In 1863, he drafted a secret decree, which later became known as the Valuev Circular that forbade the publication of religious, as well as educational books, along with those intended for the initial literacy instruction of the commoners, in the Ukrainian language.

[4] The Valuev Circular is considered one of the most vivid manifestations of the chauvinist policy of the Russian autocracy, aimed at strengthening Russification, national, spiritual and political oppression of the Ukrainian people.

In 1834 he was transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg and became acquainted with prominent Russian poets Aleksandr Pushkin and Pyotr Vyazemsky.

Once he was retired, he concentrated on writing and published four novels, essays on history of Christianity and a devotional calendar with his poetry prior to his death in 1890 in St. Petersburg.

Throughout most of his adult life, Valuev kept a diary, which was published after his death and has proved to be an important source of information on the inner circle of the Russian Empire in the 19th century.