{"id":4094,"date":"2016-08-29T17:04:18","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T15:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tacotichelaar.nl\/wordpress\/?page_id=4094"},"modified":"2025-11-04T11:15:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T09:15:39","slug":"count-sergei-yulyevich-witte","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tacotichelaar.nl\/wordpress\/biographies-english\/count-sergei-yulyevich-witte\/","title":{"rendered":"Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"396\" data-end=\"841\">Count <strong data-start=\"402\" data-end=\"428\">Sergei Yulyevich Witte<\/strong> (Russian: \u0421\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435\u0301\u0439 \u042e\u0301\u043b\u044c\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 \u0412\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0442\u0435; 29 June [O.S. 17 June] 1849 \u2013 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1915) was a Russian statesman and economist who shaped the empire\u2019s transition to industrial modernity. Serving under both Alexander III and Nicholas II, he rose from a technical background in the railways to become Minister of Finance (1892\u20131903) and later the first Chairman of the Council of Ministers (1905\u20131906).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"843\" data-end=\"1224\">He was born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) into a Baltic-German-speaking family long established in Semgallen (present-day Latvia). His grandfather served as a <em data-start=\"1005\" data-end=\"1014\">F\u00f6rster<\/em> (estate forester) at Neugut near Bauske, and his father later held a post in the Department of Agriculture. Thus, the family represented a continuity of technical service rather than hereditary nobility.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1226\" data-end=\"1880\">During his career, Witte sought to modernise an autocratic system through pragmatic, technocratic reform. He therefore oversaw railway expansion, promoted industrial enterprise, and introduced the gold standard in 1897 \u2014 measures that drew in foreign investment and accelerated Russia\u2019s industrial growth. In 1905, he negotiated peace with Japan and drafted the October Manifesto, framing the empire\u2019s first constitution. However, his growing independence made him suspect at court, and he was dismissed soon afterwards. In retrospect, Witte remains the most prominent symbol of Russia\u2019s attempt to reconcile autocracy with modernity.<\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\" class=\"toc\">\n<div id=\"toctitle\">\n<h2>Contents<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-1\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">1&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Family and early life<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-2\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">2&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Political career<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toclevel-2 tocsection-3\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">2.1&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Minister of Finance<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-2 tocsection-4\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">2.2&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Diplomatic career<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-2 tocsection-5\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">2.3&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Chairman of the Council of Ministers<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-2 tocsection-6\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">2.4&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Member of the State Council<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-7\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">3&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Honors<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-8\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">4&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Popular culture depictions<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-9\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">5&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">References<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-10\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">6&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">Sources<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-11\"><span class=\"tocnumber\">7&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"toctext\">External links<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"Family_and_early_life\" class=\"mw-headline\">Family and early life<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 data-start=\"148\" data-end=\"173\">Family and early life<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"175\" data-end=\"730\">Sergei Witte was born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) into a Baltic-German-speaking family long established in Semgallen (present-day Latvia). His father, Yuli Fedorovich Witte, was a civil servant who had served as a member of the local nobility in Saratov before moving to the Caucasus, where he became director of the Department of AgricultureHis mother, Ekaterina Andreevna Fadeeva, came from an old Russian noble family that had distinguished itself in military and civil service, and through her Witte was related to the Georgian scholar and poet Prince Alexander Chavchavadze. His father, Julius Witte, by contrast, descended from a Baltic-German family of civil servants and estate foresters in Semgallen (present-day Latvia).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"732\" data-end=\"1253\">He spent much of his childhood in Tiflis, a cosmopolitan city at the crossroads of empires, which exposed him early to the diversity of the Russian Empire\u2019s peoples and cultures. After completing his secondary education, he entered Novorossiysk University in Odessa, where he studied physics and mathematics. Although his formal education was scientific rather than political, Witte later claimed that it had trained him in the habits of logical analysis and self-discipline that shaped his administrative career.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1255\" data-end=\"1611\">After graduating in 1870, he joined the South-Western Railways Company in Odessa, where his combination of technical ability and organizational skill soon drew attention. This appointment marked the beginning of his rise within the imperial bureaucracy \u2014 a career in which technical competence often proved more decisive than birth or party allegiance.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"216\" data-end=\"743\">In 1879, Witte accepted a post in St. Petersburg, where he met his future wife. The following year he was transferred to Kiev, continuing his work in the railway administration. In 1883, he published a technical paper entitled <em data-start=\"459\" data-end=\"515\">Principles of Railway Tariffs for Cargo Transportation<\/em>, in which he not only discussed pricing systems but also reflected on broader social questions and the responsibility of the monarchy in guiding economic reform. The publication brought him his first public recognition.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"745\" data-end=\"1536\">By 1886, Witte had been appointed manager of the Southwestern Railways, a private company headquartered in Kiev. His reputation grew rapidly as he succeeded in improving both the efficiency and the profitability of the enterprise. During this period he also came into contact with Tsar Alexander III, though their relationship began with tension rather than favor. Witte had warned against the use of two powerful freight locomotives to accelerate the royal train, arguing that it was unsafe. His warning proved justified when the Borki train disaster of October 1888 claimed many lives. In its aftermath, Witte\u2019s competence and integrity were publicly recognized, and he was appointed Director of State Railways, marking the start of his rise to national prominence.