Which Rostov son is a hussar officer in War and Peace?

Nikolai Rostov is the Rostov son who serves as a hussar officer in War and Peace.

At the beginning of Tolstoy’s novel, Nikolai is a university student, but he gives up his studies to join the Russian military. He enters the army with youthful dreams of courage, honour and battlefield glory, serving as a hussar during Russia’s wars against Napoleon.

Nikolai’s military experience quickly becomes more complicated than his romantic expectations. He is wounded at the Battle of Schöngrabern and confronts the fear and confusion of combat. His later career and decisions show his strong loyalty to the Russian army, even as Tolstoy questions simplistic ideas about heroism.

The other options are close family or social connections: Petya is Nikolai’s younger brother and later becomes a soldier, while Anatole Kuragin and Boris Drubetskoy are separate characters. Petya’s military service comes later and does not make him the Rostov son identified as the hussar officer.