Golitsyn was born in Porechye, a village in the Moscow Governorate into the noble Golitsyn family, but passed his childhood in the Dorogobuzhsky District. He was a graduate of the Imperial Alexander Lyceum in 1871 and entered the Ministry of the Interior and appointed in Łomża Governorate (Congress Poland). He became vice-governor of Archangelsk (1879); vice-director of the Economic Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1884); Governor of the guberniyas of Arkhangelsk (1885), Kaluga (1893), and Tver (1897). He was appointed Senator in 1903. As a plenipotentiary of the Red Cross in Turgay and Uralskaya Oblasts and Saratov Governorate he organized help to the famine-stricken areas (1907-1908). He was member of the State Council (1912) and chairman of the commission to render assistance to the Russian prisoners of war abroad (1915). His advanced years led him to regularly fall asleep during State Council meetings. He was a deputy chairman of one of Empress Alexandra\'s charity commissions.\n', '

A hesitating prince Golitsyn did not want to succeed prime minister Alexander Trepov, insisted on the resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Protopopov and begged Tsar Nicholas II to cancel his appointment, citing his lack of preparation for the role of prime minister. The tsar refused, but Pavel Ignatieff, Alexander Makarov and Dmitry Shuvayev were replaced.\n', '

During the February Revolution, the government had difficulties in suppressing the riots. Two rival institutions, the Duma and the Petrograd Soviet, competed for power. On 11 March [O.S. 26 February], the Tsar ordered the army to suppress the rioting by force, but troops began to mutiny and join the protesters and demanded a new constitutional government. The meeting of the Duma was prorogued by the Tsar, although Golitsyn opposed its dissolution. A private body of Duma members was formed to help restore order. "On the evening of 27 February (March 12 (N.S.) the Council of Ministers of Russia held its last meeting in the Marinsky Palace and formally submitted its resignation to the Tsar. The Provisional Committee of the State Duma ordered the arrest of all the ex-ministers and senior officials" The next day Golitsyn was transferred to the Peter and Paul Fortress for interrogation. Georgy Lvov formed a new government on 2 March.\n', '

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