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Political_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">Political career<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<figure style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Sergei_Witte.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d8\/Sergei_Witte.jpg\/200px-Sergei_Witte.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"268\" data-file-width=\"313\" data-file-height=\"420\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Witte in the 80&#8217;s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">Witte served as Russian Director of Railway Affairs within the Finance Ministry from 1889 to 1891; and during this period, he oversaw an ambitious program of railway construction. Until then less than one-fourth of the small railway systems was under direct state control; but Witte set about making the railway service a monopoly of the State. Witte also obtained the right to assign employees based on their performance, rather than political or familial connections. In 1889, he published a paper titled &#8220;National Savings and Friedrich List&#8221;, which cited the economic theories of <a title=\"Friedrich List\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Friedrich_List\">Friedrich List<\/a> and justified the need for a strong domestic industry, protected from foreign competition by <a title=\"Trade barrier\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Trade_barrier\">customs barriers<\/a>. This resulted in a new customs law for Russia in 1891, which spurred an increase in industrialization in Russia towards the turn of the century.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Vitte_M.I._(zhena_S.Y)._1905._Karl_Bulla.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/70\/Vitte_M.I._%28zhena_S.Y%29._1905._Karl_Bulla.jpg\/200px-Vitte_M.I._%28zhena_S.Y%29._1905._Karl_Bulla.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"262\" data-file-width=\"536\" data-file-height=\"701\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mathilda Witte, picture by Karl Bulla<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tsar Alexander III appointed him acting Minister of Ways and Communications in 1892.<sup id=\"cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-twilightxiv-11\">[11]<\/a><\/sup> This gave him control of the railroads in Russia and the authority to impose a reform on the tariffs charged. &#8220;Russian railroads gradually became perhaps the most economically operated railroads of the world.&#8221;.<sup id=\"cite_ref-Boublikoff.2C_p._313_14-0\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-Boublikoff.2C_p._313-14\">[14]<\/a><\/sup> Profits were high: over 100 million gold rubles a year to the government (exact amount unknown due to accounting defects). In 1892 Witte got acquainted with Matilda Ivanovna (Isaakovna) Lisanevich in a theater.<sup id=\"cite_ref-15\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-15\">[15]<\/a><\/sup> Witte began to seek her favour, urging her to divorce her gambling husband and marry him. The marriage was a scandal, not only because Matilda was a divorcee, but also because she was a converted Jew. It cost Witte many of his connections with the upper nobility, but the Tsar protected him.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Minister_of_Finance\" class=\"mw-headline\">Minister of Finance<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In August 1892, Witte was appointed to the post of Minister of Finance, a post which he held for the next eleven years. (Until 1905 matters pertaining to industry and commerce were within the province of the Ministry of Finances.) During his tenure, he greatly accelerated the construction of the <a title=\"Trans-Siberian Railway\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Trans-Siberian_Railway\">Trans-Siberian Railway<\/a>. He also paid much attention to the creation of an educational system to train personnel for industry, in particular, the creation of new &#8220;commercial&#8221; schools, and was known for his appointment of subordinates by their academic credentials instead of political connections. In 1894, he concluded a 10-year commercial treaty with the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Empire of Germany\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Empire_of_Germany\">Empire of Germany<\/a> on favorable terms for Russia. When Alexander III died, he told his son on his deathbed to listen well to Witte, his most capable minister. In 1895, Witte established a <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"State monopoly\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/State_monopoly\">state monopoly<\/a> on alcohol, which became a major source of revenue for the Russian government. In 1896, he concluded the <a title=\"Li\u2013Lobanov Treaty\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Li%E2%80%93Lobanov_Treaty\">Li\u2013Lobanov Treaty<\/a> with <a title=\"Li Hongzhang\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Li_Hongzhang\">Li Hongzhang<\/a> of the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Qing Empire\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Qing_Empire\">Qing Empire<\/a>. One of the rights secured for Russia was the construction of the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"China Eastern Railway\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/China_Eastern_Railway\">China Eastern Railway<\/a> across <a title=\"Northeast China\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Northeast_China\">northeast China<\/a>, which greatly shortened the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway to its projected eastern terminus at <a title=\"Vladivostok\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vladivostok\">Vladivostok<\/a>. However, following the <a title=\"Triple Intervention\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Triple_Intervention\">Triple Intervention<\/a>, Witte strongly opposed the Russian occupation of <a title=\"Liaodong Peninsula\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Liaodong_Peninsula\">Liaodong Peninsula<\/a> and the construction of the naval base at <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Port Arthur naval base\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Port_Arthur_naval_base\">Port Arthur<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 1896, Witte undertook a major <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Currency reform\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Currency_reform\">currency reform<\/a> to place the <a title=\"Russian ruble\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_ruble\">Russian ruble<\/a> on the <a title=\"Gold standard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gold_standard\">gold standard<\/a>. This led to increased investment activity and an increase in the inflow of foreign capital. Witte also enacted a law limiting working hours in enterprises in 1897, and reformed commercial and industrial taxes in 1898.