He served in the Soviet Army from 1967 after graduation from Minsk Suvorov Military School. In 1971, Maltsev graduated from Kiev Higher Military Command School. He served in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany as an infantry platoon commander. In 1972 he became a mechanized infantry company commander. In 1974 he was the commander of a motorized rifle battalion. In 1979 he graduated from Frunze Military Academy. In 1979 Maltsev served in the Far East Military District as a deputy commander of the infantry regiment and in 1980 as the commander of a motorized rifle regiment of the school, in 1982 as a Chief of Staff Motorized Rifle Division, and in 1986 as a Commander Infantry Division. From 1987 to 1990 he was a head of the district training center for junior professionals in Far Eastern Military District. In 1992 Maltsev graduated from the General Staff Academy in Moscow. After graduation from the Academy in 1992 he started serving in Armed Forces of Belarus. during his 1996 visit to Washington D.C. On July 10, 1992 he became first deputy commander of the 28th Combined Arms Army, after the reduction and on 7 April 1993 he was appointed commander of the 28th Army Corps. In August 1994 Maltsev became Chief of Staff - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus. On October 10, 1995 he was appointed Belarus Minister of Defense. On 1 November 1996 he was fired from the post of Minister of Defence of the Republic of Belarus "for misconduct discrediting the rank of officer ». In March 1997 on the decision of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS, he was appointed First Deputy Chief of Staff for Coordinating Military Cooperation of the CIS. On November 29, 2000 he was appointed Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council. From September 24, 2001 to 4 December 2009 he again served as the Minister of Defense. He succeeded Aleksandr Petrovich Chumakov. From December 4, 2009 to November 2, 2013 Leonid Maltsev served as State Secretary of Security Council. From 2014-2016, he served as the head of State Border Committee.
