Shortly afterwards however he was mobilized as a conscript, designated to serve as military surgeon and sent straight to Sevastopol, where the Crimean War was in full swing.

There Botkin worked under the guidance of Nikolay Pirogov, widely recognized as a pioneer of field surgery (i.e. the treatment of wounded combatants on the spot and in spite of ongoing hostilities as the situation may warrant).

He subsequently went abroad, seeking to improve his skills and was able to gain valuable professional experience working at some of the most prestigious institutions on the continent.

In 1886, Botkin headed the National Public Health Commission, created to investigate the unusually high mortality rates prevalent in Russia, both in times of peace and war.

Sergey Petrovich Botkin died on 12 December 1889, in Menton, France, from liver disease, which was complicated by a heart ailment.