WITTE Sergei Yulievich, count (1905), Russian statesman, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1893), actual Privy Councilor (1899). Nobleman. He graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University in Odessa (1870) with a PhD in Mathematics. Having abandoned his teaching career, in 1870 he entered service at the state-owned Odessa Railway (the road began operating in 1877), which in 1878 became part of the joint stock company Southwestern Railways (since 1886 Witte has been its manager). He deserved the highest gratitude for facilitating the organization of the rapid transfer of troops and cargo to the theater of military operations during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78. He initiated the scientific development of railway tariffs; Witte’s book “Principles of railway tariffs for the transportation of goods” (1883) made him an authority in this field. Participated in the work of the Special High Commission for the study of railway business in Russia, one of the main drafters of the General Charter of Russian Railways (adopted in 1885). On the initiative of the Minister of Finance I. A. Vyshnegradsky (patronized Witte), in 1889 he was appointed director of the Department of Railway Affairs and chairman of the Tariff Committee of the Ministry of Finance.

The formation of Witte’s political views in his youth was influenced by his uncle, the Slavophile publicist R. A. Fadeev. For quite a long time, Witte's public position was characterized by pronounced conservatism. After the assassination of Emperor Alexander II by members of the People's Will organization, Witte was one of the initiators of the creation of the “Holy Squad” (1881) - a monarchist conspiratorial organization that, in the fight against revolutionaries, was supposed to adopt their own terrorist methods (Witte himself actively participated in it did not participate in activities). Witte emphasized that “if there were no unlimited autocracy, there would be no great Russian empire.” In a note to Emperor Nicholas II, submitted in connection with the project to introduce zemstvos in the western provinces (1899), Witte argued that zemstvos could lead to a constitution, which in Russia “with its multilingualism and diversity ... is inapplicable without the disintegration of the state regime.” Witte's economic views evolved from Slavophile ideas about Russia's special path to recognition in the late 1880s of the inevitability of the country's capitalist development following the example of the industrial West. Witte became a follower of the German economist F. List, whose theory he propagated in the book “National Economy and Friedrich List” (1889); believed that for the successful development of the national economy it was necessary to take into account national characteristics, and he saw Russia’s advantage then in a strong autocratic government capable of carrying out fundamental changes in the interests of the entire population.

Since February 1892, Witte has been the manager of the Ministry of Railways. Minister of Finance . Strengthening the position of the Ministry of Finance, Witte attracted major specialists and entrepreneurs to work in it - P. L. Bark, V. N. Kokovtsov, D. I. Mendeleev, A. I. Putilov, I. P. Shipov. As a minister, Witte enjoyed the full support of Alexander III and Nicholas II in the first years of his reign. He considered the development of domestic industry to be a priority task. Pursuing a policy of protectionism, he provided profitable government orders and benefits to individual enterprises and entire industries (chemical, engineering, metallurgical, etc.). He paid special attention to attracting foreign capital to industry (he called them a “cure against poverty”). He participated in the development of the customs tariff of 1891, which was prohibitive in nature for the import of foreign goods and caused a customs war with Germany. Obtained the right for the Ministry of Finance, in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to increase customs tariff rates for countries that interfered with the export of Russian goods (1893). In 1894 he concluded a compromise Russian-German trade agreement and similar bilateral agreements with Austria-Hungary and France. To increase the number of specialists in the national economy, at the request of Witte, Kiev, Warsaw (both in 1898) and St. Petersburg (1902) polytechnic institutes were opened (initially they were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, which in 1892-1902 opened another 188 different educational institutions, mainly commercial schools). Using the state-controlled Accounting and Loan Bank of Persia and the Russian-Chinese Bank (created on Witte’s initiative in 1894 and 1895, respectively), Witte sought to provide Russian goods with access to Asian markets. Together with Foreign Minister V.N. Lamzdorf, he advocated the gradual establishment of economic control over Manchuria, and therefore entered into confrontation with a group of influential courtiers and government officials who insisted on political expansion in northeastern China and Korea (A.M. Bezobrazov, V.K. Pleve, etc.).

One of Witte's main activities was the development of railways (having become Minister of Finance, Witte retained influence on the Ministry of Railways), which Witte considered as the circulatory system of the national economy. He continued the policy of expanding the public sector (during Witte’s tenure as Minister of Finance, the treasury purchased over 15 thousand km of railway tracks, and about 27 thousand km were built). Witte considered the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway to be a “task of paramount importance” (it was called ruinous for the treasury by his predecessors N. Kh. Bunge and I. A. Vyshnegradsky). He pointed out the great importance of such a road for the development of Siberia and hoped to use it to direct world transit trade instead of the Suez Canal through Russia. Despite significantly exceeding the initial estimate, Witte ensured financing for this grandiose construction and its completion in a short time. In 1896, by bribing the Chinese statesman Li Hongzhang, Witte secured the provision of a lucrative concession to the Russian Empire for the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), which passed through northeastern China.

In achieving his goals and polemicizing with his opponents, Witte used various means, including funding individual journalists or press organs (Witte’s position was defended by the newspapers Birzhevye Vedomosti, Russkie Vedomosti, etc., as well as a number of foreign periodicals).

Witte’s policy, aimed at reforming the financial system, which by the early 1890s was characterized by an excess of money supply, instability of the credit ruble and its weak convertibility, was also subordinated to the tasks of industrial development and railway construction. Under the leadership of Witte, the Ministry of Finance in 1895-97 introduced gold monometallism, which completed one of the most important monetary reforms in the history of Russia (its preparation was begun by Witte's predecessors). Witte increased taxes, mainly indirect, and in 1895-1902 introduced a wine monopoly, the income from which became one of the most important items of the state budget. Witte made investments in the railway industry largely through government loans placed on foreign markets among small and medium-sized investors (contemporaries said that Russian railways were built with the money of German cooks). The overall balance of the state budget during Witte's tenure as Minister of Finance increased by 114.5%.

Starting his government activities, Witte in the field of social relations considered it necessary to preserve the community and class isolation of peasants, but in the mid-1890s he came to the conclusion that in order to create a capacious domestic market it was necessary to equalize the rights of peasants with the rest of the population and provide them with the opportunity to freely leaving the community. In 1902-05, he defended these ideas as chairman of the Special Meeting on the needs of the agricultural industry. With the support of Witte, a law was developed to abolish mutual responsibility in rural communities (adopted in 1903). In his “Note on Peasant Affairs” (published in 1905), Witte emphasized that the community is “an insurmountable obstacle to the improvement of agricultural culture,” and that it has no longer restrained the stratification of property among the peasants. At the same time, Witte opposed the violent breakup of the community. He also believed that the transition to private land ownership would take a long time. The proposals outlined by the Special Meeting were subsequently used among other measures in carrying out the Stolypin agrarian reform.

