 In 1896, Alexander Alexandrovich Polovtsov Jr., special assignment officer of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Empire, arrived in Tashkent from St. Petersburg on a mission to study the status of resettlement in Central Asia and the Caucasus.On the recommendation of an expert on the Turkestan Territory, Vladimir Nalivkin, Andreev became Polovtsov's secretary.Andreev accompanied Polovtsov to the Transcaspian and Transcaucasus regions and became a permanent companion and employee of Polovtsov, a person who was not devoid of scientific interests and propensity for patronage.