The article examines the conflict between the leader of the largest Black Hundred organization of the Russian Empire, the Union of the Russian People, Alexander Dubrovin and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Count Sergei Witte. For the first time in historiography, attention is drawn to the emergence of hostile relations between Dubrovin and Witte, which developed back in the late 19th century. The theoretical basis of the study is the anthropological and institutional approaches, the problematic and biographical methods. Using this methodological block, based on the analysis of materials from the prerevolutionary periodical press, the attitude of the leader of the right-wing forces to the prime minister, the accusations brought against him, and the methods of counteracting the policy of the head of government are reconstructed in detail. It is proven that Dubrovin and the Union of the Russian People led by him made a significant contribution to the discrediting of Witte, the loss of his trust on the part of Nicholas II, and the subsequent resignation of the prime minister.