Witte's opponents accused him of pursuing an anti-noble policy, being passionate about the development of industry to the detriment of agriculture, “fabricating manufacturers” who were unable to exist without the help of the state, and growing foreign debt. Gradually, Witte ceased to enjoy the support of Emperor Nicholas II, which led to his resignation from the post of Minister of Finance and appointment to the less influential post of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers (1903). Member of the State Council (1903).

Under the influence of Russia's defeats in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905-07, Witte advocated the speedy conclusion of a peace treaty with Japan. Emperor Nicholas II appointed Witte as head of the Russian delegation at peace negotiations with Japan. Witte concluded the Portsmouth Peace of 1905, for the completed mission he received the title of count, and from his opponents the nickname “Count of Polus-Sakhalin” (the peace terms provided for the transfer of the southern part of Sakhalin Island to Japan).

The revolutionary events of 1905 contributed to a change in Witte's political views. During the October general political strike of 1905, he presented the emperor with a note in which he stated that “state power must be ready to take the constitutional path.” Witte began to insist on the immediate granting of civil liberties to the population, the convening of legislative popular representation and the creation of a unified government. Under his leadership, the Manifesto of October 17, 1905 was prepared.

Simultaneously with the publication of the manifesto, Witte was appointed chairman of the reformed Council of Ministers. Trying to create a “cabinet of public trust,” he invited the leaders of the liberal opposition (A. I. Guchkov, P. N. Milyukov, M. A. Stakhovich, E. N. Trubetskoy, etc.) to join the government, but they put forward a demand convening the Constituent Assembly and a number of other conditions unacceptable to the authorities. Then Witte formed a “business cabinet” of officials. While at the head of the united government, he found himself under fire from both the right (he was considered a hidden “accomplice of the revolution”) and the left (he was condemned for his “protective” policy). Since the state's concessions to society did not stop anti-government protests, Witte approved the dispatch of punitive detachments to suppress the December armed uprisings of 1905. In April 1906, he concluded a foreign loan of 2.25 billion francs (called a “loan to suppress the revolution” in the leftist press). Witte supported the transformation of the State Council into the upper legislative chamber (February 1906), which was supposed to serve as a counterweight to the State Duma; when preparing the Basic State Laws of 1906, he defended the limitation of the rights of the Duma. Faced with the fact that the majority of the Duma elections was left-wing deputies, and not counting on constructive work with them, Witte resigned on the eve of the start of the State Duma meetings. In 1907, the leaders of the Union of the Russian People organized a failed attempt on his life. In 1911-1915, Witte was chairman of the Finance Committee.

The author of the memoirs bequeathed their publication after his death (he kept the manuscript abroad). They were first published in 1922 in Germany as edited by I. V. Gessen, republished in Moscow in 1960, and Witte’s notes in the original edition were published in St. Petersburg in 2003. They present a detailed picture of Russian political life and characteristics of major statesmen of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A number of events, as well as the position of some of Witte's political opponents, were distorted by him.

Awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1906), St. Vladimir 1st degree (1913), the French Order of the Legion of Honor (1894), etc.

Works: Lecture notes on the national and state economy. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg, 1912.

Lit.: Tarle E.V. Graf S.Yu. Witte. Experience in characterizing foreign policy. L., ; Mehlinger N. D., Thompson J. M. Count Witte and the Tsarist government in the 1905 revolution. Bloomington, 1972; Laue T. N. S. Witte and the industrialization of Russia. N.Y., 1974; Ignatiev A.V.S.Yu. Witte - diplomat. M., 1989; Ananich B.V., Ganelin R.Sh. S. Yu. Witte - memoirist. St. Petersburg, 1994; they are. S. Yu. Witte and his time. St. Petersburg, 1999; Korelin A.P., Stepanov S.A.S.Yu. Witte - financier, politician, diplomat. M., 1998; S. Yu. Witte - statesman, reformer, economist: Part 2 M., 1999.

Witte's reforms of 1892-1903 were carried out in Russia with the aim of eliminating the lag between industry and Western countries. Scientists often call these reforms the industrialization of Tsarist Russia. Their specificity was that the reforms covered all the main spheres of the state’s life, allowing the economy to make a colossal leap. That is why today the term “golden decade” of Russian industry is used.

Witte's reforms are characterized by the following measures:

• Increased tax revenues. Tax revenues increased by about 50%, but we are not talking about direct taxes, but about indirect taxes. Indirect taxes are the imposition of additional taxes on the sale of goods and services, which fall on the seller and are paid to the state.
• Introduction of the wine monopoly in 1895. The sale of alcoholic beverages was declared a state monopoly, and this revenue item alone accounted for 28% of the budget of the Russian Empire. In money terms, this translates to approximately 500 million rubles per year.
• Gold backing of the Russian ruble. In 1897 S.Yu. Witte carried out a monetary reform, backing the ruble with gold. Banknotes were freely exchanged for gold bars, as a result of which the Russian economy and its currency became interesting for investment.
• Accelerated construction of railways. They built approximately 2.7 thousand km of railway per year. This may seem like an insignificant aspect of the reform, but at that time it was very important for the state. Suffice it to say that in the war with Japan, one of the key factors in Russia's defeat was insufficient railway equipment, which made it difficult for troops to move and move.
• Since 1899, restrictions on the import of foreign capital and the export of capital from Russia have been lifted.
• In 1891, customs tariffs on the import of products were increased. This was a forced step that helped support local producers. It is thanks to this that potential was created within the country.

Brief table of reforms

Table - Witte reforms: date, tasks, consequences

Reform	Year	Tasks	Consequences
"Wine" reform	1895	Creation of a state monopoly on the sale of all alcoholic products, including wine.	Increasing budget revenues to 500 million rubles per year. “Wine” money is approximately 28% of the budget.
Currency reform	1897	Introduction of the gold standard, backing the Russian ruble with gold	Inflation in the country has been reduced. International confidence in the ruble has been restored. Price stabilization. Conditions for foreign investment.
Protectionism	1891	Support for domestic producers by increasing customs duties on the import of goods from abroad.	Industry growth. Economic recovery of the country.
Tax reform	1890	Increase in budget revenues.	Introduction of additional indirect taxes on sugar, kerosene, matches, tobacco. The “housing tax” was introduced for the first time. Taxes on government documents have been increased. Tax revenues increased by 42.7%.

Preparation of reforms

Until 1892, Sergei Yulievich Witte served as Minister of Railways. In 1892, he moved to the post of Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire. At that time, it was the Minister of Finance who determined the entire economic policy of the country. Witte adhered to the ideas of a comprehensive transformation of the country's economy. His opponent was Plehve, who promoted the classical path of development. Alexander 3, realizing that at the current stage the economy needs real reforms and transformations, sided with Witte, appointing him Minister of Finance, thereby completely entrusting this man with the formation of the country's economy.

The main goal of the economic reforms of the late 19th century was for Russia to catch up with Western countries within 10 years, and also to strengthen itself in the markets of the Near, Middle and Far East.

