ABSTRACT

A portrait of the twilight years of Isarism by Count Sergei Witte (1849-1915), the man who built modern Russia. Witte presents incisive and often piquant portraits of the mighty and those around them--powerful Alexander III, the weak-willed Nicholas II, and the neurasthenic Empress Alexandra, along with his own notorious cousin, Madam blavatsky, the "priestess of the occult".

part |2 pages

Volume I, 1849-1903

chapter I|9 pages

My Family

chapter II|8 pages

General Fadeev and His Times

chapter III|9 pages

Some Caucasian Memories

chapter IV|11 pages

My Education

chapter V|12 pages

The Odessa Railroad, 1870-1879

chapter VIII|4 pages

Kievan Years, 1880-1889: The Holy Brotherhood

chapter XIII|14 pages

Minister of Ways and Communications, 1891-1892

chapter XIV|3 pages

Family Matters

chapter XV|9 pages

Prince Vladimir Petrovich Meshcherskii

chapter XVII|10 pages

Minister of Finance: Appointment and Personnel

chapter XVIII|9 pages

Emperor Alexander III

chapter XX|7 pages

The Imperial Court

chapter XXI|4 pages

Last Days of Emperor Alexander III

chapter XXII|5 pages

A New Reign Begins

chapter XXIV|12 pages

The Sino-Russian Treaty of 1896

chapter XXV|4 pages

The Khodynka Tragedy

chapter XXVIII|6 pages

The Visiting Dignitaries, 1897

chapter XXIX|11 pages

Origins of the War with Japan, 1897-1900

chapter XXXIII|12 pages

On the Road to War and Revolution, 1901-1903

part |2 pages

Volume II, 1903-1906

chapter I|17 pages

On the Eve of War

chapter II|12 pages

My Differences with Plehve

chapter III|10 pages

The First Months of War, January-July 1904

chapter IV|25 pages

The "Political Spring" and Bloody Sunday

chapter V|33 pages

War and Peace, February-September 1905

chapter VI|9 pages

Return to Russia: Paris, Berlin, Rominten

chapter VII|20 pages

General Strike

chapter VIII|13 pages

The October Manifesto

chapter IX|21 pages

My First Ten Days as Premier

chapter XI|23 pages

The Restoration of Order

chapter XII|16 pages

Cabinet Changes

chapter XIII|12 pages

The Loan That Saved Russia's Financial Strength

chapter XV|7 pages

The End of My Tenure

chapter |126 pages

Part I My Life, 1906-1911

chapter |92 pages

Editor's Notes

chapter |4 pages

Sources: Texts Used in the Translation