In 1794 he was prominent in the Siege of Warsaw and then promoted to colonel. On 24 October 1794 he commanded two battalions in the Battle of Praga. On return, Empress Catherine II awarded Tolstoy the Order of St. George of the 3rd degree with her own hand and appointed him the chief of the Pskov Dragoon regiment. On 9 November 1797 he obtained the rank of major general with appointment the chief of the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon regiment and in the next year received the Order of St. Anna of the 1st degree.