Political Practices of Late Imperial Russia: S.Yu. Witte and His Financial Reform

Abstract

This article examines S.Yu. Witte’s perception of certain political practices in late Imperial Russia, with a special focus on his memoirs. The financial reform introduced by him and the «struggle» for its implementation, both in the bureaucratic field and public political communication, are considered in detail. The primary sources used in the analysis include S.Yu. Witte’s «Memoirs», accounts from his contemporaries, periodicals, correspondence, and unpublished materials stored in the archives of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The results obtained reveal that the Russian Empire pursued contradictory political practices during the studied period. Key algorithms of the political behavior of public officials and their characteristics in the «Memoirs» as a valuable source are outlined.