Currency reform and investment

Today people often talk about the phenomenal economic indicators achieved by Stalin’s five-year plans, but their essence was almost completely borrowed from Witte’s reforms. The only difference was that in the USSR new enterprises did not become private property. Sergei Yulievich envisioned industrializing the country in 10 years or five years. The finances of the Russian Empire at that time were in a deplorable state. The main problem was high inflation, which was generated by payments to landowners, as well as continuous wars.

To solve this problem, the Witte currency reform was carried out in 1897. The essence of this reform can be briefly described as follows: the Russian ruble was now backed by gold, or a gold standard was introduced. Thanks to this, investor confidence in the Russian ruble has increased. The state issued only the amount of money that was actually backed by gold. The banknote could be exchanged for gold at any time.

The results of Witte's monetary reform appeared very quickly. Already in 1898, significant amounts of capital began to be invested in Russia. Moreover, this capital was mainly foreign. Largely thanks to this capital, large-scale construction of railways throughout the country became possible. The Trans-Siberian Railway and the Chinese-Eastern Railway were built precisely thanks to Witte’s reforms, and with foreign capital.

Inflow of foreign capital

One of the effects of Witte's monetary reform and his economic policies was the influx of foreign capital into Russia. The total amount of investment in Russian industry amounted to 2.3 billion rubles. The main countries that invested in the Russian economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries:

• France – 732 million
• UK – 507 million
• Germany – 442 million
• Belgium – 382 million
• USA – 178 million

There were both positives and negatives about foreign capital. The industry, built with Western money, was completely controlled by foreign owners who were interested in profit, but in no way in developing Russia. The state, of course, controlled these enterprises, but all operational decisions were made locally. A striking example of what this leads to is the Lena execution. Today this topic is being speculated on in order to blame Nicholas 2 for the harsh working conditions of the workers, but in fact the enterprise was completely controlled by English industrialists, and it was their actions that led to the rebellion and execution of people in Russia.

Evaluation of reforms

In Russian society, Witte's reforms were perceived negatively by all people. The main critic of the current economic policy was Nicholas 2, who called the Minister of Finance a “Republican.” The result was a paradoxical situation. Representatives of the autocracy did not like Witte, calling him a republican or a person who supported an anti-Russian position, and the revolutionaries did not like Witte because he supported the autocracy. Which of these people was right? It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, but it was Sergei Yulievich’s reforms that strengthened the positions of industrialists and capitalists in Russia. And this, in turn, was one of the reasons for the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Nevertheless, thanks to the measures taken, Russia reached 5th place in the world in terms of total industrial production.

Results of economic policy S.Yu. Witte

• The number of industrial enterprises has increased significantly. Just across the country it was about 40%. For example, in the Donbass there were 2 metallurgical plants, and during the reform period 15 more were built. Of these 15, 13 plants were built by foreigners.
• Production increased: oil by 2.9 times, cast iron by 3.7 times, steam locomotives by 10 times, steel by 7.2 times.
• In terms of industrial growth rates, Russia has taken first place in the world.

The main emphasis was on the development of heavy industry by reducing the share of light industry. One of the problems was that the main industries were built in cities or within city limits. This created conditions under which the proletariat began to settle in industrial centers. The resettlement of people from the village to the city began, and it was these people who later played their role in the revolution.

Among the major statesmen of Russia, it is difficult to find a personality as extraordinary, bright, as ambiguous, contradictory as S. Yu. Witte was. This man was destined to experience a meteoric rise - to rise from a third-rate clerical official to the most influential minister; in critical years for the fate of Russia - to be the chairman of the Committee of Ministers, and then to become the head of a government besieged by the revolution.

He had the opportunity to shine brightly in the diplomatic field, to witness the Crimean War, the abolition of serfdom, the reforms of the 60s, the rapid development of capitalism, the Russo-Japanese War, and the first revolution in Russia. S. Yu. Witte is a contemporary of Alexander III and Nicholas II, P. A. Stolypin and V. N. Kokovtsov, S. V. Zubatov and V. K. Pleve, D. S. Sipyagin and G. E. Rasputin.

The life, political activity, and moral qualities of Sergei Yulievich Witte have always evoked contradictory, sometimes polar opposite, assessments and judgments. According to some memoirs of his contemporaries, we have before us “an exceptionally gifted”, “highly outstanding statesman”, “superior in the variety of his talents, the vastness of his horizons, the ability to cope with the most difficult tasks with the brilliance and strength of his mind of all the people of his time.” According to others, he is “a businessman completely inexperienced in the national economy,” “suffering from amateurism and poor knowledge of Russian reality,” a person with “an average philistine level of development and the naivety of many views,” whose policies were characterized by “helplessness, unsystematicness and... unprincipledness.”

Characterizing Witte, some emphasized that he was “European and liberal,” others that “Witte was never either a liberal or a conservative, but sometimes he was deliberately reactionary.” The following was even written about him: “a savage, a provincial hero, an insolent and libertine with a sunken nose.”

So what kind of person was this - Sergei Yulievich Witte?

He was born on June 17, 1849 in the Caucasus, in Tiflis, in the family of a provincial official. Witte's paternal ancestors came from Holland and moved to the Baltic states in the middle of the 19th century. received hereditary nobility. On his mother's side, his ancestry was traced back to the associates of Peter I - the princes Dolgoruky. Witte's father, Julius Fedorovich, a nobleman of the Pskov province, a Lutheran who converted to Orthodoxy, served as director of the department of state property in the Caucasus. Mother, Ekaterina Andreevna, was the daughter of a member of the main department of the governor of the Caucasus, former Saratov governor Andrei Mikhailovich Fadeev and Princess Elena Pavlovna Dolgorukaya. Witte himself very willingly emphasized his family ties with the Dolgoruky princes, but did not like to mention that he came from a family of little-known Russified Germans. “In general, my entire family,” he wrote in his “Memoirs,” was a highly monarchical family, “and this side of character remained with me by inheritance.”

The Witte family had five children: three sons (Alexander, Boris, Sergei) and two daughters (Olga and Sophia). Sergei spent his childhood in the family of his grandfather A. M. Fadeev, where he received the usual upbringing for noble families, and “the initial education,” recalled S. Yu. Witte, “was given to me by my grandmother ... she taught me to read and write.”

At the Tiflis gymnasium, where he was then sent, Sergei studied “very poorly”, preferring to study music, fencing, and horse riding. As a result, at the age of sixteen he received a matriculation certificate with mediocre grades in science and a unit in behavior. Despite this, the future statesman went to Odessa with the intention of entering the university. But his young age (the university accepted people no younger than seventeen years old), and on top of everything, the behavioral unit denied him access there... He had to go to school again - first in Odessa, then in Chisinau. And only after intensive studies did Witte pass the exams successfully and receive a decent matriculation certificate.

In 1866, Sergei Witte entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University in Odessa. “... I studied day and night,” he recalled, “and therefore throughout my stay at the university I was truly the best student in terms of knowledge.”

