Sergei Witte is the creator of the Russian economy.

Witte, Sergei Yulievich (18491915) outstanding Russian statesman, reformer.

Born 17

(29) June 1849 in Tiflis in the family of the director of the Department of State Property in the Caucasus. Witte's paternal ancestors, Germans, moved to the Baltic states from Holland to 17th century by mother the daughter of a member of the chief administration of the governor in the Caucasus Witte's genealogy was traced back to the descendants of the princes Dolgoruky. The cousin of S.Yu. Witte along this line was H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of theosophical teachings. The boy grew up in the family of his grandfather on his mother's side and received the usual upbringing for noble families in a monarchical spirit.

In the 1860s he was a student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the Novorossiysk University in Odessa. He studied at the expense of the Caucasian viceroy, because after the death of his father the family was in need, he was fond of the theory of infinitesimal quantities in mathematics, but due to lack of funds to continue his studies, after university he was enrolled in the department of the railway traffic service in the office of the governor-general of Odessa. There he worked as a ticket cashier, controller, traffic inspector, freight service clerk, assistant driver, assistant and stationmaster, he thoroughly knew the commercial side of the railway business.

In the early 1870s, under the patronage of the Minister of Railways, Count Bobrinsky, S.Yu. Witte was appointed head of the Odessa traffic office railway AT years of the Russian-Turkish war 18771878 distinguished himself by organizing the transportation of troops to the theater of operations, for which he received the post of head of the operational department of the South-Westernrailway In Petersburg. Here he showed himself as an excellent analyst in the commission of Count E.T. Baranov on the study of the railway business in Russia, striking everyone with an excellent memory. The book published by S.Yu. Witte in 1883 Principles railway tariffs for the transportation of goods brought him fame in the circles of the Russian bourgeoisie.

According to his political views, S.Yu. Witte sympathized with late Slavophilism at that time, wrote for I.S. Aksakov's newspaper "Rus", collaborated with the Odessa Slavic Charitable Society. But

according to his confession in those young years he preferred the "society of actresses" to politics.

After events 1

March 1881 put forward the idea of ​​creating a conspiratorial organization to protect the sovereign and fight terrorists by their own methods. The idea was embodied by the monarchists who created the "Holy Squad" in St. Petersburg, and S.Yu. Witte himself received the task of organizing an attempt on the life of one of the populists in Paris. A terrorist did not come out of him, the society was dissolved, but Witte's stay in it demonstrated his loyal feelings to the royal family.

Chance Helped Witte's New Promotion

derailment due to speeding of the royal train in Borki on the South-West railway October 17, 1888. Before Witte repeatedly warned the Minister of Railways about the possible consequences of exceeding the speed limits by the drivers of the tsarist trains. ATreport to Alexander III in connection with the incident in Borki, they remembered the warnings of S.Yu. Witte. The tsar appointed him to the newly approved post of Director of the Department of Railway Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, promoting him from titular to actual state councilors.

The 40-year-old director of the department wanted to be noticed: soon after his appointment, he substantiated in practice the need to regulate railway tariffs. AT

February 1892 having overcome the intrigues against him in the transport and financial departments S.Yu. Witte was appointed to the post of Minister of Railways, and six months later (due to the resignation due to illness of I.A. Vyshnegradsky) he became a Privy Councilor, an honorary member of the Academy Sciences and Minister of Finance of Russia. Under his ministry, S.Yu. Witte created the State Press Agency for the first time in the history of Russia (1902).

S.Yu. Witte held the post of Minister of Finance until August 1903, guided by the theoretical legacy of his predecessors

N.Kh. Bunge, I.A. Vyshnegradsky. The works of the German economist had a great influence on his economic views.F. Liszt, the analysis of which is devoted to the work of S. Yu. Witte The national economy of Friedrich List . Having set the goal of bringing Russia into the category of advanced industrial powers, catching up with the developed countries of Europe, and taking a strong position in the markets of the East, S.Yu. Witte developed conceptual and tactical approaches to the problem of forming market relations and creating an independent national economy. For the accelerated industrialization of the country and the accumulation of internal resources, he put forward the task of actively attracting foreign capital, substantiated the need for customs protection of industry from competitors, and encouragement of exports. During his tenure as Minister of Finance to Russiaattracted at least 3billion rubles foreign capitals. An important step towards strengthening the domestic market of Russia was the introduction of a protectionist tariff in 1891 and the conclusion of customs agreements with Germany in 1894.and 1904.

He considered the most important mechanism in the implementation of the internal restructuring of the country to be unlimited state intervention a set of financial, credit and tax measures, including restriction of the issuing activity of the State Bank, conversion loans abroad, etc. Initiator

the monetary reform of 1897, he achieved the stabilization of the ruble, introduced gold circulation, ensuring the absolute stability of the gold ruble until 1914.

The way to enrich the Russian treasury was the introduction of a wine monopoly (the farming system on the initiative of S.Yu. Witte was replaced by excise taxes from each degree), which became one of the foundations of the budget of tsarist Russia and gave up to a quarter of all revenues to the treasury.

S.Yu. Witte also associated the modernization of the country's economy with the advanced development of transport communications. Starting as Minister of Finance, he adopted 29

thousand miles of railways, having left this post, left 54thousand miles (70% of them were state-owned). ByOn his initiative, the Trans-Siberian Railway was built (18911901), along which passengers saw the inscription on cut rocks: “Forward to the Pacific Ocean!”. As the road was built, new cities arose (Novonikolaevsk, now Novosibirsk); ships were built for merchant shipping along the Northern Sea Route (the icebreaker "Ermak").

