In 1634, Ivan Nikitich was appointed regiment voyevoda in Borovsk and a year later relocated to Tula to guard the city from the Crimean Tatars and Nogais, where he would remain until 1637.
In 1648, the government had to deal with the Salt Riot, which probably influenced the tsar’s decision to send for Khovansky and summon him back to Moscow.
Curiously, upon his return to the capital, Ivan Khovansky was granted the title of a boyar, by-passing the rank of okolnichy.
The tsar was unhappy with such deliberation, but Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod intervened on the part of Khovansky saying it was him who had advised Ivan Nikitich to conduct an unhasty search for the ringleaders in order to avoid armed confrontation.
For his achievements, Ivan Nikitich Khovansky was rewarded with a gilded velvet fur coat, a goblet, and salary raise.