Difference between revisions of "Pyotr Stolypin" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{epname|Stolypin, Pyotr}}
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{{Infobox Prime_Minister | name=Pyotr Stolypin
{{Infobox_Prime_Minister | name=Pyotr Stolypin
+
|image=Pyotr Stolypin LOC 07327.jpg
| image=Pyotr Stolypin LOC 07327.jpg
+
|nationality=[[Russia]]n
| nationality=[[Russia|Russian]]
+
|order =[[Prime Minister of Russia|3<small><sup>rd</small></sup> Prime Minister of Imperial Russia]]
| order=[[Prime Minister of Russia]]
+
|monarch = [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]
| term_start=[[July 21]], [[1906]]
+
|term_start=[[July 21]], [[1906]]
| term_end=[[September 18]], [[1911]]
+
|term_end=[[September 18]], [[1911]]
| predecessor=[[Ivan Goremykin]]
+
|predecessor=[[Ivan Goremykin]]
| successor=[[Vladimir Kokovtsov]]
+
|successor=[[Vladimir Kokovtsov]]
| birth_date=[[1862]]
+
|birth_date=1862
| birth_place=[[Dresden]]
+
|birth_place=[[Dresden]]
| death_date=[[1911]]
+
|death_date=1911
| death_place=[[Kiev]]
+
|death_place=[[Kiev]]
| spouse=Olga Borisovna Neidhardt
+
|spouse=Olga Borisovna Neidhardt
| party=
+
|party=
| president=
+
|president=
 
}}
 
}}
  
'''Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin''' ([[Russian language|Russian:]]  Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин) ({{OldStyleDate|April 14|1862|April 2}} &ndash; {{OldStyleDate|September 18|1911|September 5}}) served as [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]'s Chairman of the Council of Ministers - the [[Prime Minister of Russia]] from [[1906]] to [[1911]]. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy [[Stolypin reform|agrarian reforms]]. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of market-oriented smallholding landowners.<ref>http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0846802.html</ref> He is often cited as one of the last major statesmen of Imperial Russia with a clearly defined political programme and determination to undertake major reforms.<ref>[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~pvteach/imprus/papers/09b.html Imperial Russia, 1815-1917 - Position Paper<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>
+
'''Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin''' ([[Russian language|Russian:]]  Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин) ({{OldStyleDate|April 14|1862|April 2}}{{ndash}} {{OldStyleDate|September 18|1911|September 5}}) served as [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]'s Chairman of the Council of Ministers—the [[Prime Minister of Russia]]—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy [[Stolypin reform|agrarian reforms]]. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of market-oriented smallholding landowners.<ref>[http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0846802.html Piotr Arkadevich Stolypin &mdash; FactMonster.com<!-- bot-generated title —>] at www.factmonster.com</ref> He is often cited as one of the last major statesmen of Imperial Russia with a clearly defined political programme and determination to undertake major reforms.<ref name="autogenerated2">[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~pvteach/imprus/papers/09b.html Imperial Russia, 1815-1917 - Position Paper<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>
  
 
==Family and background==
 
==Family and background==
Stolypin was born in [[Dresden]], Saxony, on 14 April 1862. His family was prominent in the [[Russia]]n [[aristocracy]], and Stolypin was related on his father's side to the poet [[Mikhail Lermontov]]. His father was Arkady Dmitrievich Stolypin (1821-1899), a Russian landowner, descendant of a great noble family, a general in the Russian artillery and later Commandant of the Kremlin Palace. His mother was Natalia Mikhailovna Stolypina (''née'' [[Gorchakov]]a; 1827-1889), the daughter of a Russian foreign minister [[Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov]]. He received a good education in [[St. Petersburg University]] and began his service in [[government]] upon graduating in 1885 when he joined the Ministry of State Domains. Four years later Stolypin was appointed marshal of Kovno province.<ref>[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstolypin.htm Peter Stolypin<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>
+
Stolypin was born in [[Dresden]], Saxony, on 14 April 1862. His family was prominent in the [[Russia]]n [[aristocracy]], and Stolypin was related on his father's side to the poet [[Mikhail Lermontov]]. His father was Arkady Dmitrievich Stolypin (1821-1899), a Russian landowner, descendant of a great noble family, a general in the Russian artillery and later Commandant of the Kremlin Palace. His mother was Natalia Mikhailovna Stolypina (''née'' [[Gorchakov]]a; 1827-1889), the daughter of a Russian foreign minister [[Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov]]. He received a good education in [[St. Petersburg University]] and began his service in [[government]] upon graduating in 1885 when he joined the Ministry of State Domains. Four years later Stolypin was appointed marshal of Kovno province.<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstolypin.htm Peter Stolypin<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>
  
