Yet, Russia – or rather the Tsar – decided to build the railway. The reasons behind this monumental decision, as we will see, were not rooted in any logical assessment of economic benefits from constructing the railway, but rather in the personal motives of the Tsar and his perception of the military and political value of the project. The advantage of being an absolute ruler, without the need to consider public opinion or pay much attention to the precarious state of the state treasury, gave him the power to undertake such actions. His word was law, and fortunately he had capable assistants, mainly Sergey Witte, his Minister of Finance, to carry out the work.