This is how the first year of student life passed. In the spring, having gone on vacation, on the way home Witte received news of the death of his father (not long before this he had lost his grandfather, A. M. Fadeev). It turned out that the family was left without a livelihood: shortly before their death, the grandfather and father invested all their capital in the Chiatura mines company, which soon failed. Thus, Sergei inherited only his father’s debts and was forced to take on part of the care of his mother and little sisters. He was able to continue his studies only thanks to a scholarship paid by the Caucasian governorship.

As a student, S. Yu. Witte had little interest in social problems. He was not worried about either political radicalism or the philosophy of atheistic materialism that excited the minds of young people in the 70s. Witte was not one of those whose idols were Pisarev, Dobrolyubov, Tolstoy, Chernyshevsky, Mikhailovsky. “... I have always been against all these trends, because according to my upbringing I was an extreme monarchist... and also a religious person,” S. Yu. Witte later wrote. His spiritual world was formed under the influence of his relatives, especially his uncle, Rostislav Andreevich Fadeev, a general, participant in the conquest of the Caucasus, a talented military publicist, known for his Slavophile, pan-Slavist views.

Despite his monarchist beliefs, Witte was elected by students to the committee in charge of the student treasury. This innocent idea almost ended in disaster. This so-called mutual aid fund was closed as... a dangerous institution, and all members of the committee, including Witte, were under investigation. They were threatened with exile to Siberia. And only the scandal that happened to the prosecutor in charge of the case helped S. Yu. Witte avoid the fate of a political exile. The punishment was reduced to a fine of 25 rubles.

After graduating from the university in 1870, Sergei Witte thought about a scientific career, about a professorship. However, my relatives - my mother and uncle - “looked very askance at my desire to be a professor,” recalled S. Yu. Witte. “Their main argument was that ... this is not a noble cause.” In addition, his scientific career was hindered by his ardent passion for the actress Sokolova, after meeting whom Witte “didn’t want to write any more dissertations.”

Choosing a career as an official, he was assigned to the office of the Odessa governor, Count Kotzebue. And two years later, the first promotion - Witte was appointed head of the department. But suddenly all his plans changed.

Railway construction was rapidly developing in Russia. This was a new and promising branch of the capitalist economy. Various private companies arose that invested in railway construction amounts that exceeded investments in large-scale industry. The atmosphere of excitement surrounding the construction of railways also captured Witte. The Minister of Railways, Count Bobrinsky, who knew his father, persuaded Sergei Yulievich to try his luck as a specialist in the operation of railways - in the purely commercial field of railway business.

In an effort to thoroughly study the practical side of the enterprise, Witte sat in the station ticket office, acted as an assistant and station manager, controller, traffic auditor, and even served as a freight service clerk and assistant driver. Six months later, he was appointed head of the traffic office of the Odessa Railway, which soon passed into the hands of a private company.

However, after a promising start, S. Yu. Witte’s career almost ended completely. At the end of 1875, a train crash occurred near Odessa, causing many casualties. The head of the Odessa Railway, Chikhachev, and Witte were put on trial and sentenced to four months in prison. However, while the investigation was dragging on, Witte, while remaining in service, managed to distinguish himself in transporting troops to the theater of military operations (the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 was underway), which attracted the attention of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, by whose order the prison for the accused was replaced by a two-week guardhouse.

In 1877, S. Yu. Witte became the head of the Odessa Railway, and after the end of the war - the head of the operational department of the Southwestern Railways. Having received this appointment, he moved from the province to St. Petersburg, where he took part in the work of Count E. T. Baranov’s commission (to study the railway business).

Service in private railway companies had an extremely strong influence on Witte: it gave him management experience, taught him a prudent, businesslike approach, a sense of the situation, and determined the range of interests of the future financier and statesman.

By the beginning of the 80s, the name of S. Yu. Witte was already quite well known among railway businessmen and in the circles of the Russian bourgeoisie. He was familiar with the largest “railroad kings” - I. S. Bliokh, P. I. Gubonin, V. A. Kokorev, S. S. Polyakov, and knew closely the future Minister of Finance I. A. Vyshnegradsky. Already in these years, the versatility of Witte’s energetic nature was evident: the qualities of an excellent administrator, a sober, practical businessman combined well with the abilities of a scientist-analyst. In 1883, S. Yu. Witte published “Principles of railway tariffs for the transportation of goods,” which brought him fame among specialists. This was, by the way, not the first and far from the last work that came out from his pen.

In 1880, S. Yu. Witte was appointed manager of the South-Western roads and settled in Kyiv. A successful career brought him material well-being. As a manager, Witte received more than any minister - over 50 thousand rubles a year.

Witte did not take an active part in political life during these years, although he collaborated with the Odessa Slavic Benevolent Society, was well acquainted with the famous Slavophile I. S. Aksakov, and even published several articles in his newspaper “Rus”. The young entrepreneur preferred the “society of actresses” to serious politics. “... I knew all the more or less outstanding actresses who were in Odessa,” he later recalled.

The murder of Alexander II by the Narodnaya Volya dramatically changed S. Yu. Witte’s attitude towards politics. After March 1, he actively became involved in the big political game. Having learned about the death of the emperor, Witte wrote a letter to his uncle R. A. Fadeev, in which he presented the idea of ​​​​creating a noble secret organization to protect the new sovereign and fight the revolutionaries using their own methods. R. A. Fadeev picked up this idea and, with the help of Adjutant General I. I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, created the so-called “Sacred Squad” in St. Petersburg. In mid-March 1881, S. Yu. Witte was solemnly initiated into the squad and soon received his first task - to organize an attempt on the life of the famous revolutionary populist L. N. Hartmann in Paris. Fortunately, the “Holy Squad” soon compromised itself with inept espionage and provocateur activities and, after existing for just over a year, was liquidated. It must be said that Witte’s stay in this organization did not at all embellish his biography, although it gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his ardent loyal feelings. After the death of R. A. Fadeev in the second half of the 80s, S. Yu. Witte moved away from the people of his circle and moved closer to the Pobedonostsev-Katkov group, which controlled state ideology.

By the mid-80s, the scale of the Southwestern Railways ceased to satisfy Witte's ebullient nature. The ambitious and power-hungry railway entrepreneur persistently and patiently began to prepare his further advancement. This was greatly facilitated by the fact that the authority of S. Yu. Witte as a theorist and practitioner of the railway industry attracted the attention of the Minister of Finance I. A. Vyshnegradsky. And besides, chance helped.

