 In 1886, Vsevolozhsky initiated two major reforms for the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, namely the relocation of the Imperial Ballet and Opera from the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (deemed unsafe by 1886) to the Mariinsky Theatre, and the abolition of the post of "First Imperial Ballet Composer", a post previously held by such composers as Léon Minkus and Cesare Pugni.Alexandre Benois and Roland John Wiley credit him with the revival of ballet as a serious art form in Russia.Vsevolozhsky's family was from Ryurik, with the Smolensk princes included among his illustrious ancestors.