Пажеский корпус
Nikolai graduated from the Page Corps and later served in the Caucasus under Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov. During the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878 he commanded a division that fought at the final Battle of Shipka Pass. In 1881 he was appointed the ataman of the Don Cossack Voisko, the oldest and largest of the Cossack Hosts. In 1898 he became a member of the State Council of Imperial Russia.