Having a university education, who understood the importance of science for an economic breakthrough, S.Yu. Witte

invited D.I. Mendeleev to head the Chamber of Weights and Measures, was the initiator of the opening of new universities 3polytechnic institutes, 73commercial and many other educational institutions.

Witte was recognized in business circles in the West as one of the creators of the Russian commercial and industrial world. His dizzying career aroused envy among the Russian bureaucracy. High-society Petersburg could not come to terms with the "provincial upstart", his straightforwardness, demeanor. Attacks on the successful Minister of Finance were intensified by the fact of his marriage to a Jewess M. Lisanevich (née Nurok), who was divorced from her husband after a scandalous money story. Emperor Alexander II himself became the protector of the minister

I . The conversations subsided, but Witte's wife was not accepted either at court or in high society. Conversations in high society influenced Witte's relationship with the royal court, and Nikolai II , who replaced Alexander III at the head of state, more than once thought about removing Witte from the post of Minister of Finance, accused by ill-wishers of republicanism.

In radical left circles, Witte was credited with wanting to curtail the rights of the people in favor of an autocratic state. Liberals, on the other hand, believed that his program was distracting society from socio-economic and cultural-political reforms. There was even talk of imposing "state socialism" on him. In reality, this supporter of a strong Russia had a very cool attitude towards socialist ideas and believed that Marxists were “strong”.

negation and terribly weak in creation.

The landowners reproached Witte for his attempt to revise the agrarian policy, seeing in it the desire to ruin them in favor of the peasants. He also sought the transition to bourgeois methods of management through the expansion of market relations, the purchasing power of the domestic market, the transition from communal to private land ownership. Adopted back in

The 1899 law on the abolition of mutual responsibility in the community was the first step of the minister-reformer towards agrarian reform; another such step was the creation with the support of the Minister of the InteriorD.S. Sipyagin "Special meeting on the needs of the agricultural industry" (1902). The "Special Conference" set the task of "reviving personal property in the countryside" and thus anticipated many ideas and actionsP.A. Stolypin. To implement the program outlined by the "Special Meeting", 82 provincial and 536 county noble committees, who collected answers from “experts” in agrarian affairs (landlords, zemstvos, etc.) and were called upon to analyze them and answer the question of whether a rural community was necessary.

The agrarian issue became the arena of confrontation between S.Yu. Witte and the Minister of the Interior

V.K. Pleve, who replaced D.S. Sipyagin. On thethe tsar himself was on the side of V.K. Pleve, while the Ministry of Finance in 1903 experienced difficulties. The economic crisis hindered the development of industry, reduced the inflow of foreign capital, and disturbed the budget balance. The expansion of Russia in the East hastened the war with Japan. The committees created by the "Special Conference" became the centers of liberal opposition to the government, advocating the voluntary transition of peasants from communal ownership of land to household. In the summer of 1903, general workers' strikes temporarily paralyzed the life of ten major cities in southern Russia.

Ultimately, V.K. Pleva managed to “set up” S.Yu. Witte, blaming him for the instability in the country. AT

In August 1903, the successful finance minister was offered an "honorable resignation." Hewas removed from office and granted the post of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers. Perall programs remained on board, including the "Special Meeting". His work was curtailed, and 30March 1905 the king closed it. However, the "Special Conference" revealed the reasons for the stagnation of agriculture and the plight of the peasants, identifying the possible directions for the future agrarian reform, which slowed down the development of the revolution of 1905-1907.

As chairman of the Committee of Ministers, S.Yu. Witte continued the implementation of the program for securing Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. Even earlier, he sought to counteract Japan's aggressive policy in the Far East, pursuing a course towards rapprochement with China and Korea. With his participation, an agreement was concluded with China on the construction of the Chinese Eastern

railway in the territory of Manchuria. The war with Japan, he believed, would require large funds needed by the country for other needs. Buthis position sharply diverged from the course of the "small victorious war" of the state secretary of the tsarA.M. Bezobrazov, who was supported by the naval, military ministers, and Nikolai himself II. S.Yu. Witte did a lot to protect the monarchy. Having shown himself to be a categorical opponent of the expansion of zemstvo institutions, as "not corresponding to the autocratic system", he insisted that from the decree of 12December 1904. About the plans for the improvement of the state order the item on the participation of elected representatives in the State Council was deleted. By this he earned the temporary location of the king. Heargued to Nicholas II that if the Committee of Ministers were endowed with real power, then such a turn of events as "Bloody Sunday" would not be possible. ATAt the end of January 1905, the tsar instructed S.Yu. Witte to organize a ministerial meeting on "measures necessary to calm the country."

Witte counted on the transformation of the meeting into a government of the "Western European model", but this caused another tsarist disfavor. And

only at the end of May 1905in connection with the urgent need to end the war with Japan as soon as possible, the king again called on Witte as an ambassador extraordinary to conduct difficult peace negotiations. 23August 1905 he signed the Treaty of Portsmouth with Japan. Fromhopelessly lost war, S.Yu. Witte, a diplomat (with the active participation of American President T. Roosevelt as an intermediary) managed to extract the maximum possible, for which he was granted the title of count. (Ill-wishers in high society called S.Yu. Witte Count "Polu-Sakhalin", accusing him of ceding the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan).In the autumn of 1905, S.Yu. Witte managed to convince Nikolai II that he had no choice but to establish either a dictatorship in Russia orconstitutional monarchy. Insisting on the need to create a "strong government" headed by himself, S.Yu.October On the improvement of the state order. This step saved the autocracy from collapse. 19October, the tsar also signed a decree on reforming the Council of Ministers, headed by S.Yu. Witte, who had a program of liberal reforms that he had previously drawn up together with A.D. Obolensky and N.I. Vuich and set out in a note to Nikolai II back in early October.

