The book was conceived as a political biography of S. Yu. Witte, but very soon it became obvious that it was necessary to understand the evolution of Witte's views and the motives of his behavior as a citizen and statesman - and in this the authors first of all saw their main task - it is impossible without characterizing, even the most superficial, historical events that took place in Russia during the reign of Alexander III and Nicholas II. This is how this book appeared - about Witte's life, his bureaucratic career, state reorganization projects, his influence on the development of the Russian economy, determining the course of domestic and foreign policy.