In 1789, he became a lieutenant colonel in the Ekaterinoslav Grenadier Regiment and participated in the Russo-Turkish War; in 1792-1794, he served in the Russo-Polish War and was wounded in the stomach at Praga, across the river from Warsaw. In 1797 he was promoted to colonel and in 1798 to major general, but he was disgraced by Paul I and discharged from the army in 1798.