On October 17, 1888, the Tsar's train crashed in Borki. The reason for this was a violation of basic train traffic rules: the heavy train of the royal train with two freight locomotives was traveling above the established speed. S. Yu. Witte previously warned the Minister of Railways about the possible consequences. With his characteristic rudeness, he once said in the presence of Alexander III that the emperor’s neck would be broken if the royal trains were driven at an illegal speed. After the crash in Borki (from which, however, neither the emperor nor his family members suffered), Alexander III remembered this warning and expressed a desire that S. Yu. Witte be appointed to the newly approved post of director of the department of railway affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

And although this meant a three-fold reduction in salary, Sergei Yulievich did not hesitate to part with a profitable place and the position of a successful businessman for the sake of the government career that beckoned him. Simultaneously with his appointment to the position of director of the department, he was promoted from titular to full state councilor (i.e., received the rank of general). It was a dizzying leap up the bureaucratic ladder. Witte is one of I. A. Vyshnegradsky’s closest collaborators.

The department entrusted to Witte immediately becomes exemplary. The new director manages to prove in practice the constructiveness of his ideas about state regulation of railway tariffs, demonstrate a breadth of interests, remarkable administrative talent, strength of mind and character.

In February 1892, having successfully used the conflict between two departments - transport and financial, S. Yu. Witte sought appointment to the post of manager of the Ministry of Railways. However, he did not remain in this post for long. Also in 1892, I. A. Vyshnegradsky became seriously ill. In government circles, a behind-the-scenes struggle began for the influential post of Minister of Finance, in which Witte took an active part. Not too scrupulous and not particularly picky about the means to achieve the goal, using both intrigue and gossip about the mental disorder of his patron I. A. Vyshnegradsky (who had no intention of leaving his post), in August 1892 Witte achieved the position of manager Ministry of Finance. And on January 1, 1893, Alexander III appointed him Minister of Finance and at the same time promoted him to Privy Councilor. The career of 43-year-old Witte has reached its shining peak.

True, the path to this peak was noticeably complicated by the marriage of S. Yu. Witte to Matilda Ivanovna Lisanevich (nee Nurok). This was not his first marriage. Witte's first wife was N.A. Spiridonova (née Ivanenko), the daughter of the Chernigov leader of the nobility. She was married, but was not happy in her marriage. Witte met her back in Odessa and, having fallen in love, obtained a divorce.

S. Yu. Witte and N. A. Spiridonova got married (apparently in 1878). However, they did not live long. In the fall of 1890, Witte's wife died suddenly.

About a year after her death, Sergei Yulievich met a lady (also married) at the theater who made an indelible impression on him. Slender, with gray-green sad eyes, a mysterious smile, a bewitching voice, she seemed to him the embodiment of charm. Having met the lady, Witte began to woo her, convincing her to end the marriage and marry him. To get a divorce from her intractable husband, Witte had to pay compensation and even resort to threats of administrative measures.

In 1892, he married the woman he loved dearly and adopted her child (he did not have any children of his own).

The new marriage brought Witte family happiness, but put him in an extremely delicate social position. A high-ranking dignitary turned out to be married to a divorced Jewish woman, and even as a result of a scandalous story. Sergei Yulievich was even ready to “give up” his career. However, Alexander III, having delved into all the details, said that this marriage only increased his respect for Witte. Nevertheless, Matilda Witte was not accepted either at court or in high society.

It should be noted that Witte’s relationship with high society was far from simple. High-society Petersburg looked askance at the “provincial upstart.” He was offended by Witte's harshness, angularity, non-aristocratic manners, southern accent, and poor French pronunciation. Sergei Yulievich became a favorite character in metropolitan jokes for a long time. His rapid advancement aroused open envy and hostility on the part of officials.

Along with this, Emperor Alexander III clearly favored him. “... He treated me especially favorably,” wrote Witte, “he loved me very much,” “he trusted me until the last day of his life.” Alexander III was impressed by Witte's directness, his courage, independence of judgment, even the harshness of his expressions, and the complete absence of servility. And for Witte, Alexander III remained the ideal autocrat until the end of his life. “A true Christian”, “a faithful son of the Orthodox Church”, “a simple, firm and honest man”, “an outstanding emperor”, “a man of his word”, “royally noble”, “with royal lofty thoughts” - this is how Witte characterizes Alexander III .

Having taken the chair of the Minister of Finance, S. Yu. Witte received great power: the department of railway affairs, trade, and industry were now subordinate to him, and he could put pressure on the resolution of the most important issues. And Sergei Yulievich really showed himself to be a sober, prudent, flexible politician. Yesterday's Pan-Slavist, Slavophile, convinced supporter of Russia's original path of development in a short time turned into an industrializer of the European model and declared his readiness to bring Russia into the ranks of advanced industrial powers within a short period of time.

By the beginning of the 20th century. Witte’s economic platform has acquired quite complete outlines: within about ten years, to catch up with the more industrially developed countries of Europe, take a strong position in the markets of the East, ensure accelerated industrial development of Russia by attracting foreign capital, accumulating internal resources, customs protection of industry from competitors and encouragement export A special role in Witte's program was assigned to foreign capital; the Minister of Finance advocated their unlimited involvement in Russian industry and railways, calling them a cure against poverty. He considered unlimited government intervention to be the second most important mechanism.

And this was not a simple declaration. In 1894-1895 S. Yu. Witte achieved stabilization of the ruble, and in 1897 he did what his predecessors had failed to do: he introduced gold currency circulation, providing the country with hard currency and an influx of foreign capital until the First World War. In addition, Witte sharply increased taxation, especially indirect, and introduced a wine monopoly, which soon became one of the main sources of the government budget. Another major event carried out by Witte at the beginning of his activity was the conclusion of a customs agreement with Germany (1894), after which S. Yu. Witte even became interested in O. Bismarck himself. This extremely flattered the young minister’s vanity. “... Bismarck... paid special attention to me,” he later wrote, “and several times through his acquaintances he expressed the highest opinion of my personality.”

During the economic boom of the 90s, the Witte system worked excellently: an unprecedented number of railways were built in the country; by 1900, Russia took first place in the world in oil production; Russian government bonds were highly rated abroad. The authority of S. Yu. Witte grew immeasurably. The Russian Finance Minister became a popular figure among Western entrepreneurs and attracted favorable attention from the foreign press. The domestic press sharply criticized Witte. Former like-minded people accused him of implanting “state socialism”, adherents of the reforms of the 60s criticized him for the use of state intervention, Russian liberals perceived Witte’s program as “a grandiose sabotage of the autocracy” that diverted public attention from socio-economic and cultural-political reforms.” "One statesman in Russia was not the subject of such varied and contradictory, but persistent and passionate attacks as my... husband," Matilda Witte later wrote. "At court he was accused of republicanism, in radical circles he was credited with a desire to curtail the rights of the people in favor of monarch. The landowners reproached him for seeking to ruin them in favor of the peasants, and the radical parties for seeking to deceive the peasantry in favor of the landowners." He was even accused of being friends with A. Zhelyabov, of trying to lead to the decline of Russian agriculture in order to bring benefits to Germany.

In reality, the entire policy of S. Yu. Witte was subordinated to a single goal: to implement industrialization, to achieve successful development of the Russian economy, without affecting the political system, without changing anything in public administration. Witte was an ardent supporter of autocracy. He considered an unlimited monarchy “the best form of government” for Russia, and everything he did was done in order to strengthen and “preserve autocracy.

