Witte's monetary reform is the secret of the success of the Russian Empire on the world stage

Undoubtedly, S. Yu. Witte was one of the most successful finance ministers in the history of the Russian Empire. And Witte's monetary reform contributed to the development of trade and production due to the convergence of banking and industrial capital and the elimination of inflation. However, much greater fame brought the reformer his first innovation, associated with the establishment of a monopoly on the sale of alcoholic beverages in 1894. For the period from the beginning of 1894 to 1902, this reform of Witte increased receipts to the budget by 16 times.

When the Russian government was convinced that the tax changes that had taken place not only helped to cope with the budget deficit, but also helped to reduce drunkenness, it was decided to hold the second stage of the changes, during which indirect taxes on kerosene, tobacco, sugar and matches were increased by 1, 5 times. Witte reforms were not limited to "drinking" reforms, but also included the introduction of apartment tax, the corporate income tax on businesses, and an increase in the collection of bank deposits. But the most important achievement of Witte the Minister of Finance of Russia is rightly considered to be the transition from inflationary-paper money circulation to the gold standard.

The monetary reform of Witte suggested the stabilization of the country's monetary system by establishing the gold equivalent of the ruble. The need for such decisive action was due to the fact that at that time there was a great risk of the collapse of the Russian currency, since the official ruble exchange rate for the French franc was considered 1 to 4, and in practice it was no more than 1 to 2.5. Witte's monetary reform turned the ruble into a solid monetary unit, which helped improve the investment climate in the country. As a result, at the beginning of the 20th century, Russia experienced unprecedented industrial and economic growth in all sectors of the economy.

The influx of foreign investment up to the beginning of the war increased annually by 150 million rubles, while before the reform it amounted to only 100 million rubles. Because of the instability of the country's monetary and monetary system. Witte's monetary reform assumed that the ruble contained 7.66656 g of pure gold, and credit tickets that were in circulation on the territory of the Russian state could be freely exchanged for this noble metal at the declared rate.

On the eve of the First World War, the gold ruble became one of the most reliable currencies in the world and circulated freely throughout Europe. This allowed Russia not only to enter the foreign market and attract new capital, but also to strengthen political ties with the leading countries of that time. And despite the fact that initially the changes in the legislation were perceived rather negatively, because they linked the hands of speculators, over time Witte's contribution to the development of the state was appreciated by historians and economists. Today, this period is studied in detail in Russian history in many studies of both domestic and foreign authors, and Witte reform is considered an example of how useful innovations can and should be implemented without losses for the population.