Leo Tolstoy’s military rank when he left the Russian army in 1856 was lieutenant.
Tolstoy entered military service in the Caucasus in 1851 and later served during the Crimean War. He was present during the defense of Sevastopol, an experience that influenced his Sevastopol Sketches and strengthened his reputation as a writer.
He left the army in 1856, after the end of the Crimean War, with the rank of lieutenant. His military career lasted several years but did not become his permanent profession. The experiences exposed him to soldiers from different social backgrounds and gave him firsthand knowledge of combat, discipline, and military bureaucracy.
Tolstoy’s later pacifist and nonviolent ideas are sometimes projected backward onto this period. In the 1850s, however, he was an active young officer and an ambitious emerging author. His military memories remained important source material throughout his literary career.