«The man of the system»

The article reviews the monograph by I.E. Barykina ("A typical St. Petersburg official" Count Dmitry Andreevich Tolstoy (1823-1889): The experience of the biography of the minister. M.; St. Petersburg, 2022). Noting the merits of the book by I.E. Barykina, the author of the review dwells on the problematic aspects of D.A. Tolstoy's biography. In particular, his role as an official in charge of the Academy of Sciences and Russian universities is considered, as well as a rare combination of the roles of a dignitary and a scientist in the bureaucratic environment of the hero of the reviewed essay.