<sup id=\"cite_ref-16\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-16\">[16]<\/a><\/sup> In Summer 1898, he addressed a memorandum to the Tsar,<sup id=\"cite_ref-17\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-17\">[17]<\/a><\/sup> calling for an Agricultural Conference on the reform of the peasant community. This resulted in three years talks about laws abolishing collective responsibility, and facilitated the resettlement of farmers onto lands on the outskirts of the Empire. Many of his ideas were later adopted by <a title=\"Pyotr Stolypin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pyotr_Stolypin\">Pyotr Stolypin<\/a>. In 1902 his supporter the Minister of Interior <a title=\"Dmitry Sipyagin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dmitry_Sipyagin\">Dmitry Sipyagin<\/a> was assassinated. In an attempt to keep up the modernization of the Russian economy Witte called and oversaw the Special Conference on the Needs of the Rural Industry. This conference was to provide recommendations for future reforms and the data to justify those reforms. By 1900 the growth in manufacturing industry has been four times faster than in the preceding five-year period and six times faster than in the decade before that. The external trade in industrial goods was equal to that of Belgium.<sup id=\"cite_ref-18\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-18\">[18]<\/a><\/sup> In 1904 the <a title=\"Union of Liberation\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Union_of_Liberation\">Union of Liberation<\/a> was formed demanding economic and political reform.<\/p>\n<p>Witte, in a memorandum, tried to turn the reports of the <a title=\"Zemstvo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zemstvo\">zemstvo<\/a> presidents into a condemnation of the Ministry of the Interior.<sup id=\"cite_ref-19\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-19\">[19]<\/a><\/sup> In a conflict on land reform <a title=\"Vyacheslav von Plehve\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vyacheslav_von_Plehve\">Vyacheslav von Plehve<\/a> accused him being part of a Jewish-masonic conspiracy.<sup id=\"cite_ref-20\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-20\">[20]<\/a><\/sup> According to <a title=\"Vasily Gurko\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vasily_Gurko\">Vasily Gurko<\/a> Witte had dominated the irresolute Tsar and this was the moment to get rid of him. Witte was appointed on 16 August 1903 (<a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Old Style\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Old_Style\">O.S.<\/a>) as chairman of the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Russian Council of Ministers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_Council_of_Ministers\">Committee of Ministers<\/a>, a position he held until October 1905.<sup id=\"cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-2\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-twilightxiv-11\">[11]<\/a><\/sup> While officially a promotion, the post had no real power, and Witte&#8217;s removal from the influential post of Minister of Finance was engineered under the pressure from the landed gentry and his political enemies within the government and at the court. However, <a title=\"Nicholas V. Riasanovsky\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nicholas_V._Riasanovsky\">Nicholas V. Riasanovsky<\/a> states that Witte&#8217;s opposition to Russian designs on <a title=\"Korea\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Korea\">Korea<\/a> caused him to resign from government in 1903.<sup id=\"cite_ref-21\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-21\">[21]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-22\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-22\">[22]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Diplomatic_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">Diplomatic career<\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<figure style=\"width: 469px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Treaty_of_Portsmouth.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1c\/Treaty_of_Portsmouth.jpg\/200px-Treaty_of_Portsmouth.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"469\" height=\"291\" data-file-width=\"1144\" data-file-height=\"709\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) &#8212; from left to right: the Russians at far side of table are Korostovetz, Nabokov, Witte, Rosen, Plancon; and the Japanese at near side of table are Adachi, Ochiai,Komura, Takahira, Sato. The large conference table is today preserved at the Museum Meiji Mura in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Witte was brought back into the governmental decision-making process to help deal with the civil unrest. Confronted with growing opposition and after consulting with Witte and <a title=\"Pyotr Dmitrievich Sviatopolk-Mirsky\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pyotr_Dmitrievich_Sviatopolk-Mirsky\">Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky<\/a>, the Tsar issued a reform ukase on December 25, 1904 with vague promises.<sup id=\"cite_ref-23\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-23\">[23]<\/a><\/sup> After <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Bloody Sunday 1905\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bloody_Sunday_1905\">Bloody Sunday<\/a> riots of 1905 Witte supplied 500 Rubles, the equivalent of 250 dollar, to <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Father Gapon\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Father_Gapon\">Father Gapon<\/a> in order to leave the country.<sup id=\"cite_ref-24\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-24\">[24]&nbsp;<\/a><\/sup>Witte recommended that a manifesto be issued.<sup id=\"cite_ref-25\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-25\">[25]<\/a><\/sup> Schemes of reform would be elaborated by&nbsp;<a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Goremykin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Goremykin\">Goremykin<\/a> and a committee consisting of elected representatives of the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Zemstvos\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zemstvos\">zemstvos<\/a> and municipal councils under the presidency of Witte. On 3 March the Tsar condemned the revolutionaries. The government issued a strongly worded prohibition of any further agitation in favor of a constitution.<sup id=\"cite_ref-26\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-26\">[26]<\/a><\/sup> By Spring a new political system was beginning to form in Russia. A petition campaign with a wide variety of proposed changes, like ending the war lasted from February to July 1905. In June mutiny broke out on the <a title=\"Russian battleship Potemkin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_battleship_Potemkin\">Russian battleship Potemkin<\/a>. In July a Zemstvo deputation was send to the Emperor, to implore him to put an end to the bureaucratic system and establish representative government.<sup class='footnote'><a href='#fn-4094-1' id='fnref-4094-1' onclick='return fdfootnote_show(4094)'>1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Witte returned to the forefront when he was called upon by the Tsar to negotiate an end to the <a title=\"Russo-Japanese War\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russo-Japanese_War\">Russo-Japanese War<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-3\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-twilightxiv-11\">[11]<\/a><\/sup> He was sent as the Russian Emperor&#8217;s plenipotentiary and titled &#8220;his Secretary of State and President of the Committee of Ministers of the Emperor of Russia&#8221; along with Baron <a title=\"Roman Rosen\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roman_Rosen\">Roman Rosen<\/a>, Master of the Imperial Court of Russia<sup id=\"cite_ref-27\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-27\">[27]<\/a><\/sup> to the United States, where the <a title=\"Treaty of Portsmouth\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Treaty_of_Portsmouth\">peace talks<\/a> were being held.