The article examines the work of the Russian academic Konstantin Gattenberger, a figure little known to modern students of the history of economics. Although Gattenberger was an original thinker, he was one of those theorists who fail to achieve fame in their profession. Nevertheless, he can rightfully be considered an innovator in various branches of economics and was ahead of his time on a number of points. In particular, Gatttenberger’s work in methodology engaged with the German historical school in what became known as the “dispute about methods.” Carl Menger’s famous article on this issue was published only two years later. Gattenberger also held original views on other methodological issues. In addition, he was the first economist to formulate the principle of the bank (deposit) multiplier and to show how it functioned. His theory of the cyclical development of the economy is still of interest, as is his way of defining an economic crisis, which differed from the generally accepted view.