| Sergei Witte |
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| 1849 births | |
| witte, sergei | |
| 1915 deaths | |
| imperial russian politicians | |
| prime ministers of russia | |
| people from tbilisi | |
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Although the Witte family is believed to be of Dutch extraction, they had settled in the Baltic Region of Imperial Russia when it was still in the possession of the Swedish Empire (before Peter I ). Sergei Witte's maternal grandfather was Andrei Mikhailovich Fadeyev , a Governor of Saratov and Privy Councillor of the Caucasus , his grandmother was Princess Helene Dolgoruki , and the mystic Madame Blavatsky was his first cousin. His father was Julius Witte , her mother was Catherine Fadeyev . He was born and raised in the Caucasus region of Russia, in the house of his mother's parents. He graduated from Novorossiysk University in Odessa with a degree in Mathematics . He then spent the greater part of the 1870s and 1880s involved in private enterprises, particularly the administration and management of various Railroad lines in Russia. IMPACT ON RUSSIAN ECONOMICS .]] Witte served as Russia n Director of Railway Affairs within the Finance Ministry from 1889 – 1891 , Transportation Minister ( 1892 ), where he pursued an ambitious program of railway construction and oversaw the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway . He was appointed Russian Finance Minister in 1892 , a position he held until 1902 . During his tenure as Finance Minister the nation saw unprecedented economic growth. Witte strongly encouraged foreign capital to invest in Russia, and to do so he put Russia on the Gold Standard in 1897 . Witte encouraged the growth of Russian industry, as a result the industrial sector of the economy expanded rapidly, especially the Metal s, Petroleum , and Transportation sectors. To improve the economy and to attract foreign investors Witte also advocated curbing the powers of the Russian autocracy. Witte was transferred to the relatively powerless position of Chairman of the s slowly declined and unrest increased in the peasant population. IMPACT ON RUSSIAN POLITICS Witte returned to the forefront in 1905 , however, when he was called upon by the Tsar to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War . Witte traveled to the United States , with Baron Rosen , to the Peace Talks were being held, and negotiated brilliantly on Russia's behalf. Despite losing dramatically on the battlefield, Russia lost very little in the final settlement. After this success Witte was brought back into the governmental decision-making process to help deal with the civil unrest following the war and in Russia's first elected parliament, the State Duma , forced Witte to resign as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister). Witte continued in Russian politics as a member of the State Council but never again obtained an administrative role in the government. Just prior to the outbreak of World War I he urged that Russia stay out of the conflict. His warning that Europe faced calamity if Russia became involved went unheeded, and he died shortly thereafter. REFERENCES
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