For the same purpose, Witte begins to develop the peasant question, trying to achieve a revision of agrarian policy. He realized that it was possible to expand the purchasing power of the domestic market only through the capitalization of peasant farming, through the transition from communal to private land ownership. S. Yu. Witte was a staunch supporter of private peasant ownership of land and strenuously sought the government's transition to bourgeois agrarian policy. In 1899, with his participation, the government developed and adopted laws abolishing mutual responsibility in the peasant community. In 1902, Witte achieved the creation of a special commission on the peasant question (“Special Meeting on the Needs of the Agricultural Industry”), which aimed to “establish personal property in the countryside.”

However, Witte’s longtime opponent V.K. Plehve, appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, stood in Witte’s way. The agrarian question turned out to be an arena of confrontation between two influential ministers. Witte never succeeded in realizing his ideas. However, it was S. Yu. Witte who initiated the government’s transition to bourgeois agrarian policy. As for P. A. Stolypin, Witte subsequently repeatedly emphasized that he “robbed” him and used ideas of which he himself, Witte, was a convinced supporter. That is why Sergei Yulievich could not remember P. A. Stolypin without a feeling of bitterness. “... Stolypin,” he wrote, “had an extremely superficial mind and an almost complete absence of state culture and education. In terms of education and intelligence... Stolypin was a type of bayonet cadet.”

Events of the beginning of the 20th century. called into question all of Witte's grandiose undertakings. The global economic crisis sharply slowed down the development of industry in Russia, the influx of foreign capital decreased, and the budgetary balance was disrupted. Economic expansion in the East aggravated Russian-British contradictions and brought the war with Japan closer.

Witte's economic "system" was clearly shaken. This made it possible for his opponents (Plehve, Bezobrazov, etc.) to gradually push the Minister of Finance out of power. Nicholas II willingly supported the campaign against Witte. It should be noted that quite complex relations were established between S. Yu. Witte and Nicholas II, who ascended the Russian throne in 1894: on Witte’s side there was distrust and contempt, on Nicholas’s side - distrust and hatred. Witte crowded the restrained, outwardly correct and well-mannered tsar, constantly insulting him, without noticing it, with his harshness, impatience, self-confidence, and inability to hide his disrespect and contempt. And there was one more circumstance that turned simple dislike for Witte into hatred: after all, it was impossible to do without Witte. Always, when great intelligence and resourcefulness were really required, Nicholas II, albeit with gnashing of teeth, turned to him.

For his part, Witte gives a very sharp and bold characterization of Nikolai in “Memoirs”. Listing the numerous advantages of Alexander III, he always makes it clear that his son in no way possessed them. About the sovereign himself, he writes: “... Emperor Nicholas II... was a kind man, far from stupid, but shallow, weak-willed... His main qualities were courtesy when he wanted it... cunning and complete spinelessness and lack of will." Here he adds a “proud character” and a rare “grudge.” In S. Yu. Witte’s “Memoirs,” the empress also received a lot of unflattering words. The author calls her a “strange person” with a “narrow and stubborn character”, “with a stupid egoistic character and a narrow worldview.”

In August 1903, the campaign against Witte was successful: he was removed from the post of Minister of Finance and appointed to the post of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers. Despite the loud name, it was an “honorable resignation”, since the new post was disproportionately less influential. At the same time, Nicholas II did not intend to completely remove Witte, because the Empress Mother Maria Feodorovna and the Tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Mikhail, clearly sympathized with him. In addition, just in case, Nicholas II himself wanted to have such an experienced, intelligent, energetic dignitary at hand.

Having been defeated in the political struggle, Witte did not return to private enterprise. He set himself the goal of regaining lost positions. Remaining in the shadows, he tried not to completely lose the favor of the tsar, more often attract the “highest attention” to himself, strengthened and established connections in government circles. Preparations for war with Japan made it possible to begin an active struggle for a return to power. However, Witte's hopes that with the beginning of the war Nicholas II would call him were not justified.

In the summer of 1904, Socialist-Revolutionary E. S. Sozonov killed Witte’s longtime enemy, Minister of Internal Affairs Plehve. The disgraced dignitary made every effort to take the vacant seat, but failure awaited him here too. Despite the fact that Sergei Yulievich successfully completed the mission entrusted to him - he concluded a new agreement with Germany - Nicholas II appointed Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky as Minister of Internal Affairs.

Trying to attract attention, Witte takes an active part in meetings with the tsar on the issue of attracting elected representatives from the population to participate in legislation, and tries to expand the competence of the Committee of Ministers. He even uses the events of “Bloody Sunday” to prove to the Tsar that he, Witte, could not do without him, that if the Committee of Ministers under his chairmanship had been endowed with real power, then such a turn of events would have been impossible.

Finally, on January 17, 1905, Nicholas II, despite all his hostility, nevertheless turns to Witte and instructs him to organize a meeting of ministers on “measures necessary to calm the country” and possible reforms. Sergei Yulievich clearly hoped that he would be able to transform this meeting into a government of the “Western European model” and become its head. However, in April of the same year, new royal disfavor followed: Nicholas II closed the meeting. Witte again found himself out of work.

True, this time the fall did not last long. At the end of May 1905, at the next military meeting, the need for an early end to the war with Japan was finally clarified. Witte was entrusted with difficult peace negotiations, who repeatedly and very successfully acted as a diplomat (negotiated with China on the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway, with Japan - on a joint protectorate over Korea, with Korea - on Russian military instruction and Russian financial management, with Germany - on concluding a trade agreement, etc.), while showing remarkable abilities.

Nicholas II accepted Witte's appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary with great reluctance. Witte has long pushed the Tsar to begin peace negotiations with Japan in order to “at least calm Russia down a little.” In a letter to him dated February 28, 1905, he indicated: “The continuation of the war is more than dangerous: the country, given the current state of mind, will not endure further casualties without terrible catastrophes...”. He generally considered the war disastrous for the autocracy.

On August 23, 1905, the Portsmouth Peace was signed. It was a brilliant victory for Witte, confirming his outstanding diplomatic abilities. The talented diplomat managed to emerge from a hopelessly lost war with minimal losses, while achieving “an almost decent peace” for Russia. Despite his reluctance, the tsar appreciated Witte’s merits: for the Peace of Portsmouth he was awarded the title of count (by the way, Witte was immediately mockingly nicknamed “Count of Polosakhalinsky,” thereby accusing him of ceding the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan).

Returning to St. Petersburg, Witte plunged headlong into politics: he took part in Selsky’s “Special Meeting,” where projects for further government reforms were developed. As the revolutionary events intensify, Witte more and more persistently demonstrates the need for a “strong government” and convinces the Tsar that it is he, Witte, who can play the role of “the savior of Russia.” At the beginning of October, he addresses the Tsar with a note in which he sets out a whole program of liberal reforms. In critical days for the autocracy, Witte inspired Nicholas II that he had no choice but to either establish a dictatorship in Russia, or Witte’s premiership and take a number of liberal steps in the constitutional direction.