Having become the head of the Russian government, S.Yu. Witte reached the pinnacle of his career. Demonstrating amazing flexibility and remaining a firm guardian of the autocracy, he carried out preparations for the convocation of the State Duma. The government led by him drafted Basic Laws, realizing the proclaimed 17

October freedom, dealt with the reorganization of peasant land tenure.

At the same time, in the fight against the development of revolutionary sentiments, the Witte government showed firmness and even toughness, introducing a state of emergency in areas covered by the revolutionary movement, resorting to courts-martial and the death penalty. To stabilize the internal situation, Witte obtained large European loans, which were used to suppress the revolution.

The decline of the revolutionary movement predetermined the elimination of the first Russian prime minister. He

was no longer needed by the king and 14 April 1906 was forced to submit his resignation. The end of his career was brightened up by a special rescript of the tsar, who awarded him the Order of Alexander Nevsky with diamonds.At the end of his days, Witte remained chairman of the Finance Committee of the State Council, and often spoke in the press. AT 1912 he completed his Memories, which remain to this day a valuable eyewitness account of the turbulent events of the early 20in. S.Yu. Witte spent the last years of his life in St. Petersburg and abroad. AT early 1914 he predicted that Russia's entry into the war would end in the collapse of the autocracy, he was ready to take on a peacekeeping mission in negotiations with the Germans, but he was already mortally ill. Passed away 28 February (March 13), 1915. His funeral was modest, there were no official ceremonies. His office was sealed, papers were confiscated. Witte's death caused a wide resonance. Newspapers were full of headlines: In memory of a big man , The great reformer... Witte's activity was contradictory, combining a commitment to unlimited autocracy and an understanding of the need for reforms that undermined his foundations. But the meaning of lifeS.Yu. Witte was serving the Motherland, this was recognized by both his like-minded people and ill-wishers. Foreign historians call S.Yu. Witte "a champion of state capitalism."

Proceedings of S.Yu. Witte: Memories. AT

3 vols. M., 1960; Memories. In 2 vols. St. Petersburg, 2003.

Irina Pushkareva

LITERATURE

Struve P. memory S.Yu. Witte. // Russian Thought: March 1 915
The history of Russia in portraits, vol. 1. M., 1998
Karelin A.P., Stepanov S.A. S.Yu. Witte financier, politician, diplomat. M., 1998
Ananin B.V., Ganelin R.Sh. S.Yu. Witte and his time. St. Petersburg, 1999
Kazarezov V.V. The most famous reformers of Russia . M., 2002

The name of this outstanding statesman of Russia, remembered mainly due to the 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 the Social Democracy - Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, moreover, as his antipode. The relationship between these two people was indeed not easy, they had largely opposite views on the path of progress, but P. A. Stolypin and S. Yu. Witte converged on the main thing. A brief biography of each of them was the personification of serving the Fatherland, and both of them completely denied the revolutionary path of development. Unfortunately, they failed to realize the plans for building a great Russia, although this did not require so much - just a couple of decades of peace and tranquility.

Genealogy 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 also an agronomist). In the early forties, he settled in and held the position of manager of a large landowner economy. 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, Sergei Yulievich, came from a highly educated noble family, her grandfather was Prince Dolgorukov. Other children of the Saratov governor also differed, and not only in high birth - for example, one of the daughters became a prominent writer (Elena Gan). The cousin of Ekaterina Fadeeva, 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 someone will find it an insignificant circumstance in which family Sergey Yulievich Witte was born. A brief biography of him, however, without this information is impossible. His ancestors were worthy and gifted people.

Education

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

Traveler's career

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

Further growth

A brief biography of Witte as an official could become very short due to the train wreck that occurred on Tiligul, but his active work in organizing defense cargo transportation (there was a war with Turkey) won the favor of the authorities, and he was actually forgiven (punishment - two weeks of guardhouse). The development of the port of Odessa is also to a large extent his merit. 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 to manage the five southwestern railways (Kharkov-Nikolaev, Kiev-Brest, Fastov, Brest-Graev and Odessa). A brief 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. Here fifteen most interesting years of his life will pass.

Achievements

At the beginning of the 20th century, tectonic processes take place in the world economy, from which Sergei Yulievich Witte did not stand aside. His brief 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 a state councilor at the railway department. Then there is a rapid career throw to the post of minister. D. I. Mendeleev invited Witte to serve in the department entrusted to him.

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

1. Introduction of the gold backing of 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 "monopolka" as a common name arose. Serious funds began to flow into the budget, but there was also an unpleasant effect from the state's interest in soldering the people.

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

4. Transfer of means of communication to state property. The treasury bought out 70% of carrier companies from the owners, this was of strategic importance for the country's economy.

