Count Ivan Petrovich Saltykov was the grandson of S.A. Saltykov, governor-general of Moscow, and the son of fieldmarshal-general Saltykov, commander-in-chief of Moscow.
At the age of fifteen, Count Saltykov began military service with the guards. During the Seven Years' War he fought in the battles of Zorndorf, Elbag and Koenigsberg, displaying courage and daring. For his military services during the Russo-Turkish war of 1768-1774 he was promoted to general-in-chief and given the highest decorations of the empire. During the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1791 he commanded a division and was awarded the order of St Vladimir, First Class, for his part in the battle of Khotin in 1789. In January of the following year he was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, which then won a number of victories against Swedish troops attempting to invade Russia.
Count Saltykov acquired the necessary administrative experience as governor-general of the Vladimir and Kostroma gubernias from 1784 to 1787, and at the end of 1796 he was appointed governor of Kiev.
The Moscow period in the career of Count Saltykov was marked by numerous events which together constituted a separate chapter of Russian history. He himself felt the full force of all the changes in the administrative system of the capital during the reign of Paul I and the accession of Emperor Alexander I.
On 17 January 1799, the Decree of the Capital City of Moscow was issued which abolished the Duma and declared the Department of the Supply Commission of the Capital City of Moscow to be the supreme city authority. In the view of the legislator, this department had "as the object of its exercise of authority everything that pertained only to the improvement of the city and well-being of its residents". The name of the new administrative organ became part of the designation of the post of Ivan Petrovich Saltykov.
Alexander I revived the old administrative organs. On 2 April 1801, the Duma renewed its activity, and on 12 February 1802, the police came once more under the control of the Propriety Board. On 19 March of that same year, the Committee for Leveling City Taxes was established, its function being to regulate and balance the city budget and its sources of finance.
The above-named committee, which dealt with matters of city improvement, the maintenance of bridges, street lighting and construction work, gradually acquired total control over municipal property, which it retained until 1813, when the Commission for Construction Work in Moscow was established.
Over the seven years during which fieldmarshal-general Saltykov was head of the city, its residents witnessed many changes in the life of the capital.
At the end of 1797, repair work began on the Zemlyanoi Rampart around the Kremlin and Kitai-Gorod, and the main military hospital was under construction in Lefortovo.
The plan for Byely Gorod, drawn up in 1798, exerted a favourable influence on the architectural panorama of the city. In 1802, work on the city aqueduct was renewed after being interrupted in 1787 by the Russo-Turkish war. That same year, on the initiative of Saltykov, work began on a stone bridge over the Yauza.
The elaboration of "facade plans of Moscow"—an atlas composed of tables illustrating the districts and streets of the city in perspective "with their best buildings"—was dictated by a desire to preserve the beauty of Moscow architecture. However, the work done between 1800 and 1804 under the architect M.F. Kazakov remained unfinished due to the fears of Alexander I that it would involve excessive expenditure.
The stone building housing the Pavlovsky Hospital near the Danilovsky Monastery was designed by Kazakov and dates to 1802. In 1802-1803 the Catherine Institute for Daughters of the Nobility opened its doors, as did also Dower House, located in a building on the corner of Lefortovskaya Street and Proyezzhy Lane.
Poor health obliged Count Saltykov to tender his resignation.
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