ethnographer Public figure archeographer
He graduated from the philological department of Kazan University
In Voronezh around Vtorov a literary and historical-ethnographic circle was formed, one of whose participants was Ivan Savich Nikitin. The name of Vtorov is associated with the beginning of the activities of the Provincial Statistical Committee, established in 1835. Vtorov was the editor-compiler of the first Agendum of the Voronezh Province (1856), published by the Provincial Statistical Committee; he prepared reference and statistical sections, as well as the “Voronezh Chronicle”. In 1849 Vtorov discovered the documents of the XVII-XVIII centuries (the so-called "Vtorov’s acts") relating to the history of the local land. The publication of documents was carried on in the “Voronezh Provincial Records”. Together with K.O. Aleksandrov-Dolnik prepared two collections of documents (Voronezh, 1850, 1852, 2nd edition, Voronezh, 1851-1853, books 1-3). Together with the artist S.P. Pavlov compiled an album of peasant types and costumes of the Voronezh province with a historical and ethnographic sketch and description of the drawings. The album was awarded with the gold medal of the Russian Geographical Society (1859) and was partially published in the "Russian Artistic Leaflet" (1861-1862).
The activities of Vtorov and members of his circle largely determined the development of Voronezh local lore in the second half of the 19th century.
In 1853 he compiled a "Brief Description of the Exhibition of Rural Works," which presents historical, statistical and economic information on the industrial development of the region (published in the “Journal of the Ministry of State Property”).
In 1857 Vtorov stated the basic principles of the organization of the provincial museum, which were partially taken into account when in the 1894 the museum was created.