<\/p>\n<p>Witte is credited with negotiating brilliantly on Russia&#8217;s behalf during the <a title=\"Treaty of Portsmouth\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Treaty_of_Portsmouth\">Treaty of Portsmouth <\/a>negotiations. Russia lost little in the final settlement.<sup id=\"cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-4\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-twilightxiv-11\">[11]<\/a><\/sup> For his efforts, Witte was created a Count.<sup id=\"cite_ref-28\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-28\">[28]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-29\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-29\">[29]<\/a><\/sup> But the loss of the war would perhaps spell the beginning of the end of Imperial Russia.<\/p>\n<p>After this diplomatic success, Witte wrote to the Tsar stressing the urgent need for political reforms at home. On August 9th an Imperial decree was promulgated constituting a national representative assembly with consultative powers.<sup class='footnote'><a href='#fn-4094-2' id='fnref-4094-2' onclick='return fdfootnote_show(4094)'>2<\/a><\/sup> The elections would not be direct but would be held in four stages, and qualifications on class and property would exclude much of the intelligentsia and all of the working classes from <a title=\"Suffrage\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Suffrage\">suffrage.<\/a> Dissatisfaction with the proposals by Bulygin, the successor of Sviatopolk-Mirsky resulted in numerous protests, and strikes across the country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<figure style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Prince_Alexey_D._Obolensky.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/4\/4b\/Prince_Alexey_D._Obolensky.jpeg\/200px-Prince_Alexey_D._Obolensky.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"283\" data-file-width=\"666\" data-file-height=\"943\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prince Alexey D. Obolensky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>During the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Russian Revolution of 1905\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_Revolution_of_1905\">Russian Revolution of 1905<\/a> troops were send out 2,000 times. The Tsar remained quiet impassive and indulgent; he spend most of that autumn hunting.<sup id=\"cite_ref-30\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-30\">[30]<\/a><\/sup> Witte told Nicholas II, &#8220;that the country was at the verge of a cataclysmic revolution&#8221;. Trepov was ordered to take drastic measures to stop the revolutionary activity. According to <a title=\"Orlando Figes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orlando_Figes\">Orlando Figes<\/a> the Tsar asked his uncle <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Grand Duke Nicholas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grand_Duke_Nicholas\">Grand Duke Nicholas<\/a> to assume the role of dictator. &#8220;But the Grand Duke &#8230; took out a revolver and threatened to shoot himself there and then if the Tsar refused to endorse Witte&#8217;s memorandum.&#8221; Nicholas II had no choice but to make a number of steps in the constitutional liberal direction.<sup id=\"cite_ref-31\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-31\">[31]<\/a><\/sup> The Tsar accepted the draft, hurriedly outlined by Aleksei D. <a title=\"Obolensky\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Obolensky\">Obolensky,<\/a><sup id=\"cite_ref-32\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-32\">[32]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-33\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-33\">[33]<\/a><\/sup> known as the <a title=\"October Manifesto\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/October_Manifesto\">October Manifesto<\/a>. This promised to grant civil liberties as <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Freedom of conscience\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Freedom_of_conscience\">freedom of conscience<\/a>, <a title=\"Freedom of speech\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Freedom_of_speech\">speech<\/a>, <a title=\"Freedom of association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Freedom_of_association\">freedom of association<\/a>, <a title=\"Constitutional monarchy\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Constitutional_monarchy\">constitutional order<\/a>, <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Representative government\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Representative_government\">representative government&nbsp;<\/a>and the establishment of a <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Imperial Duma\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Imperial_Duma\">Imperial Duma<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-34\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-34\">[34]<\/a><\/sup> As the Duma was only a consultative body, the Council of Ministers or the Tsar had the right to block certain proposals, many Russians felt that this reform did not go far enough;<sup id=\"cite_ref-35\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-35\">[35]<\/a><\/sup> nothing on <a title=\"Universal suffrage\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Universal_suffrage\">universal suffrage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Chairman_of_the_Council_of_Ministers\" class=\"mw-headline\">Chairman of the Council of Ministers<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>After his skilful diplomacy Witte was appointed Chairman of the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Russian Council of Ministers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_Council_of_Ministers\">Council of Ministers<\/a>, the equivalent of Prime Minister, and formed <a title=\"Sergei Witte's Cabinet\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sergei_Witte%27s_Cabinet\">Sergei Witte&#8217;s Cabinet<\/a>, not belonging to any party, as there were none. No longer the Tsar was the head of the government. &#8220;Immediately upon my nomination as President of the Imperial Council I made it clear that the <a title=\"Procurator (Russia)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Procurator_(Russia)\">Procurator<\/a> of the <a title=\"Most Holy Synod\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Most_Holy_Synod\">Most Holy Synod<\/a> <a title=\"Konstantin Pobedonostsev\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Konstantin_Pobedonostsev\">Konstantin Pobedonostsev<\/a>, could not remain in office, for he definitely represented the past&#8221; and was replaced by Obolensky. Trepov and <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Bulygin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bulygin\">Bulygin<\/a> were dismissed, and after many discussions <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Durnovo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Durnovo\">Durnovo<\/a> became Minister of Interior on 1 January. His appointment seems one of the greatest errors Witte made during his administration. According to Harold Williams: &#8220;That government was almost paralyzed from the beginning. Witte acted immediately by urging the release of political prisones and the lifting of <a title=\"Censorship\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Censorship\">censorship<\/a> laws.&#8221;<sup id=\"cite_ref-36\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-36\">[36]<\/a><\/sup> <a title=\"Alexander Guchkov\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alexander_Guchkov\">Alexander Guchkov<\/a> and <a title=\"Dmitry Shipov\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dmitry_Shipov\">Dmitry Shipov<\/a> refused to work with the reactionary Durnovo and to support the government. On 26 October (O.S.) the Tsar appointed Trepov Master of the Palace without consulting Witte, and had daily contact with the Emperor; his influence at court was paramount. &#8220;In addition mass violence broke out in the days following the issuance of the October Manifesto. The major source of the unrest was unrelated to the October Manifesto. It took the form of attacks by gangs in the cities on the Jews. In general the authorities ignored the attacks.