 During World War I, Grand Duke Kirill was appointed Commander of the Naval Depot of the Guards in 1915 and in 1916, he achieved the rank of rear Admiral in the Imperial Navy.During the February Revolution of 1917, Kirill marched to the Tauride Palace at the head of the Naval Guards swearing allegiance to the Russian Provisional Government.During the rule of the provisional governmental in the summer 1917, Kirill escaped to Finland where his wife gave birth to the couple's only son.