He graduated from the Imperial Alexander Lyceum in 1871 and entered the Ministry of the Interior, where he was appointed to the Łomża Governorate (Congress Poland).

He became vice-governor of Archangelsk (1879); vice-director of the Economics Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1884); Governor of the guberniyas of Arkhangelsk (1885), Kaluga (1893), and Tver (1897).

The tsar refused, but Pavel Ignatieff, Alexander Makarov and Dmitry Shuvayev were replaced; Nikolai Dobrovolsky was appointed.

On 26 February, the tsar ordered the army to suppress the rioting by force, but troops began to mutiny, joined the protesters, and demanded a new constitutional government.

[6] Golitsyn used a (signed,[7] but not yet dated ukaze which had been given to Trepov) declaring that his majesty had decided to interrupt the Imperial Duma until 1 April, leaving it with no legal authority to act.

The Council of Ministers met the evening of 27 February 1917 and submitted its resignation to the emperor, asking Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich to temporarily act as regent, which he refused.

[8] Golitsyn was arrested by police and transferred to the Peter and Paul Fortress for interrogation, where he was starved and tortured, then released on 13 March.

[9] After the assumption of power by the Bolsheviks, Golitsyn was allowed to leave but decided to stay in Russia, earning his living by repairing shoes in Moscow or Petrograd and guarding vegetable gardens in Rybinsk.