Kuznetsky postmaster called “formalist” by F. M. Dostoevsky

The article is devoted to the Kuznetsk post office and its head, postmaster P. F. Baigashev, (Baigishev), who was called “formalist” by Dostoevsky in his letter to A. E. Wrangel on August 23, 1855. The author discovered previously unknown facts about this official, his family and friends, his awards, career progression. This research work covers biographical information about a certain postal official, historical facts on life of the Postal Department, as well as everyday details of the Kuznetsk post office and the town of Kuznetsk in Tomsk province, as a whole. Some names of Kuznetsk postmen and archival documents are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The research is based on the study of documentary sources of the state archive of the Tomsk region (registers of births, reports of city chiefs, circulars, business letters, statements, lists, etc.) and collections of statistical data in the mid to late - 19th century., stored in the library collections of Tomsk and Moscow