Count Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy (1858, 1916) was an outstanding Russian statesman, archaeologist, and numismatist. In 1905 and 1906, he served as the Minister of Education of the Russian Empire, and in 1912 and 1916, he was the mayor of St. Petersburg-Petrograd. Since 1893, Tolstoy served as the vice-president of the Academy of Arts, and from 1911, he headed the Russian Society of Numismatics. He was also the chairman of the Russian Society for the Study of Jewish Life. His brother was art historian D. I. Tolstoy, and his son was academician I. I. Tolstoy.

Ivan Ivanovich was born on May 18 (30), 1858, in the town of Luga in the St. Petersburg province. His father, Count Ivan Matveevich Tolstoy, was the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. Ivan Ivanovich was baptized on June 4, 1858, in the Tsarskoye Selo court church, with his godparents being his brother Matvey Tolstoy and his aunt Ekaterina Matveevna Tolstaya.

Tolstoy graduated from the St. Petersburg Third Gymnasium in 1876 and from the law faculty of the Imperial St. Petersburg University in 1880. From 1881, he worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, dealing with resettlement issues.

Since 1886, Tolstoy was a member of the Imperial Archaeological Commission. In 1889, he was appointed conference secretary of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and in 1893, he became its vice-president. Tolstoy actively participated in the development of a new charter for the Academy and its transformation, as well as contributing to the establishment of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. From 1885 to 1890, he was the secretary of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society, and from 1899, he served as the assistant chairman of this society. Since 1900, he headed the Russian Society of Printing and from 1905 was an honorary member of the Academy of Arts.

Since 1898, Tolstoy was a court chamberlain, and since 1897, an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

From November 1905 to April 1906, he held the position of Minister of Education. In this role, Tolstoy sought to provide freedom for public and private initiatives in secondary education. He advocated for flexibility in curricula and types of schools, proposing to establish only a minimal level of education. For non-Russian populations, it was proposed that all subjects be taught in their native language, except for Russian language, literature, history, and geography of Russia, provided that there would be no special rights for students and teachers in such schools. Tolstoy expanded the powers of pedagogical councils, included representatives of local authorities in their composition, and allowed the creation of parent committees.

In 1905, Tolstoy raised the issue of abolishing restrictions for Jews when entering higher educational institutions. He pointed out that these restrictions were not legislatively introduced but were based on circulars, and proposed their abolition. Although the proposal was supported by the majority, no higher sanction followed. Nevertheless, Tolstoy achieved significant concessions for Jews, which his successor Peter Kaufman continued. In 1907, Tolstoy, together with Yuliy Hessen, published a book arguing that restrictions for Jews were not in the interests of the state. After his death in 1917, another book on this topic was published.

Tolstoy was actively involved in public affairs. In 1912, he unsuccessfully ran for the State Duma but was soon elected to the St. Petersburg City Duma and became the mayor. He also headed the Russian Society for the Study of Jewish Life.

In January 1916, Tolstoy resigned due to health reasons and passed away on May 20 (June 2), 1916, at the estate of Countess Panina in Gaspra. He was buried at the Nikolsky Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Petrograd.

Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy left behind memoirs and a diary, in which he described imperial dignitaries, public figures, artists, and scholars he was acquainted with. These records, relating to the last ten years of his life, are close in spirit to the memoirs of S. Yu. Witte and reflect Tolstoy's progressive views on many aspects of his time.