Sergei Yulyevich Witte, also known as Sergius Witte, was a Russian statesman who served as the first "Prime Minister" of the Russian Empire, replacing the Tsar as head of the government. Neither a liberal nor a conservative, he attracted foreign capital to boost Russia's industrialization. Witte's strategy was to avoid the danger of wars.
Witte served under the last two emperors of Russia, Alexander III and Nicholas II. During the Russo-Turkish War, he had risen to a position in which he controlled all the traffic passing to the front along the lines of the Odessa Railways. As Minister of Finance from 1892 to 1903 Witte presided over extensive industrialization and achieved government monopoly control over an expanded system of railroad lines.
Following months of civil unrest and outbreaks of violence in what became known as the 1905 Russian Revolution, Witte framed on the 17th the October Manifesto and the accompanying government communication to establish constitutional government. However, he was not convinced it would solve Russia's problems with the Tsarist autocracy. On 20 October 1905 Witte was appointed as the first Chairman of the Russian Council of Ministers.