Personal life

Not a single, even the shortest biography can do without mentioning the family. Witte in his youth enjoyed success with the ladies (it is known about his acquaintances with actresses). Back 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 were 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 a second time. His chosen one, Matilda Ivanovna Lisanevich, raised her daughter herself, whom Sergei Yulievich raised as her own child. His wife was a Jewish convert, which aggravated the official's relationship with secular society. He himself did not attach any importance to prejudice.

Last years

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

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

On this, in fact, a brief biography of Witte ends. In February 1915 he contracted 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 mistakes made a century ago.

Witte Sergei Yulievich (1849-1915), Count (1905), Russian statesman.

Born June 29, 1849 in Tiflis (now Tbilisi). The father of the future reformer was a major official who served in the Caucasian governorship. Witte was educated at home. He externally passed the exams at the gymnasium and entered in 1866 at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Novorossiysk University in Odessa. Graduating from the university, he defended his dissertation in higher mathematics.

In 1877, he received the position of head of operations in the Office of the state-owned Odessa Railway, in 1880 he took the same post in the management of the South-Western Railways joint-stock company.

On August 30, 1892, the tsar appointed Witte the manager of the Ministry of Finance. He had two main tasks: to find additional funds for the state and to carry out a monetary reform. Thanks to large foreign loans, in just two or three years, Witte achieved that Russian industry began to bring tangible income to the state. He increased taxes and adopted a protective tariff for domestic producers, under which it became profitable to purchase not foreign, but Russian goods.

In 1893, Witte was awarded the title of honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

In 1894, a state monopoly on the sale of alcohol was introduced, and the income from the sale of vodka and wine now went entirely to the state treasury. "Drunken" money at that time accounted for about a quarter of all state revenues. Witte also managed to carry out the monetary reform that his predecessors had been preparing for many years. Now Russian paper money could freely buy gold. Foreign bankers and entrepreneurs began to willingly invest in Russian industry, which contributed to its growth.

In October 1898, Witte turned to Nicholas II with a note in which he persuaded him to release the peasants from the guardianship of the community, to make a “person” out of the peasant. Later, these principles formed the basis of P. A. Stolypin's agrarian reform. In 1903 Witte became chairman of the Committee of Ministers.

After the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the emperor instructed Witte to lead the Russian delegation in negotiations with Japan in Portsmouth (USA). Witte managed to moderate Japanese demands. As a result, the Russian Empire recognized Korea as a sphere of Japanese interests, Japan received the southern part of Sakhalin Island. On August 23, 1905, the Peace of Portsmouth was signed on these terms. On September 15, Witte returned to Russia.

In the same year, the emperor elevated him to the dignity of a count (evil tongues immediately called the newly-made Count Witte-Polu-Sakhalin).

Nicholas II instructed Witte to prepare a draft Manifesto on granting political freedoms to the population. On October 17, the tsar signed it.

In 1905, Witte was the first in the history of Russia to take the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

In April 1906, he resigned due to disagreements in the government and began writing memoirs. A huge three-volume work saw the light first in Berlin (1921-1923), and then in the USSR (1960).

(06/29/1849 - 03/13/1915) - Count, Russian statesman.

The life, political activity, moral qualities of Sergei Yulievich Witte always caused contradictory, sometimes polar opposite assessments and judgments. According to some memoirs of his contemporaries before us " exceptionally gifted», « highly distinguished statesman», « surpassing in the variety of his talents, the vastness of his outlook, the ability to cope with the most difficult tasks with the brilliance and strength of his mind of all people contemporary to him". According to others, it is businessman, completely inexperienced in the national economy», « suffering from dilettantism and poor knowledge of Russian reality", a person with" average philistine level of development and the naivety of many views", whose policy was distinguished" helplessness, unsystematic and ... unprincipled».

Describing Witte, some emphasized that it was " European and liberal", others - what" Witte was never a liberal or a conservative, but he was sometimes deliberately reactionary.". It was even written about him: savage, provincial hero, insolent and debauched with a sunken nose».

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

Education

He was born on June 17, 1849 in the Caucasus, in Tiflis, in the family of a provincial official. Witte's paternal ancestors - immigrants from Holland who moved to the Baltic States - in the middle of the 19th century. received hereditary nobility. On the mother's side, his family tree was conducted from 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 Viceroy of the Caucasus, in the past Saratov Governor Andrei Mikhailovich Fadeev and Princess Elena Pavlovna Dolgoruky. Witte himself very willingly emphasized his family ties with the princes Dolgoruky, but did not like to mention that he came from a family of little-known Russified Germans. " Actually my whole 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 years in the family of his grandfather A. M. Fadeev, where he received the usual upbringing for noble families, and “ primary education, - recalled S. Yu. Witte, - my grandmother gave me... she taught me to read and write».

In the Tiflis gymnasium, where he was then sent, Sergei studied "very poorly", preferring to study music, fencing, horseback riding. As a result, at the age of sixteen, he received a matriculation certificate with mediocre marks in the sciences 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 in addition to everything - a unit of behavior closed his access there ... I had to go back to the gymnasium - first in Odessa, then in Chisinau. And only after intensive studies Witte passed the exams successfully and received a decent matriculation certificate.

In 1866, Sergei Witte entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Novorossiysk University in Odessa. "... I worked day and night he recalled, and therefore, all the time of my stay at the university, I really was the best student in the sense of knowledge».