<sup id=\"cite_ref-37\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-37\">[37]<\/a><\/sup> On 8 November the sailors in <a title=\"Kronstadt rebellion\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kronstadt_rebellion\">Kronstadt<\/a> mutinied. In the same month the border provinces were clearly taking advantage of the weakening of Central Russia to show their teeth:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"templatequote\">\n<pre>The dominating element of the Empire, the Russians, fall into three distinct ethnic branches: the Great, the Little, and the White Russians, and 35 per cent, of the population is non-Russian. It is impossible to rule such a country and ignore the national aspirations of its varied non-Russian national groups, which largely make up the population of the Great Empire. The policy of converting all Russian subjects into \"true Russians\" is not the ideal which will weld all the heterogeneous elements of the Empire into one body politic. It might be better for us Russians, I concede, if Russia were a nationally uniform country and not a heterogeneous Empire. To achieve that goal there is but one way, namely to give up our border provinces, for these will never put up with the policy of ruthless Russification. But that measure our ruler will, of course, never consider.<sup id=\"cite_ref-38\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-38\">[38]<\/a><\/sup><\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On 10 November <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Russian Poland\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_Poland\">Russian Poland<\/a> was placed under <a title=\"Martial law\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martial_law\">martial law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<figure style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:L.K._Naryshkin_by_Serov.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/5\/50\/L.K._Naryshkin_by_Serov.jpg\/200px-L.K._Naryshkin_by_Serov.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"313\" data-file-width=\"435\" data-file-height=\"680\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lev Kyrillovich Naryshkin was born in 1905, a portrait by Valentin Serov.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Witte&#8217;s position was not established. The Liberals remained obdurate and refused to be cajoled. The Peasants Union asked the Russian people not make redemption payments to the government and withdraw their deposits from bank that might be subject to goverment action.<sup id=\"cite_ref-39\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-39\">[39]<\/a><\/sup> He promised an eight hour working day and tried to secure vital loans from France to keep the &#8220;regime&#8221; from bankrupty.<sup id=\"cite_ref-40\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-40\">[40]<\/a><\/sup>Witte send his envoy to the <a title=\"Rothschild banking family of England\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rothschild_banking_family_of_England\">Rothschild bank<\/a>; &#8220;they would willingly render full assistance to the loan, but that they would not be in a position to do so until the Russian Government had enacted legal measures tending to improve the conditions of the Jews in Russia. As I deemed it beneath our dignity to connect the solution of our Jewish question with the loan, I decided to give up my intention of securing the participation of the Rothschilds.&#8221;<sup id=\"cite_ref-41\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-41\">[41]<\/a><\/sup> On 21 November <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Lenin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lenin\">Lenin<\/a> arrived in St Petersburg. On 16 December<a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Trotsky\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Trotsky\">Trotsky<\/a> and the rest of the executive committee of the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"St. Petersburg Soviet\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Petersburg_Soviet\">St. Petersburg Soviet<\/a> were arrested.<sup id=\"cite_ref-42\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-42\">[42]<\/a><\/sup> The Minister of Agriculture <a title=\"Nikolai Kutler\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nikolai_Kutler\">Nikolai Kutler<\/a> resigned in February 1906; Witte refused to appoint <a title=\"Alexander Krivoshein\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alexander_Krivoshein\">Alexander Krivoshein<\/a>. In the next few weeks changes and additions to the <a title=\"Russian Constitution of 1906\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_Constitution_of_1906\">fundamental laws<\/a> were made, so that the Emperor was confirmed as the dictator of foreign policies and the supreme commander of the army and navy; the ministers remained responsible solely to Nicholas II, not to the Duma. The &#8220;peasant question&#8221; or <a title=\"Land reforms by country\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Land_reforms_by_country#Russia_and_the_Soviet_Union\">land reforms<\/a> was a hot issue; the influence of the &#8220;Duma of Public Anger&#8221; had to be limited according to <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Goremykin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Goremykin\">Goremykin<\/a> and <a title=\"Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dmitri_Feodorovich_Trepov\">Dmitri Trepov<\/a>. The <a title=\"Bolsheviks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bolsheviks\">Bolsheviks<\/a> boycotted the coming election. When Witte discovered that Nicholas never intended to honour these concessions he resigned as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. The position and influence of General Trepov, Grand Duke Nicholas, the <a title=\"Black Hundreds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_Hundreds\">Black Hundreds<\/a> and overwhelming victories by the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Constitutional Democrats\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Constitutional_Democrats\">Kadets<\/a> in the <a title=\"Russian legislative election, 1906\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_legislative_election,_1906\">Russian legislative election, 1906<\/a>, forced Witte on 14th to resign, which was announced 22 April 1906 (O.S.).<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Member_of_the_State_Council\" class=\"mw-headline\">Member of the State Council<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Witte continued in Russian politics as a member of the State Council but never again obtained an administrative role in the government. He was ostracized from the Russian establishment. In January 1907 a bomb was found planted in his home. The investigator <a title=\"Pavel Alexandrovich Alexandrov\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pavel_Alexandrovich_Alexandrov\">Pavel Alexandrovich Alexandrov<\/a> proved that the <a title=\"Okhrana\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Okhrana\">Okhrana<\/a>, the tsarist secret police, had been involved.