Tolstoy caused much controversy with his scathing remarks aimed at contemporary government officials (Alexander Timashev, Vladimir Butkov, Ivan Veillot) whom he – a supporter of the monarch – considered real enemies of the State. He also criticized the activities of the 3rd Department, and in the wake of the Polish uprising was one of the very few people in the Court to openly denounce Muravyov the Hangman's draconian methods of political repression.