Thus passed the first year of student life. In the spring, having gone on vacation, on the way home, Witte received news of the death of his father (shortly before that, he had lost his grandfather, A. M. Fadeev). It turned out that the family was left without a livelihood: shortly before his death, his grandfather and father invested all their capital in the Chiatura mines company, which soon collapsed. 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 managed 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 did not care about political radicalism or the philosophy of atheistic materialism, which excited the minds of the youth of the 70s. Witte was not one of those whose idols were Pisarev, Dobrolyubov, Tolstoy, Chernyshevsky, Mikhailovsky. "... I have always been against all these tendencies, because in my upbringing I was an extreme monarchist ... and also a religious person”, - subsequently wrote S. Yu. Witte. His spiritual world took shape under the influence of his relatives, especially his uncle - Rostislav Andreevich Fadeev, a general, a participant in the conquest of the Caucasus, a talented military publicist, known for his Slavophile, pan-Slavist views.

Despite his monarchical convictions, Witte was elected by the students to the committee in charge of the student fund. This innocent undertaking almost ended in failure. This so-called mutual benefit fund was closed as. dangerous institution, and all members of the committee, incl. Witte, were under investigation. They were threatened with exile in Siberia. And only the scandal that happened to the prosecutor who was 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.

Carier start

After graduating from the university in 1870, Sergei Witte thought about a scientific career, about a professorial department. However, relatives - 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 matter". In addition, an ardent passion for the actress Sokolova prevented her scientific career, after meeting whom Witte "did not want to write dissertations anymore."

Having chosen the career of an official, he was assigned to the office of the Odessa governor, Count Kotzebue. And two years later, the first promotion - Witte was appointed clerk. But suddenly all his plans changed.

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

In an effort to thoroughly study the practical side of the enterprise, Witte sat at the station ticket office, acted as an assistant and head of the station, controller, traffic inspector, even visited the role of 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, the career of S. Yu. Witte almost ended completely. At the end of 1875, a train crash occurred near Odessa, resulting in 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 dragged on, Witte, while remaining in the service, managed to distinguish himself in transporting troops to the theater of operations (the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 was underway), which attracted the attention of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, at whose command the prison for the accused was replaced by a two-week guardhouse.

In 1877, S. Yu. Witte became the head of the movement of the Odessa railway, and after the end of the war - the head of the operational department of the South-Western Railways. Having received this appointment, he moved from the provinces to St. Petersburg, where he took part in the work of the commission of Count E. T. Baranov (for the study of the railway business).

Service in private railway companies had an extremely strong influence on Witte: it gave management experience, taught him a prudent, businesslike approach, a sense of market conditions, 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 "railway kings" - I. S. Bliokh, P. I. Gubonin, V. A. Kokorev, S. S. Polyakov, knew the future Minister of Finance I. A. Vyshnegradsky closely. Already in these years, the versatility of Witte's energetic nature manifested itself: the qualities of an excellent administrator, a sober, practical businessman were well combined with the abilities of a scientist-analyst. In 1883, S. Yu. Witte published "Principles of railway tariffs for the carriage of goods", brought him fame among specialists. By the way, this was not the first and far from the last work that came out from under 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 Charitable 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 “actress society” to serious politics. "... I knew all the more or less outstanding actresses who were in Odessa", he later recalled.

Beginning of state activity

The assassination of Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya dramatically changed S. Yu. Witte's attitude to politics. After March 1, he actively joined the big political game. Upon learning of 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 conspiratorial organization to protect the new sovereign and fight the revolutionaries with 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 “Holy Squad” in St. Petersburg. In mid-March 1881, S. Yu. Witte was solemnly ordained a member of the squad and soon received the first task - to organize an attempt on the life of the famous populist revolutionary L. N. Hartmann in Paris. Fortunately, soon the "Holy Squad" compromised itself with inept espionage and provocateur activities and, having existed for just over a year, was liquidated. It must be said that Witte's stay in this organization did not at all decorate his biography, although it made it possible to demonstrate ardent loyal feelings. After the death of R. A. Fadeev in the second half of the 1980s, S. Yu. Witte moved away from the people of his circle and moved closer to the Pobedonostsev-Katkov group that controlled the 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 stubbornly and patiently began to prepare his further advancement. This was greatly facilitated by the fact that the authority of S. Yu. Witte as a theoretician and practitioner of the railway industry attracted the attention of the Minister of Finance, I. A. Vyshnegradsky. And besides, the case helped.

On October 17, 1888, the royal train crashed in Borki. The reason for this was a violation of elementary rules for the movement of trains: the heavy train of the royal train with two freight locomotives was exceeding the established speed. S. Yu. Witte had previously warned the Minister of Railways about the possible consequences. With his usual 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 unlawful speed. After the crash in Borki (from which, however, neither the emperor nor members of his family 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 lucrative place and the position of a successful businessman for the sake of a state career that beckoned him. Simultaneously with his appointment to the post of director of the department, he was promoted from the titular immediately to the actual state councilors (i.e. received the rank of general). It was a dizzying leap up the bureaucratic ladder. Witte is among the closest collaborators of I. A. Vyshnegradsky.

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

Ministry of Finance

In February 1892, having successfully used the conflict between two departments - transport and finance, S. Yu. Witte sought to be appointed to the post of manager of the Ministry of Railways. However, he did not stay in this post for long. In the same 1892, I. A. Vyshnegradsky fell seriously ill. A behind-the-scenes struggle for the influential post of Minister of Finance began in circles around the government, 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 was not at all going to leave 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 with simultaneous promotion to Privy Councillors. The 43-year-old Witte's career 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 (née Nurok). This was not his first marriage. Witte's first wife was N. A. Spiridonova (nee Ivanenko) - the daughter of the Chernigov marshal of the nobility. She was married, but was not happily married. Witte met her back in Odessa and, having fallen in love, achieved a divorce.