<sup id=\"cite_ref-43\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-43\">[43]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-44\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-44\">[44]<\/a><\/sup> During the winter season Witte lived in <a title=\"Biarritz\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Biarritz\">Biarritz<\/a>, started his Memoirs, <sup id=\"cite_ref-45\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-45\">[45]<\/a><\/sup> but returned to St Petersburg in 1908.<\/p>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<figure style=\"width: 471px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a class=\"image\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_5_02.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/0\/05\/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_5_02.jpg\/200px-%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_5_02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"471\" height=\"353\" data-file-width=\"3072\" data-file-height=\"2304\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Witte&#8217;s mansion on Kamenno ostrovsky Prospekt in St Petersburg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>During the <a title=\"July Crisis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/July_Crisis\">July Crisis<\/a> in 1914, <a title=\"Grigori Rasputin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grigori_Rasputin\">Grigori Rasputin<\/a> and Witte desperately urged the Tsar not to enter the conflict and warned that Europe faced calamity if Russia became involved. The advice went unheeded; the French ambassador <a title=\"Maurice Pal\u00e9ologue\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maurice_Pal%C3%A9ologue\">Maurice Pal\u00e9ologue<\/a> complained at the Minister of Foreign Affairs <a title=\"Sazonov\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sazonov\">Sazonov<\/a>. According to Victor Chernov only Witte had the manliness to state publictly: &#8220;My practical conclusion is that we must liquidate this mad adventure as quickly as possile&#8221;.[V. Chernov (1936) The Great Russian Revolution, p. 43] &nbsp;Witte died shortly afterwards due to <a title=\"Meningitis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Meningitis\">Meningitis<\/a> or a <a title=\"Brain tumor\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brain_tumor\">brain tumor<\/a> at his home in St. Petersburg. His third class funeral was held at the <a title=\"Alexander Nevsky Lavra\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alexander_Nevsky_Lavra\">Alexander Nevsky Lavra<\/a>. Witte had no children, but he adopted his wife&#8217;s. According to <a title=\"Edvard Radzinsky\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Edvard_Radzinsky\">Edvard Radzinsky<\/a> Witte wished the title of count to be given to his grandson L.K. Naryshkin. Nothing is known about him.<\/p>\n<p>Witte&#8217;s reputation was burnished in the West when his secret memoirs, completed in 1912 and kept in a bank in <a title=\"Bayonne\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bayonne\">Bayonne<\/a>, not destined to be published while he and his contemporaries were alive, were published in 1921. The original text of these memoirs are held in <a title=\"Columbia University\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Columbia_University\">Columbia University<\/a> Library&#8217;s Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European History and Culture.<sup id=\"cite_ref-twilightxiii_3-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_note-twilightxiii-3\">[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Although Witte never belonged to the political opposition, his economic reforms and cautious advocacy of constitutional limits placed him at odds with the autocracy he served. He consistently believed, however, that the empire\u2019s survival depended on modern administration and social discipline rather than ideology. After his resignation in 1906, he withdrew from public life, yet warned that the regime\u2019s failure to reform would lead to collapse. In hindsight, Witte appears as one of the few figures of Imperial Russia who understood that technical progress without political adaptation could not sustain the state. As a result, his legacy endures as that of a rational reformer constrained by an irrational system.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"References\" class=\"mw-headline\">References<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"reflist columns references-column-count references-column-count-2\">\n<ol class=\"references\">\n<li id=\"cite_note-1\"><span class=\"reference-text\">F.L. Ageenko and M.V. Zarva, <i>Slovar&#8217; udarenii<\/i> (Moscow: Russkii yazyk, 1984), p. 547.<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-2\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/russiapedia.rt.com\/prominent-russians\/politics-and-society\/sergei-witte\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/russiapedia.rt.com\/prominent-russians\/politics-and-society\/sergei-witte\/<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-twilightxiii-3\"><span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-twilightxiii_3-0\"><sup><i><b>a<\/b><\/i><\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-twilightxiii_3-1\"><sup><i><b>b<\/b><\/i><\/sup><\/a><\/span> <span class=\"reference-text\">Harcave, Sidney. (2004). <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=kTswgGNBFBAC&amp;pg=PR13&amp;dq=sergei+witte+harcave&amp;lr=&amp;sig=ACfU3U1Yw2sZ22JAVIRrW99QKn1sbDzsuQ#PPR13,M1\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i>Count Sergei Witte and the Twilight of Imperial Russia: A Biography,<\/i> p. xiii.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-4\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/russiapedia.rt.com\/prominent-russians\/politics-and-society\/sergei-witte\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/russiapedia.rt.com\/prominent-russians\/politics-and-society\/sergei-witte\/<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-5\"><b><\/b>&nbsp;<span class=\"reference-text\">Witte&#8217;s Memoirs, p. 359<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-6\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">His ancestors lived in <a title=\"Jaunjelgava\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jaunjelgava\">Friedrichstadt<\/a> in <a title=\"Courland Governorate\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Courland_Governorate\">Courland<\/a> and not in <a title=\"Holstein\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Holstein\">Holstein<\/a>.<a class=\"external autonumber\" href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Johann-Witte\/6000000030184775133\" rel=\"nofollow\">[1]<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-7\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/russiapedia.rt.com\/prominent-russians\/politics-and-society\/sergei-witte\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Prominent Russians<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-8\">&nbsp;<span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external autonumber\" href=\"http:\/\/www.peoples.ru\/state\/politics\/vitte\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">[2]<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-9\"><b><\/b>&nbsp;<span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external autonumber\" href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Sergei-Graf-Witte\/6000000014804687191\" rel=\"nofollow\">[3]<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-10\"><span class=\"reference-text\"><span class=\"languageicon\">(Russian)<\/span> <a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kto-is-kto.ru\/?page=person_detail&amp;person=540\" rel=\"nofollow\">Kto-is-kto.ru<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-twilightxiv-11\"><span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-0\"><sup><i><b>a<\/b><\/i><\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-1\"><sup><i><b>b<\/b><\/i><\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-2\"><sup><i><b>c<\/b><\/i><\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-3\"><sup><i><b>d<\/b><\/i><\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-twilightxiv_11-4\"><sup><i><b>e<\/b><\/i><\/sup><\/a><\/span> <span class=\"reference-text\">Harcave, <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=kTswgGNBFBAC&amp;lpg=PR13&amp;dq=sergei%20witte%20harcave&amp;lr&amp;pg=PA33#v=onepage&amp;q=sergei%20witte%20harcave&amp;f=false,M1\" rel=\"nofollow\">p. 33.