Finally, after painful hesitation, the tsar signed the document drawn up by Witte, which went down in history as the Manifesto of October 17. On October 19, the tsar signed a decree on reforming the Council of Ministers, headed by Witte. In his career, Sergei Yulievich reached the top. During the critical days of the revolution, he became the head of the Russian government.

In this post, Witte demonstrated amazing flexibility and ability to maneuver, acting in the emergency conditions of the revolution either as a firm, ruthless guardian or as a skilled peacemaker. Under the chairmanship of Witte, the government dealt with a wide variety of issues: reorganized peasant land ownership, introduced a state of exception in various regions, resorted to the use of military courts, the death penalty and other repressions, prepared for the convening of the Duma, drafted the Basic Laws, and implemented the freedoms proclaimed on October 17 .

However, the Council of Ministers headed by S. Yu. Witte never became similar to the European cabinet, and Sergei Yulievich himself served as chairman for only six months. The increasingly intensifying conflict with the tsar forced him to resign. This happened at the end of April 1906. S. Yu. Witte was in full confidence that he had fulfilled his main task - to ensure the political stability of the regime. The resignation essentially marked the end of his career, although Witte did not retire from political activities. He was still a member of the State Council and often appeared in print.

It should be noted that Sergei Yulievich was expecting a new appointment and tried to bring it closer; he waged a fierce struggle, first against Stolypin, who took the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, then against V.N. Kokovtsov." Witte hoped that the departure of his influential opponents from the state stage would allow him to return to active political activity.He did not lose hope until the last day of his life and was even ready to resort to the help of Rasputin.

At the beginning of the First World War, predicting that it would end in collapse for the autocracy, S. Yu. Witte declared his readiness to take on a peacekeeping mission and try to enter into negotiations with the Germans. But he was already mortally ill.

S. Yu. Witte died on February 28, 1915, just shy of 65 years old. He was buried modestly, “in the third category.” There were no official ceremonies. Moreover, the deceased’s office was sealed, papers were confiscated, and a thorough search was carried out at the villa in Biarritz.

Witte's death caused quite a wide resonance in Russian society. The newspapers were full of headlines like: “In Memory of a Great Man”, “Great Reformer”, “Giant of Thought”... Many of those who knew Sergei Yulievich closely came forward with their memoirs.

After Witte's death, his political activities were assessed extremely controversially. Some sincerely believed that Witte had rendered a “great service” to his homeland, others argued that “Count Witte did not live up to the hopes placed on him,” that “he did not bring any real benefit to the country,” and even, on the contrary, his activities “ should rather be considered harmful."

The political activities of Sergei Yulievich Witte were indeed extremely contradictory. At times it combined the incompatible: the desire for unlimited attraction of foreign capital and the fight against the international political consequences of this attraction; commitment to unlimited autocracy and understanding of the need for reforms that undermined its traditional foundations; The Manifesto of October 17 and subsequent measures that reduced it to almost zero, etc. But no matter how the results of Witte’s policy are assessed, one thing is certain: the meaning of his entire life, all his activities was to serve “great Russia.” And both his like-minded people and his opponents could not help but admit this.

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University of Moscow named after S.Yu. Witte (MIEMP)
International name	Moscow Witte University
Motto	Qui non proficit, deficit
Year of foundation
Type	non-state
The president	N. G. Malyshev
Rector	A.V. Semenov
Students	30 thousand
Teachers	1500
Location	Moscow
Legal address	115432, Russia, Moscow,
Information site	www.muiv.ru Coordinates: 55°42′01.5″ n. w. 37°39′18.3″ E. d. /  55.700417° s. w. 37.655083° E. d.(G) (O)55.700417 , 37.655083

Moscow University named after S. Yu. Witte(until November 2, 2011 - Moscow Institute of Economics, Management and Law, MIEMP) - a non-state higher educational institution, one of the first non-state universities in Russia to receive a license to conduct educational activities. The university received university status on May 16, 2011 (in accordance with Order No. 1166 of the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor) dated May 16, 2011), and on November 2, 2011 changed its name to S. Yu. Witte Moscow University .

The profile of the university is economics, law, management, management and other related disciplines.

The University develops specialized programs aimed at cooperation with state and commercial enterprises - employers, thanks to which University students, during their studies, undergo internships in government institutions in Moscow aimed at improving their skills, gaining new experience and knowledge necessary for further training in their chosen profession and specialties.

According to the national rating certification agency "Rosrating" (rating of non-state accredited universities in the country), Moscow University named after S.Yu. Witte is among the five best non-state universities in Moscow, and among the top ten in Russia in 2012.

Educational programs

At Moscow University named after S.Yu. Witte you can get training in all areas: secondary vocational education (MIEMP College (University), higher professional education, second higher education, master's degree, postgraduate study, additional professional education, as well as higher and second higher education with using modern distance educational technologies. There are abbreviated training programs for specialists, in accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education”.

The duration of study at the university is 4–6 years, depending on the chosen form of study. For persons with higher education - 3 years.

Upon completion of training, graduates are issued a state diploma.

In accordance with state accreditation, full-time students are guaranteed a deferment from military conscription for the entire duration of their studies.

Correspondence students enjoy all the benefits provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Faculties and departments

Faculty of Economics and Finance:

• Department of Accounting and Taxation, Finance and Credit,
• Department of Finance and Credit,
• Department of Urban Economics and Services;

Management department:

• Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
• Department of Management and Marketing

Faculty of Law:

• Department of State Legal Disciplines,
• Department of Civil Law Disciplines,
• Department of Criminal Law Disciplines
• College (faculty of secondary vocational education)
• Faculty of Pre-University Training

College

The College of Witte Moscow University is a structural part of the University, which allows college students to fully participate in the life of the university. College students receive education in 14 specialties and upon completion receive a state diploma.

Forms and duration of training:

• based on 11 classes - 1 year 10 months / 2 years 10 months.
• based on 9 classes - 2 years 10 months / 3 years 10 months.

Center for Continuing Education

At Moscow University named after S.Yu. Witte there is a Center for Additional Professional Education. The center provides training in the form of short-term courses, advanced training courses and professional retraining in 5 areas: - Economics and Finance, - Management, - Jurisprudence, - Foreign language, - Applied computer science.

Graduate School of Business

The Higher School of Business of the Moscow University named after S.Yu. Witte provides training for founders, managers and specialists of small and medium-sized businesses in Moscow under the MBA program (financial management), with a state diploma.

Distance learning

The university is implementing a multi-level comprehensive research work “Knowledge management system in a distributed university based on a modern information and educational environment, taking into account legal, socio-economic, pedagogical, cultural and qualitological aspects.”