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

About a year after her death, Sergei Yulievich met a lady in the theater (also married), who made an indelible impression on him. Slender, with gray-green sad eyes, a mysterious smile, a charming voice, she seemed to him the embodiment of charm. Acquainted with the lady, Witte began to seek her favor, urging her to dissolve the marriage and marry him. In order to get a divorce from her intractable husband, Witte had to pay compensation and even resort to administrative threats.

In 1892, he nevertheless married his beloved woman and adopted her child (he had no children of his own).

A 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 "put an end" to his career. However, Alexander III, having delved into all the details, said that this marriage only increases his respect for Witte. Nevertheless, Matilda Witte was not accepted either at court or in high society.

It should be noted that the relationship between Witte himself and the high society was far from simple. Great-society Petersburg looked askance at the "provincial upstart". Witte's sharpness, angularity, non-aristocratic manners, southern accent, poor French pronunciation jarred on him. Sergei Yulievich for a long time became a favorite character in the capital's jokes. His rapid advance caused undisguised envy and ill will on the part of officials.

Along with this, Emperor Alexander III clearly favored him. "... He was especially kind to me.", - wrote Witte, - " loved very much», « believed 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, the complete absence of subservience. And for Witte, Alexander III remained until the end of his life the ideal of an autocrat. " True Christian», « faithful son of the Orthodox Church», « a simple, firm and honest person», « eminent emperor», « man of his word», « royal 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 solution of the most important issues. And Sergei Yulievich really showed himself to be a sober, prudent, flexible politician. Yesterday's pan-Slavist, Slavophile, a staunch supporter of Russia's original development path, in a short time turned into a European-style industrializer and declared his readiness to bring Russia into the ranks of advanced industrial powers in a short time.

As Minister of Finance

By the beginning of the XX century. Witte's economic platform took on a completely finished shape: within about ten years to catch up with the more industrialized countries of Europe, take a strong position in the markets of the East, ensure the accelerated industrial development of Russia by attracting foreign capital, accumulating domestic resources, customs protection of industry from competitors and encouraging export. A special role in Witte's program was given to foreign capital; the Minister of Finance advocated their unlimited involvement in Russian industry and the railway business, calling it a cure for poverty. He considered the second most important mechanism to be unlimited state intervention.

And it was not a simple declaration. In 1894-1895. S.Yu. Witte achieved the stabilization of the ruble, and in 1897 did what his predecessors had failed to do: he introduced gold money circulation, providing the country with a hard currency and an influx of foreign capital until the First World War. In addition, Witte sharply increased taxation, especially indirect taxation, 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 even O. Bismarck himself became interested in S. Yu. Witte. This was extremely flattering to the vanity of the young minister. "... Bismarck... paid special attention to me he later wrote, and several times through acquaintances expressed the highest opinion about my personality».

In the conditions of the economic recovery of the 90s, the Witte system worked excellently: an unprecedented number of railways were laid in the country; by 1900, Russia came out on top in the world in oil production; bonds of Russian state loans were highly quoted abroad. The authority of S. Yu. Witte grew immeasurably. The Russian finance minister became a popular figure among Western businessmen and attracted favorable attention from the foreign press. The domestic press sharply criticized Witte. Former associates accused him of planting "state socialism", adherents of the reforms of the 60s criticized him for using state intervention, Russian liberals perceived Witte's program as "a grand diversion of the autocracy, diverting public attention from socio-economic and cultural-political reforms." " Not a single statesman of Russia has been the subject of such diverse and contradictory, but stubborn and passionate attacks, as my ... husband, - later wrote Matilda Witte. - 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 the monarch. The landowners reproached him for trying to ruin them in favor of the peasants, and the radical parties - for trying to deceive the peasantry in favor of the landlords.". He was even accused of being friends with A. Zhelyabov, in an attempt to lead to the decline of Russian agriculture in order to deliver benefits to Germany.

In reality, the entire policy of S. Yu. Witte was subordinated to a single goal: to carry out 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 the 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 the peasant economy, 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 transition of the government to a bourgeois agrarian policy. In 1899, with his participation, the government developed and adopted laws on the abolition of mutual responsibility in the peasant community. In 1902, Witte achieved the creation of a special commission on the peasant question (“Special Conference on the Needs of the Agricultural Industry”), which aimed at “ set up personal property in the village».

However, Witte got in the way of his longtime opponent V. K. Plehve, who was appointed Minister of the Interior. The agrarian question turned out to be an arena of confrontation between two influential ministers. Witte did not succeed in realizing his ideas. However, it was S. Yu. Witte who initiated the transition of the government to a bourgeois agrarian policy. As for P. A. Stolypin, Witte later repeatedly emphasized that he “ robbed» him, used the ideas of which he himself, Witte, was a staunch supporter. That is why Sergei Yulievich could not remember P. A. Stolypin without a feeling of anger. "... Stolypin he wrote, possessed an extremely superficial mind and an almost complete absence of state culture and education. By education and intelligence ... Stolypin was a type of bayonet junker».