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-twilightxv-12\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Harcave, <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=kTswgGNBFBAC&amp;lpg=PR13&amp;dq=sergei%20witte%20harcave&amp;lr&amp;pg=PA42#v=onepage&amp;q=sergei%20witte%20harcave&amp;f=false,M1\" rel=\"nofollow\">p. 42.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-13\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sergey-Yulyevich-Graf-Witte\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sergey-Yulyevich-Graf-Witte<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-Boublikoff.2C_p._313-14\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Boublikoff, p. 313<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-15\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/www.peoples.ru\/state\/politics\/vitte\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.peoples.ru\/state\/politics\/vitte\/<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-16\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">B.V. Ananich &amp; R.S. Ganelin (1996) Nicholas II, p. 378. In: D.J. Raleigh: The Emperors and Empresses of Russia. Rediscovering the Romanovs. The New Russian History Series.<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-17\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Witte&#8217;s Memoirs, p. 211-215<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-18\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/pages.uoregon.edu\/kimball\/wtt.on.ekn.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/pages.uoregon.edu\/kimball\/wtt.on.ekn.htm<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-19\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.nl\/books?id=vas8AAAAIAAJ&amp;lpg=PA376&amp;dq=Sipyagin%20murder&amp;hl=nl&amp;pg=PA329#v=onepage&amp;q=condemnation&amp;f=false\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Cambridge Modern History, Volume 14<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-20\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/spartacus-educational.com\/RUSwitte.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/spartacus-educational.com\/RUSwitte.htm<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-21\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Riasanovsky, N.V. (1977) A History of Russia, p. 446<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-22\"><span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Sergei_Witte&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=735715309#cite_ref-22\"><span class=\"cite-accessibility-label\">Jump up<\/span>^<\/a><\/b><\/span> <span class=\"reference-text\"><cite class=\"citation book\">Massie, Robert K. (1967). <i>Nicholas and Alexandra<\/i> (1st Ballantine ed.).<a title=\"Ballantine Books\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ballantine_Books\">Ballantine Books<\/a>. p.&nbsp;90. <a title=\"International Standard Book Number\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_Standard_Book_Number\">ISBN<\/a>&nbsp;<a title=\"Special:BookSources\/0-345-43831-0\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/0-345-43831-0\">0-345-43831-0<\/a>.<\/cite><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-23\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a title=\"Harold Williams (linguist)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Harold_Williams_(linguist)\">Harold Williams<\/a> , Shadow of Democracy, p. 11, 22<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-24\"><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/memoirsofcountwi00wittuoft\/memoirsofcountwi00wittuoft_djvu.txt\" rel=\"nofollow\">Memoirs of Count Witte, p. 254<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-25\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Williams, p. 77<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-26\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Williams, p. 22-23<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-27\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/query.nytimes.com\/gst\/abstract.html?res=9902EFD61431E733A25754C1A9669D946497D6CF&amp;scp=6&amp;sq=order+of+meiji&amp;st=p\" rel=\"nofollow\">&#8220;Text of Treaty; Signed by the Emperor of Japan and Czar of Russia,&#8221;<\/a> <i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"New York Times\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Times\">New York Times<\/a>.<\/i> October 17, 1905.<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-28\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Massie, <i>Nicholas and Alexandra<\/i> P.97<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-29\"><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/www.peoples.ru\/state\/politics\/vitte\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.peoples.ru\/state\/politics\/vitte\/<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-30\"><span class=\"reference-text\">O. Figes <a title=\"A People's Tragedy\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A_People%27s_Tragedy\">A People&#8217;s Tragedy<\/a>, p. 191<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-31\"><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/www.peoples.ru\/state\/politics\/vitte\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.peoples.ru\/state\/politics\/vitte\/<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-32\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/featuresandfigur011843mbp#page\/n421\/mode\/2up\/search\/Witte+\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/featuresandfigur011843mbp#page\/n421\/mode\/2up\/search\/Witte+<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-33\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Witte&#8217;s Memoirs, p. 241<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-34\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sergey-Yulyevich-Graf-Witte\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sergey-Yulyevich-Graf-Witte<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-35\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/spartacus-educational.com\/RUSwitte.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/spartacus-educational.com\/RUSwitte.htm<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-36\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Williams, p. 166<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-37\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Williams, p. 166<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-38\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Witte&#8217;s Memoirs, p. 265<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-39\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Williams, p. 220<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-40\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sergey-Yulyevich-Graf-Witte\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sergey-Yulyevich-Graf-Witte<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-41\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\">Witte&#8217;s Memoirs, p. 293-294<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-42\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/spartacus-educational.com\/RUSwitte.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/spartacus-educational.com\/RUSwitte.htm<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-43\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ruthenia.ru\/sovlit\/j\/314.