He was a natural son of a wealthy nobleman, married to the aunt of Count
Pavel Stroganov. This relationship secured for him a place in the
Privy Committee that outlined the
Government reform of Alexander I. He drafted a constitution for the Russian empire that mirrored the constitution suggested by
Speransky; unlike Speransky's, Novosiltsev's constitutional suggestion had been accepted by Alexander but the plan was abandoned after Alexander's death in 1825. In 1804 to 1805, Sweden, Russia, Britain, Austria,
Prussia and the
Kingdom of Naples planned to form a coalition against
Bonaparte's France. Alexander I sent Novosiltsev to mediate in the negotiations between England and France after Napoleon made a peace offering to England when he learned of the
anti-French coalition. Before leaving Berlin, Novosiltsev learned that Bonaparte had taken both
Genoa and
Lucca, and notified Alexander, ending the mediation towards peace in 1805. From 1813 to 1815 he governed the finances of the occupied
Duchy of Warsaw and between 1815 and 1830 he served in the government of the
Congress Kingdom of Poland. In the Kingdom of Poland, he was the tsar's commissar at the
Council of State. He was very influential, widely feared, and one of the
de facto rulers of the country. He was responsible for arrests of student activists in the
Philomaths and
Filaret Association in 1823. From 1824, he was curator of the
Vilna Educational District. He was a supporter of
Russification policies, persecuted many pro-Polish organizations and activists, and was detested by contemporary Polish society. He concluded his career as the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Nicholas I made him a count in 1835. == In popular culture ==