Diplomat, financier and railroad employee S. Yu. Witte in the spotlight of the Presidential Library’s webinar

Thematic webinar, dedicated to the outstanding statesman of the Russian Empire at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries, Sergey Witte (1849–1915) was held on Wednesday July 17, 2019 at the Presidential Library. The electronic collections of the library contain rare books, photographs and unique archive materials, including his personal correspondence.

Sergey Witte was born in Tiflis, where his father served as head of the department of agriculture and mining in the office of the governor of the Caucasus. In 1866, Sergey entered as a non-degree student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Novorossiysk University in Odessa. The Summary Report of the Imperial Novorossiysk University for the 1865–1866 academic year, features disciplines taught there, statistics on students, including free students.

After graduation, Sergei Yulievich connected his life with rail transport, entering the service of the management of the Odessa Railway. "Collection of information about the railways in Russia" allows assessing the state of the railway business in the late 60s of the XIX century.

Besides,  Witte was one of the participants of the commission created “to study the railway case in Russia”, developed the draft “General Charter of Russian Railways”, and in 1883 published the book Principles of Railway Tariffs for the Carriage of Goods, which brought him fame in professional circles. These sources are available in the electronic reading rooms of the Presidential Library, which are open today not only in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, but also abroad.

Witte often accompanied Emperor Alexander III during his trips to the south. And shortly before the famous catastrophe of the royal train at Borki station in 1888, warned of the possibility of a crash due to overloading the train and speeding.

The “Record of Interview of S. Yu. Witte on the case of the royal train crash”, available in the electronic reading rooms of the Presidential Library, reflects his remark: “Imperial carriage is exorbitantly large in accordance with the speed given to these trains and with which passenger trains are on Russian roads".

After the crash, Alexander III remembered Witte’s warnings and made a visionary head of the Department of Railway Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, thereby launching his further career at the highest level.

Having become Minister of Finance, S. Yu. Witte held a large-scale monetary reform. The library’s collections provide "Materials on the monetary reform of 1895-1897".

In early 20th century, he published a multi-volume edition “The Emergence of the Russian-Japanese War”. The book includes historical information on the most important events for Russia in the Far East, documents on negotiations with Japan. According to their results, the Portsmouth Peace Treaty was concluded in 1905, and Witte himself, who signed the treaty from the Russian side, was elevated to the count's dignity.  

Already after Witte’s death his “Memories” were published. They are also available in the electronic reading rooms of the Presidential Library in Russia and abroad.

Sergey Witte’s relationship with the last emperor of Russia is reflected in the paper of a Russian publicist V. V. Vodovozov. The book “Count S. Yu. Witte and Emperor Nicholas II” (1922), illustrates the beginning of his career in the service of Alexander III, the service under Nicholas II, and reveals the personality of the sovereign after Witte’s memoirs.

Finally, readers of the Presidential Library can see the photographs depicting Sergei Yulievich. In particular, these are works by the master of documentary photography Karl Bulla of 1892 and 1903.

“In total, S. Witte dedicated 22 years of his life to work in the field of railway transport”, - said a researcher of the funds department of the Central Museum of Railway Transport, curator of the exhibition “Minister of Communications S. Yu. Witte” (1849 –1915)” Anna Timofeeva.

He began working at the Odessa Railway as a ticket clerk, and then rose to the rank of Minister of Railways, Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire.

The webinar in the mode of video-conferencing included library specialists from different cities of Russia.