Having returned to France in the early 1920s following Georgia's annexation by the Soviet Union and installation of a Bolshevik regime in the country, he lived in Nice and worked as a translator.

[5] Murat began his military career in the French Army in 1891, and attended the Saumur Cavalry School.

Laws passed in France in the early 1900s meant that, as a member of a former ruling house, his opportunities for progression within the French Army became limited and he resigned his commission.

[9][3] Murat left France and joined the Imperial Russian Army, where he was commissioned as lieutenant with the 2nd Dagestan Cavalry Regiment.

[13][3] In 1912, Murat resigned from the Russian Army to command a force of volunteers and mercenaries under the flag of Bulgaria during the First Balkan War.

Fighting in the Carpathians, he suffered severe frostbite to his legs, that ultimately resulted in double amputation some years later.