Witte: How He Benefited Russia.
Witte was a revolutionary in the sense that he was the first man in a tsarist government that stood up for the working classes. His ideas were mainly built on the work of such writers as Vyshnegradsky, and much of what he achieved can be attributed to his predecessors and their work. Throughout his career as Minister Of Finance he consistently surprised the opposition with his reforms and although he fought to protect tsarism, he was like nothing any one had seen before.
He was an enlightened man who realised that if Russia was to grow economically it had to come to terms with the many problems that faced the tsarist regime.
His plan was to aid Russia's development through industrialisation, but he was not going to make the mistakes made by other nations. His vision was to rapidly industrialise with force, and cut out the impoverished instability that came with the 1st phase of industrialisation. He felt if this dangerous phase could be controllably rushed then Russia's powers would increase dramatically and efficiency could be reached sooner.
Probably the most important development to occur under his Ministry was the construction of the 9600km Trans Siberian Railway. Work, which began in 1891 was finally finished in1903 (some sources suggest 1905). When it was complete it stretched for 5,785 miles, and increased Russia's total miles of track from 13,270 in 1881 to 43,850 miles in 1913. Connecting the remotest parts of Russia to the west was imperative and had many knock on effects. For example it meant that infrastructure had to be improved, if not only slightly, so workers and aristocrats alike could access the stations.
Witte was a revolutionary in the sense that he was the first man in a tsarist government that stood up for the working classes. His ideas were mainly built on the work of such writers as Vyshnegradsky, and much of what he achieved can be attributed to his predecessors and their work. Throughout his career as Minister Of Finance he consistently surprised the opposition with his reforms and although he fought to protect tsarism, he was like nothing any one had seen before.
He was an enlightened man who realised that if Russia was to grow economically it had to come to terms with the many problems that faced the tsarist regime.
His plan was to aid Russia's development through industrialisation, but he was not going to make the mistakes made by other nations. His vision was to rapidly industrialise with force, and cut out the impoverished instability that came with the 1st phase of industrialisation. He felt if this dangerous phase could be controllably rushed then Russia's powers would increase dramatically and efficiency could be reached sooner.
Probably the most important development to occur under his Ministry was the construction of the 9600km Trans Siberian Railway. Work, which began in 1891 was finally finished in1903 (some sources suggest 1905). When it was complete it stretched for 5,785 miles, and increased Russia's total miles of track from 13,270 in 1881 to 43,850 miles in 1913. Connecting the remotest parts of Russia to the west was imperative and had many knock on effects. For example it meant that infrastructure had to be improved, if not only slightly, so workers and aristocrats alike could access the stations.
