In August 1892 he was assigned as a lieutenant to the Turkestan Military District, where he led several exploration missions in Eastern Turkestan, Afghanistan and Persia, learned several Central Asian languages, and wrote detailed reports about his observations.
Pada Agustus 1892, ia diangkat menjadi letnan pada Distrik Militer Turkestan, dimana ia memimpin beberapa misi penjelajahan ke Turkestan Timur, Afghanistan dan Persia, mempelajari beberapa bahasa Asia Tengah, dan menulis laporan-laporan mendetail tentang pengamatannya.