Prince Dolgorukov began his military service in 1828 as a non-commissioned officer with the Lifeguards of the Cavalry regiment. He took part in military action in the Caucasus against the mountain tribes in 1837-1838, and near Warsaw against the Polish insurgents in 1831.
Prince Dolgorukov governed Moscow for over twenty-five years, a period during which the residents of the city witnessed many beneficial changes in city management, culture and education.
In 1868 the first gas lighting appeared in the streets of Moscow, and in 1872 the first horse-drawn train service was opened. Work continued on artesian wells. In the 1860s work began on the construction of a railway line between Moscow and Smolensk.
In 1865 the Pyetrovskaya Agricultural Academy was opened, the largest specialised educational institution in Russia. In 1866, the Moscow Conservatory was opened, and in 1872 the first Higher Women's Courses were launched by Professor V.I. Gerye.
Moscow became host to numerous exhibitions: the Ethnographic Exhibition (1867), the Polytechnical Exhibition (1872), the All-Russia Industrial and Art Exhibition (1882), and the Horse-Breeding Exhibition (1866, 1869, 1872).
In 1880 a memorial statue to A.S. Pushkin was unveiled, and "Pushkin Days" were held in honour of the great poet. In 1883 Historical Museum named in honour of the Emperor Alexander III opened its doors to its first visitors.
In 1877, on the suggestion of Prince Dolgorukov, the Moscow nobility undertook the formation of a medical train to transport soldiers and officers wounded in the battles of the Russo-Turkish war.
The most notable result of Prince Dolgorukov's activities as governor-general of Moscow was the introduction of administrative reforms carried out within the framework of nationwide change: judicial reform (1864), resulting in the introduction of trial by jury; the local government reform (1865), and the municipal government reform (1872). The last was of particular importance for Moscow, since it gave the City Duma full control over municipal administration and property.
On 5 May 1881, the Instructions on the Moscow City Police were confirmed. These instructions radically altered the territorial-administrative division of the city and the system of police management, making it more flexible and mobile. In 1882 there was a one-day census of the population for the purpose of long-term analysis and social prognosis.
In recognition of the services of Prince Dolgorukov, ceremonies were held in the old capital to mark the tenth, fifteenth, and especially the twenty-fifth anniversaries of his governorship. In 1875, at the request of the City Duma, the Prince was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Moscow, and two years later, on the request of the residents of Novoslobodnaya Street, it was renamed Dolgorukovskaya. Only recently this name was restored to the toponymical map of the city.
Prince Dolgorukov retired at his own request and was buried in St Petersburg.
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