Sergei Witte

Uncommon card · No. 145640

Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte (Russian: Сергей Юльевич Витте, romanized: Sergey Yulyevich Vitte, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈjʉlʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈvʲitːɛ]; 29 June [O.S. 17 June] 1849 – 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1915), also known as Sergius Witte, was a Russian statesman who served as the first prime minister of the Russian Empire, replacing the emperor as head of government. Neither liberal nor conservative, he attracted foreign capital to boost Russia's industrialization. Witte's strategy was to avoid the danger of wars. Count Witte served under the final two emperors of Russia, Alexander III (r. 1881–1894) and Nicholas II (r. 1894–1917). During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he had risen to a position in which he controlled all the traffic passing to the front along the lines of the Odessa Railways. As finance minister from 1892–1903, Witte presided over extensive industrialisation and achieved government monopoly control over an expanded system of railway lines. Following months of civil unrest...

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