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In 1682 Saltykov was made a boyar, and in 1689 was appointed governor of Astrakhan. In February 1698, he was given command of the Ryazan regiment, which was responsible for defending the cities on the Sea of Azov won from the Turks. In 1711 he was appointed head of the Supplies Office.
The decree which appointed Saltykov governor of Moscow in the summer of 1713 has not been found. He took up his post not earlier than 21 July, since prior to this date, senate decrees were addressed to the deputy governor, V.S. Yershov. Saltykov owed this appointment to senators Musin-Pushkin and Dolgorukov, and this was one of the reasons for subsequent sharp clashes with Yershov, who was in constant opposition to the Senate.
Saltykov's duties included: collecting taxes, sending army recruits on military exercises, maintaining in Moscow two regiments and the palaces of Tsarevna Natalya Alexeyevna and Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, supplying workmen, money and provisions for St Petersburg, then under construction, and making the necessary preparations for members of the royal family arriving in Moscow from St Petersburg. He was also in charge of the Moscow garrison and customs.
In December 1714, an imperial decree instructed Saltykov "to take charge of the manufacture of table-cloths, napkins and linen in Moscow". He also undertook repair work on the Varvarka City Gates, which had been damaged by fire, repairs to the fortifications of Kitai-Gorod, and the Kremlin bastions.
The appearance of Moscow gradually changed: stone houses were built in Kitai-Gorod and Byely Gorod, and bridges were constructed. In the summer of 1714, Saltykov made a tour of the gubernia in order to "register vacant land and occupied property".
In 1715 Yershov publicly accused Saltykov of embezzlement. However, as many of the relevant documents have not survived, it is now difficult to judge whether or not these accusations were justified. Nonetheless, Peter the Great, who was then engaged in investigating charges of misappropriation brought against Menshikov, was more than ever inclined to believe such reports. Saltykov was removed from his post, and investigations into the charge began. In the course of the inquiry he was vindicated, and in 1718 he himself took part in the trial of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich.
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