The article is devoted to informal practices of interaction between the leader of the Union of 17 оctober, A.I.Guchkov, and key political figures, Prime Minister P.A.Stolypin and Emperor Nicholas II. The article examines the process and results of informal interaction, in which Guchkov saw a way to strengthen his own political authority and the party's positions. Despite a number of successes achieved, the failure of Guchkov's tactics in 1910–1911 marked the beginning of the decline of cooperation between the government and the Octobrists.