Resignation

Events at the beginning of the 20th century called into question all the grandiose undertakings of Witte. The world economic crisis sharply slowed down the development of industry in Russia, the inflow of foreign capital was reduced, and the budgetary balance was disturbed. Economic expansion in the East aggravated Russian-English contradictions and brought the war with Japan closer.

Witte's economic "system" was clearly shaken. This made it possible for his opponents (Plehve, Bezobrazov, and others) to gradually push the Minister of Finance out of power. Nicholas II willingly supported the campaign against Witte. It should be noted that between S. Yu. Witte and Nicholas II, who ascended the Russian throne in 1894, a rather complicated relationship was established: Witte showed distrust and contempt, while Nicholas showed distrust and hatred. Witte pushed the restrained, outwardly correct and well-educated tsar with himself, constantly insulted him, without noticing it, with his harshness, impatience, self-confidence, inability to hide his disrespect and contempt. And there was another circumstance that turned a simple dislike for Witte into hatred: after all, it was impossible to do without Witte. Whenever a really great mind and resourcefulness were required, Nicholas II, albeit with gnashing of teeth, turned to him.

For his part, Witte gives in his "Memoirs" a very sharp and bold characterization of Nikolai. Enumerating the numerous virtues of Alexander III, he constantly 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 " proud character"and rare" vindictiveness". In "Memoirs" by S. Yu. Witte, the empress also got a lot of unflattering words. The author calls her strange special" With " narrow and stubborn», « with a stupid egotistical character and a narrow outlook».

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 was not going 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.

New victories

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 sought to ensure that he did not completely lose the tsar's favor, more often to attract "the highest attention" to himself, strengthened and established ties in government circles. Preparations for a war with Japan made it possible to start an active struggle for a return to power. However, Witte's hopes that with the outbreak of war, Nicholas II would call him, did not come true.

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

Trying to attract attention, Witte takes an active part in meetings with the king on the issue of attracting elected representatives from the population to participate in legislation, trying 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, cannot do without him, that if the Committee of Ministers under his chairmanship were endowed with real power, then such a turn of events would be impossible.

Finally, on January 17, 1905, Nicholas II, despite all his hostility, nevertheless turns to Witte and instructs him to organize a ministerial meeting on “measures necessary to calm the country” and possible reforms. Sergei Yulievich clearly counted on the fact 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, a new royal disfavor followed: Nicholas II closed the meeting. Witte was again out of work.

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

Nicholas II was reluctant to appoint Witte as Ambassador Extraordinary. Witte had long pushed the tsar to start peace negotiations with Japan in order to " although to calm Russia down a bit". In a letter to that dated February 28, 1905, he pointed out: “ The continuation of the war is more than dangerous: the country, in the current state of mind, will not endure further sacrifices without terrible disasters...". He generally considered the war disastrous for the autocracy.

On August 23, 1905, the Peace of Portsmouth was signed. It was a brilliant victory for Witte, confirming his outstanding diplomatic skills. The talented diplomat managed to get out of the hopelessly lost war with minimal losses, while achieving for Russia " almost decent world". 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 would immediately be mockingly nicknamed "Count of Polusakhalinsky", thereby accusing Japan of ceding the southern part of Sakhalin).

Manifesto October 17, 1905

Returning to St. Petersburg, Witte plunged headlong into politics: he took part in Selsky's "Special Meeting", where projects for further state reforms were developed. As the revolutionary events intensified, Witte increasingly insistently shows the need for a "strong government", convinces the tsar that it is he, Witte, who can play the role of "Russia's savior." In early October, he addresses the tsar with a note in which he sets out a whole program of liberal reforms. In the critical days for the autocracy, Witte inspires 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 signs the document drawn up by Witte, which went down in history as the Manifesto on October 17, 1905. 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. In 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 skillful peacemaker. Under the chairmanship of Witte, the government dealt with a wide variety of issues: it reorganized peasant land ownership, introduced an exceptional position in various regions, resorted to the use of courts-martial, the death penalty and other repressions, prepared for the convocation of the Duma, drafted the Basic Laws, implemented the freedoms proclaimed on October 17 .

However, the Council of Ministers headed by S. Yu. Witte did not become like a European cabinet, and Sergei Yulievich himself served as chairman for only six months. Increasingly intensified conflict with the king 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 was essentially the end of his career, although Witte did not retire from political activity. He was still a member of the State Council, and often spoke in print.

It should be noted that Sergei Yulievich expected a new appointment and tried to bring it closer, 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 from the state scene of his influential opponents 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 terminally ill.

Death of the "Great Reformer"

S. Yu. Witte died on February 28, 1915, a little short of 65 years old. He was buried modestly, "in the third category." There were no official ceremonies. Moreover, the office of the deceased was sealed, papers were confiscated, and a thorough search was made at the villa in Biarritz.

Witte's death caused quite a wide resonance in Russian society. 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 activity was assessed extremely controversially. Some sincerely believed that Witte had rendered his homeland " great service', others have argued that ' Count Witte far from justified the hopes placed on him", what " he did not bring any real benefit to the country", and even, on the contrary, his activities" should rather be considered harmful».

The political activity of Sergei Yulievich Witte was indeed extremely controversial. Sometimes it combined the incompatible: the desire for unlimited attraction of foreign capital and the struggle 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 October 17 Manifesto and the subsequent measures that brought it to naught, and so on. But no matter how the results of Witte's policy are assessed, one thing is certain: the meaning of his whole life, all his activities was the service of "great Russia". And this could not but be recognized by both his associates and opponents.