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u00ab\u041f\u041e\u041a\u0423\u0428\u0415\u041d\u0418\u0415 \u041d\u0410 \u041c\u041e\u042e \u0416\u0418\u0417\u041d\u042c\u00bb, \u00ab\u0412\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u043c\u0438\u043d\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u00bb \u0421. \u042e. \u0412\u0438\u0442\u0442\u0435, \u0442. II-\u043e\u0439, 1922 \u0433. \u041a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u043e\u0438\u0437\u0434\u0430\u0442. \u00ab\u0421\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043e\u00bb<\/a> <span class=\"languageicon\">(Russian)<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-44\"><b><\/b><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/ru-history.livejournal.com\/3175909.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u041f\u043e\u043a\u0443\u0448\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u043d\u0430 \u0433\u0440\u0430\u0444\u0430 \u0412\u0438\u0442\u0442\u0435 (2011-10-15), \u0441\u043a\u0430\u043d\u0435\u0440 \u043a\u043e\u043f\u0438\u0438 \u2014 \u042e\u0440\u0438\u0439 \u0428\u0442\u0435\u043d\u0433\u0435\u043b\u044c<\/a> <span class=\"languageicon\">(Russian)<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-45\"><span class=\"reference-text\"><a class=\"external free\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alexanderpalace.org\/palace\/wittebio.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.alexanderpalace.org\/palace\/wittebio.html<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"Sources\" class=\"mw-headline\">Sources<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Boublikoff, A.A. &#8220;A suggestion for railroad reform&#8221;. In: Buehler, E.C. (editor) &#8220;Government ownership of railroads&#8221;, Annual debater&#8217;s help book (vol. VI), New York, Noble and Noble, 1939; pp.&nbsp;309\u2013318. Original in journal &#8220;North American Review, vol. 237, pp. 346+. (Title is misleading. It&#8217;s 90% about Russian railways.)<\/li>\n<li>Davis, Richard Harding, and Alfred Thayer Mahan. (1905). <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=z_dyHgAACAAJ&amp;dq=Russo-Japanese+War:+A+Photographic+and+Descriptive+Review+of+the+Great+Conflict+in+the+Far+East.&amp;client=firefox-a\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i>The Russo-Japanese war; a photographic and descriptive review of the great conflict in the Far East, gathered from the reports, records, cable despatches, photographs, etc., etc., of Collier&#8217;s war correspondents<\/i><\/a> New York: <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Collier's Weekly\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Collier%27s_Weekly\">P. F. Collier &amp; Son<\/a>. <a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/wcpa\/oclc\/21581015\" rel=\"nofollow\">OCLC: 21581015<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Harcave, Sidney. (2004). <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=un01HMqbbX0C&amp;dq=sergei+witte&amp;source=gbs_summary_s&amp;cad=0\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i>Count Sergei Witte and the Twilight of Imperial Russia: A Biography.<\/i><\/a> Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe. <a class=\"internal mw-magiclink-isbn\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/9780765614223\">ISBN 978-0-7656-1422-3<\/a> (cloth)<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Vladimir Kokovtsov\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vladimir_Kokovtsov\">Kokovtsov<\/a>, Vladamir. (1935). <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=J7SJHgAACAAJ&amp;dq=Out+of+My+Past&amp;lr=\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i>Out of My Past<\/i> (translator, Laura Matveev).<\/a> Stanford: <a title=\"Stanford University Press\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stanford_University_Press\">Stanford University Press<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Korostovetz, J.J. (1920). <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=-Na2xuUNziMC&amp;dq=Pre-War+Diplomacy+The+Russo-Japanese+Problem&amp;client=firefox-a\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i>Pre-War Diplomacy The Russo-Japanese Problem.<\/i><\/a> London: British Periodicals Limited.<\/li>\n<li>Theodore H. von Laue (1963) Sergei Witte and the Industrialization of Russia<\/li>\n<li>Witte, Sergei. (1921). <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/memoirsofcountwi00wittuoft\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i>The Memoirs of Count Witte<\/i> (translator, Abraham Yarmolinsky).<\/a> New York: <a title=\"Doubleday (publisher)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Doubleday_(publisher)\">Doubleday<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><cite class=\"citation book\">Wcislo, Francis W. (2011). <i>Tales of Imperial Russia: The Life and Times of Sergei Witte, 1849-1915<\/i>. New York: Oxford University Press.<a title=\"International Standard Book Number\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_Standard_Book_Number\">ISBN<\/a>&nbsp;<a title=\"Special:BookSources\/978-0-19-954356-4\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/978-0-19-954356-4\">978-0-19-954356-4<\/a>.<\/cite><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class='footnotes' id='footnotes-4094'>\n<div class='footnotedivider'><\/div>\n<ol>\n<li id='fn-4094-1'> Harold Whitmore Williams (1915) Russia of the Russians, p. 67 <span class='footnotereverse'><a href='#fnref-4094-1'>&#8617;<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li id='fn-4094-2'> Harold Whitmore Williams (1915) Russia of the Russians, p. 67 <span class='footnotereverse'><a href='#fnref-4094-2'>&#8617;<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_4094\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"4094\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/tacotichelaar.nl\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte (Russian: \u0421\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435\u0301\u0439 \u042e\u0301\u043b\u044c\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 \u0412\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0442\u0435; 29 June [O.S. 17 June] 1849 \u2013 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1915) was a Russian statesman and economist who shaped the empire\u2019s transition to industrial modernity. Serving under both Alexander III and Nicholas II, he rose from a technical background in the railways to become Minister &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/tacotichelaar.nl\/wordpress\/biographies-english\/count-sergei-yulyevich-witte\/\" class=\"more-link\">Lees verder <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_4094\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"4094\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/tacotichelaar.nl\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2292,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4094","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte - Taco Tichelaar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tacotichelaar.nl\/wordpress\/biographies-english\/count-sergei-yulyevich-witte\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"nl_NL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte (Russian: \u0421\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435\u0301\u0439 \u042e\u0301\u043b\u044c\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 \u0412\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0442\u0435; 29 June [O.S. 17 June] 1849 \u2013 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1915) was a Russian statesman and economist who shaped the empire\u2019s transition to industrial modernity. 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