Piotr Seifman (1823-1903) was one of the most eminent representatives of Polish veterinary science. His outstanding activity as a reformer of veterinary training led the Russian Ministry of Public Education to entrust him with the task of organizing a tertiary-level veterinary school at Kazan. He became director of the school that he had organized, and held the post from 1874 to 1880. He was later asked by the Austrian to organize the Veterinary Academy at Lwow (Lemberg). Discussed in the article are Seifman's achievements in organizational work and in scientific research, which were of great importance for the shaping of the Kazan Veterinary Institute in the first years of its existence.