Witte was brought back into the governmental decision-making process to help deal with growing civil unrest.
Confronted with increasing opposition and, after consulting with Witte and Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky, the Tsar issued a reform ukase on December 25, 1904 with vague promises.
After the Bloody Sunday riots of 1905, Witte supplied 500 rubles, the equivalent of 250 dollars, to Father Gapon in order for the leader of the demonstration to leave the country.
Witte recommended that the government issue a manifesto related to the people's demands.
Schemes of reform would be elaborated by Goremykin and a committee consisting of elected representatives of the zemstva and municipal councils under the presidency of Witte.
On 3 March the Tsar condemned the revolutionaries.
The government issued a strongly worded prohibition of any further agitation in favor of a constitution.
By spring a new political system was beginning to form in Russia.
A petition campaign was conducted seeking a wide variety of proposed changes, such as ending the war with Japan, which lasted from February to July 1905.
In June mutiny broke out on the Russian battleship Potemkin.

The Tsar called upon Witte to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
He was sent to the United States for the talks, as the Russian Emperor's plenipotentiary titled "his Secretary of State and President of the Committee of Ministers of the Emperor of Russia," along with Baron Roman Rosen, Master of the Imperial Court of Russia.
The peace talks were held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Witte is credited with negotiating brilliantly on Russia's behalf during these Treaty of Portsmouth discussions.
Russia lost little in the final settlement.
For his efforts, Witte was created a Count.
But the loss of the war with Japan is believed to have marked the beginning of the end of Imperial Russia.

After this diplomatic success, Witte wrote to the Tsar stressing the urgent need for political reforms at home.
He was dissatisfied with proposals by Bulygin, the successor of Sviatopolk-Mirsky.
A 6 August (O.S.) manifesto created a Duma as a consultative body only.
Elections of its representatives would not be direct but would be held in four stages, and qualifications for class and property would exclude much of the intelligentsia and all of the working classes from suffrage.
The proposal was greeted by numerous protests and strikes across the country, which became known as the Russian Revolution of 1905.

During this period, imperial troops were sent out 2,000 times to suppress violence.
The Tsar remained quiet, impassive and indulgent; he spent most of that autumn hunting.
Witte told Nicholas II, "that the country was at the verge of a cataclysmic revolution".
Trepov was ordered to take drastic measures to stop the revolutionary activity.
The Tsar asked his cousin Grand Duke Nicholas to assume the role of dictator, but the Grand Duke threatened to shoot himself if the Tsar refused to endorse Witte's memorandum.
Nicholas II had no choice but to take a number of steps in the constitutional liberal direction.
The Tsar accepted the draft, hurriedly outlined by Aleksei D. Obolensky.
 It was known as the October Manifesto.
This promised to grant civil liberties such as freedom of conscience, speech, and association; constitutional order, representative government, and the establishment of an Imperial Duma.
As the Duma was only a consultative body, the Council of Ministers or the Tsar still had the right to block certain proposals.
Many Russians felt that this reform did not go far enough; and it did not achieve universal suffrage for men.
Witte was brought back into the governmental decision-making process to help deal with growing civil unrest. Confronted with increasing opposition and, after consulting with Witte and Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky, the Tsar issued a reform ukase on December 25, 1904 with vague promises. After the Bloody Sunday riots of 1905, Witte supplied 500 rubles, the equivalent of 250 dollars, to Father Gapon in order for the leader of the demonstration to leave the country. Witte recommended that the government issue a manifesto related to the people's demands. Schemes of reform would be elaborated by Goremykin and a committee consisting of elected representatives of the zemstva and municipal councils under the presidency of Witte. On 3 March the Tsar condemned the revolutionaries. The government issued a strongly worded prohibition of any further agitation in favor of a constitution. By spring a new political system was beginning to form in Russia. A petition campaign was conducted seeking a wide variety of proposed changes, such as ending the war with Japan, which lasted from February to July 1905. In June mutiny broke out on the Russian battleship Potemkin.
The Tsar called upon Witte to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War. He was sent to the United States for the talks, as the Russian Emperor's plenipotentiary titled "his Secretary of State and President of the Committee of Ministers of the Emperor of Russia," along with Baron Roman Rosen, Master of the Imperial Court of Russia. The peace talks were held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Witte is credited with negotiating brilliantly on Russia's behalf during these Treaty of Portsmouth discussions. Russia lost little in the final settlement. For his efforts, Witte was created a Count. But the loss of the war with Japan is believed to have marked the beginning of the end of Imperial Russia.
After this diplomatic success, Witte wrote to the Tsar stressing the urgent need for political reforms at home. He was dissatisfied with proposals by Bulygin, the successor of Sviatopolk-Mirsky. A 6 August (O.S.) manifesto created a Duma as a consultative body only. Elections of its representatives would not be direct but would be held in four stages, and qualifications for class and property would exclude much of the intelligentsia and all of the working classes from suffrage. The proposal was greeted by numerous protests and strikes across the country, which became known as the Russian Revolution of 1905. 
During this period, imperial troops were sent out 2,000 times to suppress violence. The Tsar remained quiet, impassive and indulgent; he spent most of that autumn hunting. Witte told Nicholas II, "that the country was at the verge of a cataclysmic revolution". Trepov was ordered to take drastic measures to stop the revolutionary activity. The Tsar asked his cousin Grand Duke Nicholas to assume the role of dictator, but the Grand Duke threatened to shoot himself if the Tsar refused to endorse Witte's memorandum. Nicholas II had no choice but to take a number of steps in the constitutional liberal direction. The Tsar accepted the draft, hurriedly outlined by Aleksei D. Obolensky.  It was known as the October Manifesto. This promised to grant civil liberties such as freedom of conscience, speech, and association; constitutional order, representative government, and the establishment of an Imperial Duma. As the Duma was only a consultative body, the Council of Ministers or the Tsar still had the right to block certain proposals. Many Russians felt that this reform did not go far enough; and it did not achieve universal suffrage for men.
Sergei Witte