In 1866–1877, he headed the Maritime Museum, brought it to a brilliant state, was engaged in the creation of naval expositions at various Russian and international exhibitions.

However, this was followed by a scandal: Lieutenant Zinovy Rozhestvensky published an article in which he described the battle as a "shameful flight" and accused Nikolai Baranov of exaggerating the merits of Vesta.

[1] In July 1878, a trial of this episode was scheduled, but a year later the Naval Ministry terminated the process against Rozhestvensky, suggesting that Baranov sue the lieutenant for civil insult.

The offended captain asked for resignation, but he was refused, after which he submitted a memorandum to General Admiral Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, in which he listed all the offenses inflicted on him, including the unpaid prize money for the seizure of the Mersina.

In 1880, at the request of Mikhail Loris–Melikov, Captain 1st Rank Nikolai Baranov was pardoned and transferred to the police, "with the renaming of a colonel", and sent abroad to organize supervision of Russian revolutionaries.

After the assassination of Emperor Alexander II, he took up the post of Saint Petersburg Mayor in March–August 1881, to fight the terror of "Narodnaya Volya".

His candidacy to Alexander III was advised by the Chief Prosecutor Konstantin Pobedonostsev, who wrote: I dare to remind Your Majesty about Baranov.

[4]A man with an iron will in matters to which he attached importance to the state, Baranov in his private life was a gentle and extremely kind person.

He insisted that the newspapers print accurate information about the course of the epidemic at a time when these figures were hidden in other cities: Baranov himself believed and knew how to convince others that truth saves, and lies and deception always only ruin.

Some contemporaries considered him a tyrant, an intriguer, a charlatan, but others were convinced that Baranov... With his amazing activity, tireless work and reasonable manner of action, he showed the whole of Russia a clear example of what an administrator who really stands at the height of his appointment and is constantly guarding the interests of the government and society can create.He died on July 30, 1901, abroad, was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery[5] in Saint Petersburg; the grave is lost.