Count Ivan Matveyevich Tolstoy (russian: Ива́н Матве́евич Толсто́й; ) was a Russian nobleman,

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, grand master of court ceremonies, and

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

Biography

Count I. M. Tolstoy worked in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

until 1860. For a brief interval, he served as Chief Steward of the Imperial Household and was grand master of court ceremonies. In 1863, he became

Feodor Pryanishnikov Feodor Ivanovich Pryanishnikov (russian: Фёдор Иванович Прянишников; 2 February 179328 April 1867) was a Russian actual privy councillor and postal administrator. At the height of his career (1857–1863), F. I. Pryanishn ...

's immediate successor as Head of the Postal Department. In 1865, he was appointed to the first Minister of Posts and

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

s. An attempt to merge the postal and telegraph services was not successful. Only in 1884, during the reign of Alexander III, were the two services amalgamated. This resulted in the depiction of

thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hell ...

s and

post horn The post horn (''also'' post-horn) is a valveless cylindrical brass instrument with a cupped mouthpiece. The instrument was used to signal the arrival or departure of a post rider or mail coach. It was used especially by postilions of the 18th ...

s on Russian postage stamps. Tolstoy died in 1867. He was replaced by General (1818–1893) as the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolstoy, Ivan Matveyevich 1806 births 1867 deaths Ivan Matveyevich Counts of the Russian Empire Government ministers of Russia Diplomats of the Russian Empire Senators of the Russian Empire Russian postmasters

Biography

See also

References