Kozlov was born into a noble family of the Nizhni Novgorod gubernia. He was raised to the rank of major-general for excellent military service, and appointed to the retinue of Emperor Alexander II. In 1873 Kozlov took up the post of assistant to the governor of St Petersburg.
In 1878 Kozlov was appointed to the post of Moscow chief of police, but three years later he returned to St Petersburg as head of the Police Department. In 1882 he took up his former post in Moscow. In 1887 he was relieved of his duties at his own request and appointed an honorary guardian of the Moscow Board of Guardians.
In 1905 Kozlov returned to state service. He occupied the post of governor-general of Moscow for only three months. The Russo-Japanese war was in progress, and the main problem facing the governor was that of accommodating wounded soldiers returning from the Far East.
Although measures to ensure law and order in the city had been intensified, there were also events in no way connected with these "difficult times". For example, there were summer flower festivals for children in the Zoological Gardens, the blessing of a block of rent-free flats built on money provided by the Moscow land bank for the families of soldiers killed or injured in the war with Japan, etc.
Poor health obliged Kozlov to leave his post, and he went abroad for treatment. However, a dramatic end was awaiting him. Having temporarily replaced D.F. Trepov as chief of police and governor of St Petersburg on several occasions in the past, he did so again, and at a fatal moment. A shot intended for the head of the police department ended the life of Kozlov in 1906.
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