He was a member of a Rurikid princely Obolensky family, whose ancestors once ruled one of the Upper Principalities.

His predecessor General Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov was assassinated in June 1904.

[2][failed verification] He received a telegram from an unknown sender, saying: "We are expecting you in the near future -stop- The weather here is +200°C -stop- Bobrikov".

[4] His term of office saw revolutionary turmoil in both Russia and the Grand Duchy of Finland.

[2][failed verification] Knyaz Obolensky was murdered by revolutionaries in St. Petersburg on 28 February 1910.