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The article dwells upon key milestones of life and activities of Russian public and political leader Vasilii Ilich Denisov. Social, cultural and political image of the Don Cossack, regional marshal of the nobility, member of the State Council, founder of the Russian Export Chamber – all these versatile aspects of the regional history of the State Duma are focused on in the article. The influence of economic, social and cultural processes of the era of the early industrial Russian modernization upon the activities of V.I. Denisov in various spheres is analyzed. Special attention is given to Denisov’s participation in the work of regional industrialists appeared in Russia at the end of 19th beginning of the 20th century. The article states that those organizations could be considered as the origin of the institutions of Russian civil societies, and as a result an integral part of the modernization process. V.I. Denisov, being an entrepreneur of a new type, was interested in radical reforming of financial and economic policy of the government and creating favorable conditions for the development of entrepreneurship and social activity. The conclusion was drawn that Denisov belonged to that part of the Russian society that succeeded in adapting to the tough conditions of the modernization epoch, the epoch when transition from the society with traditional lifestyle pattern towards the society capable of digesting and assuming innovations, both economic, social or cultural, took place. It is shown that Denisov, being a politician, was focused on class and Russian issues in general. His political views combined traditional and bourgeois-democratic aspects.