Article: "History of Russia in portraits". In 2 vols. T.1. p.285-308

Witte Sergey Yulievich Witte Sergey Yulievich

(1849-1915), count (1905), statesman, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1893). From February 1892 Minister of Railways, from August - Minister of Finance. From 1903 Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, in 1905-06 - the Council of Ministers. The initiator of the introduction of the wine monopoly (1894), the monetary reform (1897), the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. In the early 1900s opponent of the aggravation of relations with Japan, sought rapprochement with China. Signed the Peace of Portsmouth (1905). Under Witte's leadership, the Manifesto was drawn up on October 17, 1905. Witte's proposals for the free exit of peasants from the community, the elimination of class isolation were used in the course of the Stolypin agrarian reform. He sought to attract entrepreneurs to cooperate with the government. Author of "Memoirs" (vols. 1-3, 1960).

WITTE Sergey Yulievich

WITTE Sergei Yulievich (17 (29) June 1849, Tiflis (cm. TIFLIS)- February 28 (March 13), 1915, Petrograd) - Russian statesman, count (1905), Minister of Communications (1892), Minister of Finance (1892-1903), Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers (1903-1905), Council of Ministers (1905- 1906). S.Yu. Witte was the initiator of the introduction of the wine monopoly (1894), the monetary reform (1897), and the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, he signed the Peace of Portsmouth (1905). Author of the Manifesto October 17, 1905 S.Yu. Witte developed the main provisions of the Stolypin agrarian reform. Occupying high government positions, he sought to attract entrepreneurs to cooperate with the government. Honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1893), author of "Memoirs" (vols. 1-3, 1960).
The son of a major official, Sergei Witte, graduated in 1870 from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Novorossiysk University. (cm. NOVOROSSIYSK UNIVERSITY)(Odessa) and was appointed head of the movement of the Odessa railway. For about twenty years he worked in private railway companies, which contributed to his formation as a financier and government official. Fame in financial circles brought him the book "Principles of railway tariffs for the carriage of goods." In 1889 he was appointed director of the railway department of the Treasury; in February 1892 - the Minister of Communications, and from August 1892, in connection with the resignation of I.A. Vyshnegradsky - Minister of Finance. S.Yu. Witte had a significant influence on the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian government, actively contributed to the development of the Russian economy.
On his initiative, major economic measures were taken: a wine monopoly was introduced (cm. WINE MONOPOLY)(1894); the pace and scale of railway construction have been increased, including the construction of the Siberian Railway; the monetary reform was carried out (1897), according to which gold circulation was introduced and a free exchange of a credit ruble for gold was established. The policy of forcing economic development pursued by Witte was associated with attracting foreign capital to industry, banks and government loans, which was facilitated by the protectionist tariff of 1891 and political rapprochement with France. In 1894 and 1904 customs agreements were concluded with Germany. On the initiative and under the chairmanship of S.Yu. Witte On January 22, 1902, a special meeting was created on the needs of the agricultural industry. In the program of agrarian reforms, he outlined the provisions that were subsequently used by P.A. Stolypin. Local committees and meetings (82 provincial and regional and 536 county and district) spoke in favor of a voluntary transition of the peasants from communal ownership of land to household. However, Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich did not dare to carry out reforms, and the Special Meeting was closed on March 30, 1905.
In the sphere of domestic policy, S.Yu. Witte adhered to conservative views, sought to strengthen the autocracy in every possible way. (cm. AUTOCRACY). In particular, he opposed the expansion of the powers of zemstvo institutions. In foreign policy S.Yu. Witte sought to oppose Japan in the Far East and, pursuing a course towards rapprochement with China, opposed the capture of Port Arthur. With his participation, a defensive alliance was concluded with China against Japan and an agreement on the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway on the territory of Manchuria. Considering the military conflict to be premature, S.Yu. Witte advocated an agreement with Japan. This determined his differences with the foreign policy of Nicholas II and the Bezobrazovskaya clique. In August 1903 S.Yu. Witte was resigned from the post of Minister of Finance with the appointment of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers. After the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, he led the delegation that signed the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) with Japan, for which he received the title of count. From October 1905 to April 1906 S.Yu. Witte headed the Council of Ministers. During the October political strike (1905), he insisted on the adoption of the reform program by the tsar, and became the author of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905. Maneuvering between political forces, S.Yu. Witte was a supporter of the harsh suppression of armed uprisings against the tsarist government, was the initiator of sending punitive expeditions to Siberia, the Baltic states, Poland, sent troops from St. Petersburg to suppress the Moscow armed uprising. In 1906, he secured a loan of 2.25 billion francs from French bankers. Measures S.Yu. Witte's struggle against the revolution proved to be successful and brought real results. But for the bulk of the nobility and the ruling bureaucracy, his figure seemed too liberal. On April 16, 1906, Tsar Nicholas II accepted the resignation of S.Yu. Witte as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Remaining a member of the State Council, S.Yu. Witte took part in the work of the Finance Committee, of which he was chairman until his death. In 1907-1912 he wrote "Memoirs".

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

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Books

• S. Yu. Witte. Collected works and documentary materials. In 5 volumes. Volume 3. Book 2, Sergei Yulievich Witte. The second book of the third volume of the publication includes the most important documentary materials, official notes, publications and articles on the monetary reform and the monetary system in Russia, which amounted to ...