At Moscow University named after S.Yu. Witte, training of graduate students and scientific supervision for writing a dissertation is carried out by the departments:

• Economics and Management;
• Criminal law disciplines;
• State legal disciplines;
• Humanities and social disciplines.

Branches and representative offices

Management

• Malyshev Nikolay Grigorievich, President of the University
• Semenov Alexander Vyacheslavovich, Rector of the University
• Bubnov Grigory Georgievich, Vice-President for Education and International Cooperation of the University
• Bobylchenko Galina Alekseevna, College Director

Notes

Links

• Center for Additional Professional Education MIEMP

Higher educational institutions of Moscow
State universities (medical,

The name of this outstanding statesman of Russia, remembered mainly because of its foreign sound, was mentioned in Soviet history only in connection with (as they wrote in textbooks then) “the dark time of tsarism.” He was also associated with another antagonist of Social Democracy - Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, and as his antipode. The relationship between these two people was indeed not easy; they had largely opposing views on the path of progress, but on the main points P. A. Stolypin and S. Yu. Witte agreed. The short biography of each of them was the personification of service to the Fatherland, and both of them completely denied the revolutionary path of development. Unfortunately, they failed to implement their plans for building a great Russia, although this did not require much - just a couple of decades of peace and quiet.

Genealogy of Witte

In the family of the Courland nobleman Christoph-Heinrich-Georg-Julius and the daughter of the governor of the Saratov region, Ekaterina Andreevna (nee Fadeeva), a son, Sergei Witte, was born in 1849. A brief biography of the father of the family contains information about the high level of his education (he was an agronomist). In the early forties, he settled in and held the position of manager of a large landowner farm. History is silent about how he won the heart of Ekaterina Andreevna Fadeeva, but it is obvious that this task was not an easy one. His future wife and mother of Sergei Yulievich came from a highly educated noble family, her grandfather was Prince Dolgorukov. Other children of the Saratov governor were also distinguished, and not only by their high origins - for example, one of the daughters became a prominent writer (Elena Gan). Ekaterina Fadeeva’s cousin, E. A. Sushkova, became famous as the author of very interesting memoirs that depicted the society of that time. was the boy's cousin.

Perhaps some may find it an insignificant circumstance in which family Sergei Yulievich Witte was born. A brief biography of him, however, is impossible without this information. His ancestors were worthy and gifted people.

Education

Until he reached the age of sixteen, the boy attended a gymnasium in Tiflis. Then the family lived in Chisinau for a couple of years. After receiving their matriculation certificate, she and her brother became students at Novorossiysk University, one of the best in the Russian Empire. The future statesman Witte patiently and persistently studied mathematics. His brief biography says that Sergei Yulievich’s youth was connected with Odessa (it was here that the now mentioned bears the name I.I. Mechnikov was located). In South Palmyra he defended his dissertation (1870). Witte was offered to stay at the educational institution, but he refused, for which he received the full support of his family, who considered the destiny of a nobleman to be service to the sovereign and the Fatherland.

Railroad career

The young man entered the service, taking the post of official in the office of the governor of Novorossiya. But he did not stay there for long and soon became a travel specialist on the recommendation of Count A.P. Bobrinsky. Witte’s short biography contains information that he worked almost as a cashier, but this is not entirely true, although he actually had to travel a lot to small stations, studying the work of the railway in all its intricacies and occupy various low positions to deepen his knowledge. Soon such persistence yielded results, and he headed the operational service of the Odessa Railway. S. Yu. Witte was then only 25 years old.

Further growth

Witte’s brief biography as an official could have become very short due to the train crash that occurred on Tiligul, but his active work in organizing defense cargo transportation (there was a war with Turkey) won the favor of his superiors, and he was actually forgiven (punishment - two weeks in the guardhouse). The development of the port of Odessa is also largely his achievement. So, instead of resignation and disgrace - a new round of career, now in St. Petersburg. In 1879, it was S. Yu. Witte who was entrusted with managing the five southwestern railways (Kharkov-Nikolaev, Kiev-Brest, Fastov, Brest-Graev and Odessa). A short biography of a high-ranking official takes us to Kyiv, where he works under the leadership of I. S. Bliokh, a prominent economic theorist and banker. Fifteen of the most interesting years of his life would pass here.

Achievements

At the beginning of the 20th century, tectonic processes took place in the world economy, from which Sergei Yulievich Witte did not remain aloof. His short biography contains information about the work he wrote, “National Economy and Friedrich List.” Soon this book is noticed “at the very top”, and the author is appointed state councilor at the railway department. Then there is a rapid career move to the post of minister. D.I. Mendeleev was invited by Witte to serve in the department entrusted to him.

The main merits of Sergei Yulievich in the matter of state reform can be listed point by point:

1. Introduction of gold backing for the ruble. As a result, the Russian monetary unit becomes one of the main world currencies.

2. Consolidation of the state monopoly on the sale of vodka (even the concept of “monopoly” arose as a general name). Serious funds began to flow into the budget, but there was also an unpleasant effect from the state’s interest in getting the people drunk.

3. A sharp increase in railway construction. During Witte's work, the length of the tracks doubled and exceeded 54 thousand miles. Such a pace did not exist even during the years of Stalin’s five-year plans.

4. Transfer of communication routes to state ownership. The treasury bought 70% of the shipping companies from their owners; this was of strategic importance for the country’s economy.

Personal life

Not a single biography, even the shortest one, can do without mentioning the family. Witte enjoyed success with ladies in his youth (his acquaintances with actresses are known). While still in Odessa, Sergei Yulievich met his first wife, who at that time was in a formal marriage. N. (nee Ivanenko) was the daughter of the leader of the nobility from Chernigov, they got married in Kyiv, in the Cathedral of St. Vladimir. The couple lived until the death of his wife in 1890. Two years later, Witte married again. His chosen one, Matilda Ivanovna Lisanevich, herself raised her daughter, whom Sergei Yulievich raised as his own child. The wife was a cross-Jew, which strained the official’s relationship with secular society. He himself did not attach any importance to prejudices.

Last years

Witte's relationship with Nicholas II was difficult. On the one hand, the emperor valued him as a specialist, on the other, court intrigues (which, by the way, Sergei Yulievich himself was an expert at) greatly complicated the position of the Minister of Finance. In the end, in 1903, Witte lost his post, but he did not remain idle for long - it was he who was sent to conduct peace negotiations with the Japanese government. He completed the task, and the reward was the title of count.

Then difficulties arose with the agricultural project, the leader of which was Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin. Having met resistance from the landowners, Witte retreated and fired the author of the controversial law. However, it was impossible to maneuver between the interests of opposing factions for a long time. The inevitable resignation eventually took place in 1906.

This is where Witte’s short biography ends. In February 1915, he fell ill with meningitis and died.

The whole life of this statesman is a vivid illustration of the unsuccessful struggle for the prosperity of the Motherland. Our contemporaries need to know it in order to avoid many of the mistakes made a century ago.