About the book: 1994 / The meaning of this work is to create a collective outline portrait of a domestic entrepreneur on the verge of the collapse of Imperial Russia. This is one of the guides to the world of Russian business, where there are still very few reliable directions. The object of attention will be the people who at that time held in their hands the main levers of the economy and personified the country's business elite, the heads of the largest commercial banks, insurance, transport and industrial corporations; those merchants, industrialists and bankers who occupied leading positions in the unwritten hierarchy of the business world. This small but economically influential community dates back to the period preceding the First World War, when private ownership developed rapidly and reached its highest levels. What kind of people were these? What is their number? Where did they come from? In what areas of business activity have you proven yourself? How did they interact with the archaic structure of social life? Of course, it is beyond the power of an individual researcher to clarify these fundamental issues. In this area, other semantic variations, other methodological approaches and plot interludes are possible. This requires new research and development. But, it seems that in any case, the conversation about the role and fate of Russian entrepreneurs must begin from the baseline, with clarification of the social characteristics mentioned above.