Count Rostopchin began his military service in 1775 as a corporal in the Lifeguards of the Preobrazhensky regiment. Under the command of A.V. Suvorov, he took part in the storming of Ochakov during the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1791. He owed his brilliant career to Emperor Paul I, who showered his favourite with medals, titles and appointments.
In February 1801, Rostopchin fell into disfavour and withdrew from state affairs for some time. In 1810 he returned to court service, and in May 1812, he was appointed commander-in-chief and was given the rank of infantry general.
Ironic, witty, gifted with a poetic imagination, the new commander-in-chief quickly became popular with Moscow society. He was the author of A Journey Through Prussia, memoirs entitled The Truth about the Moscow Fires, and the short story Oh, The French. The literary world of Europe gave due recognition to his autobiographical prose My Notes Written in Ten Minutes, or My Own Self Unadorned. While he was commander-in-chief of Moscow, Rostopchin's epistolatory gift assumed the original form of Friendly Messages from the Commander-in-Chief in Moscow to Its Residents, the so-called notices which, like theatre bills, were delivered to the houses of the residents of the city. In July-August 1812, such notices were issued almost every day. In them Rostopchin sought to allay anxiety and fear in the face of Napoleon's army by deliberately exaggerating victories won by Russian troops and mocking the French.
Rostopchin faced the difficult problem of ensuring food supplies for the population and troops in Moscow, and maintaining order in the city. In August 1812, the baking of bread and rusks was organised in private houses, and Rostopchin gave the City Duma the task of supervising the distribution of flour acquired on credit from shops and corn merchants, and of collecting the finished product. On 31 August, he ordered taverns to be closed and prohibited the sale of wine. In obedience to a decree issued by Alexander I, he ensured that state property, the treasures of the Armoury, Patriarchal Vestry and the Trinity and the Resurrection Monasteries, and also the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were removed in good time from Moscow. The Senate and Military Collegium were also evacuated within the set period. From 9 August onwards, wounded arriving in Moscow were accommodated in the Golovin Palace.
Rostopchin was also the chief of the popular armed forces of gubernias adjoining Moscow. He was the prototype of the commander-in-chief in War and Peace by Leo Tolstoi.
On 2 September, Rostopchin left Moscow for Vladimir, where he stayed while the French occupied the capital. On 10 October, Napoleon's troops left the city; on 11 October the Cossacks entered the city; followed by the commander-in-chief.
Towards the end of December 1812, all administrative offices were working once again. Moreover, there were also investigations regarding traitors who had served in the "Moscow municipality" set up by the French. Thanks to the efforts of Rostopchin, the Public Welfare Department included a section set up to provide assistance to those in need and the homeless.
In 1813, after considerable effort, Rostopchin also succeeded in setting up a Moscow Building Commission, whose purpose was to restore the architectural style and structural plan of the old capital. Repairs to residential buildings proceeded apace. By 1 January 1814, 4,806 stone and wooden houses had been either built or repaired after the burning of the city, a number amounting to more than half of the total number of residential buildings in the city on 1 June 1812. Lectures recommenced at Moscow University but were held in rented buildings, since the university building itself, destroyed in the fire, was rebuilt only in 1817-1819.
In June 1814, Rostopchin organised magnificent celebrations to mark the entry of the allied troops into Paris and the conclusion of a peace treaty. On 25 June, Alexander I arrived in Moscow. His attitude to the commander-in-chief was rather cool, and on 30 August he dismissed him from his post and appointed him a member of the State Council.
Rostopchin was buried in Moscow at the Pyatnitsky cemetery.
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