the events of the Russian Revolution, he and his Bessarabian colleague, Gherman Pântea, rallied with the revolutionary far-left, joining the Socialist Revolutionary Party; according to other sources, they may have even been involved with the Bolsheviks. By the time of the February Revolution, Buzdugan had entered the Moldavian Soldiers' Organization in Odessa, and took up the task of propaganda work among the Bessarabian units of the Imperial Russian Army. He was still active as a writer, networking with his colleagues from Western Moldavia. By February 1917, he had joined the literary circle "Academia Bârlădeană", becoming close friends with George Tutoveanu and Alexandru Vlahuță. While on the front lines, he helped save the life of the Romanian officer and fellow writer Camil Petrescu.