The Memoirs Of Count Witte

An account of the later years of Tsarism. Witte presents portraits of the statesmen around him, explains the problem of bringing the economy to a level commensurate with Russia's putative position as the greatest land power in the world and the effort to create a constitutional monarchy.

Sergei Witte served as finance minister and later prime minister of Russia during the reigns of Alexander III and Nicholas II, and was in large part responsible for the development policies which saw Russia transformed from a peasant economy into an industrial nation. This is the first biography of Witte in English.

Born in 1849, Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte led a prolific and chaotic life in the service of the Russian government during the time of the Russo-Turkish war and the 1905 Russian Revolution. He served under the last emperors of Russia, Alexander III and Nicholas II, and served as the first Prime Minister of the Russian Empire. His memoirs are an amazing (and educational) read for anyone interested in Russia's pre revolutionary history, particularly through his accounts of the tragic rule of Nicholas II and his last days in the court. Witte was a true reformist at the time, negotiating relations between the government and the demonstrators during the Russian revolution by outlining the reforms needed to create a unified Russia. It's not difficult to see why he was stymied by those looking to maintain the autocracy that gave rise to the revolution in the first place.

Excerpt from The Memoirs of Count Witte: Translated From the Original Russian Manuscript and Edited Unless otherwise indicated, the dates in the text are according to the Russian, or "old style" calendar. In some cases the corresponding Western, or "new style" date is given in parentheses. To convert a Russian (Julian) to a Western (Gregorian) date add twelve days to the former, for dates preceding the year 1900, and thirteen days for later dates. In spelling the Russian names an attempt is made to follow a consistent system of transliteration, in keeping with the best modern practice, due allowance being made for forms consecrated by usage. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.