Count Dmitry Nikolaevich Tolstoy, born on March 12, 1806, and died on March 14, 1884, was a prominent statesman, writer, archaeologist, and church historian from the Tolstoy family. He was also a secret advisor and used the pseudonym Znamensky, in honor of his ancestral estate. In 1856 and 1861, he held the positions of governor in the Ryazan, Kaluga, and Voronezh provinces.

Dmitry Nikolaevich was born in the village of Znamenskoye in the Danilov district of Ryazan province, to Count Nikolai Fedorovich Tolstoy and Natalia Andreyevna, née Princess Lvova. After receiving a home education, he began his career in 1826 in Moscow, in the petitions committee established on the occasion of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas I. After the committee was closed, Tolstoy continued his service in the petitions commission in St. Petersburg, where he worked for over ten years.

In 1831, Tolstoy participated in suppressing the Polish uprising and the storming of Warsaw, serving as the head of the chancellery under Count Stroganov. From 1839 to 1844, he was the director of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, and then worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the office of the Governor-General of Riga.

From 1847, Tolstoy carried out special assignments under the Minister of Internal Affairs, conducting audits across Russia. In 1852, he participated in the commission to establish the burial site of Dmitry Pozharsky. In 1853, he became the vice-director of the economic department, and from 1854, the vice-director of the police department.

In 1856, Tolstoy was appointed acting governor of Ryazan province, then became the civil governor of Kaluga, and from 1858 to 1861 served as the governor of Voronezh. In 1861, he was dismissed from service and settled in the countryside, but soon became the director of the police department. In 1863, Tolstoy finally retired, receiving 4,000 desyatinas of land in Samara province from the emperor.

In retirement, Tolstoy headed the Society of History and Antiquities of Russia at Moscow University, wrote memoirs, and was acquainted with A. S. Pushkin. In 1878, he was allowed to add the name of his estate to his surname, becoming Count Tolstoy-Znamensky. He spent his last years in Sergiev Posad and died there at the age of 78. Dmitry Nikolaevich was unmarried and had no children.