As an officer in the Imperial Russian service, he took part in the Russo-Turkish, Crimean, and Caucasus wars, and retired with the rank of General of the Infantry.

He was also a literature enthusiast and himself a poet of some talent, writing in the spirit of Georgian Romanticism under the pen name of Kolkhideli (კოლხიდელი, "Colchian").

She followed her husband to Georgia, where she became involved in many charities, earning the Small Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine from Alexander II of Russia during his visit to Kutaisi in 1861.

Made major-general in 1854, he commanded the Mingrelian and Gurian militias, composed of local irregulars, against the Ottoman army in 1855 and 1856, during the Crimean War.

Grigol Dadiani's relations with Princess Ekaterina were strained and he was accused by her sympathizers of political intrigues and stocking unrest among the Mingrelian peasants.

A peasants revolt in 1857 seriously destabilized Mingrelia, leading to the Russian government to impose its direct administration and, finally, formally abolish princely rule in 1867.