 
In 1884, Stolypin married Olga Borisovna Neidhardt, the daughter of a prominent Muscovite family, with whom he had five daughters and a son.<ref>Blumberg, Arnold. ''Great Leaders, Great Tyrants?: Contemporary Views of World Rulers Who Made History'', p. 302. Greenwood Press, 1995, ISBN 0313287511.</ref>
 
In 1884, Stolypin married Olga Borisovna Neidhardt, the daughter of a prominent Muscovite family, with whom he had five daughters and a son.<ref>Blumberg, Arnold. ''Great Leaders, Great Tyrants?: Contemporary Views of World Rulers Who Made History'', p. 302. Greenwood Press, 1995, ISBN 0313287511.</ref>
  
 
==Governor and Interior Minister==
 
==Governor and Interior Minister==
In 1902 Stolypin was appointed governor in [[Grodno]], where he was the youngest person ever appointed to this position.  He next became governor of [[Saratov]], where he became known for the suppression of peasant unrest in [[1905]], gaining a reputation as the only governor who was able to keep a firm hold on his province in this period of widespread revolt. Stolypin was the first governor to use effective police methods against those who might be suspected of causing trouble, and some sources suggest that he had a police record on every adult male in his province.<ref>[http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peter_stolypin.htm ::Peter Stolypin::<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref> His successes as provincial governor led to Stolypin being appointed interior minister under [[Ivan Goremykin]].
+
In 1902 Stolypin was appointed governor in [[Grodno]], where he was the youngest person ever appointed to this position.  He next became governor of [[Saratov]], where he became known for the suppression of peasant unrest in 1905, gaining a reputation as the only governor who was able to keep a firm hold on his province in this period of widespread revolt. Stolypin was the first governor to use effective police methods against those who might be suspected of causing trouble, and some sources suggest that he had a police record on every adult male in his province.<ref>[http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peter_stolypin.htm ::Peter Stolypin::<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref> His successes as provincial governor led to Stolypin being appointed interior minister under [[Ivan Goremykin]].
  
 
==Prime Minister==
 
==Prime Minister==
A few months later, Nicholas II appointed Stolypin to replace Goremykin as Prime Minister. Russia in [[1906]] was plagued by [[revolution]]ary unrest and wide discontent among the population. Leftist organisations were waging campaigns against the autocracy, and had wide support; throughout Russia, [[police]] officials and bureaucrats were being assassinated. To respond to these attacks, Stolypin introduced a new court system that allowed for the arrest and speedy trial of accused offenders. Over 3,000 suspects were convicted and executed by these special courts between 1906-09.<ref>[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstolypin.htm Peter Stolypin<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref> The gallows hence acquired the nickname 'Stolypin's necktie'.  
+
A few months later, Nicholas II appointed Stolypin to replace Goremykin as Prime Minister. Russia in 1906 was plagued by [[revolution]]ary unrest and wide discontent among the population. Leftist organisations were waging campaigns against the autocracy, and had wide support; throughout Russia, [[police]] officials and bureaucrats were being assassinated. To respond to these attacks, Stolypin introduced a new court system that allowed for the arrest and speedy trial of accused offenders. Over 3,000 suspects were convicted and executed by these special courts between 1906-09.<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstolypin.htm Peter Stolypin<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref> The gallows hence acquired the nickname 'Stolypin's necktie'.  
  
He dissolved the [[First Duma]] on {{OldStyleDate|July 22|1906|July 9}}, after the reluctance of some of its more radical members to co-operate with the government and calls for land reform.<ref>[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~pvteach/imprus/papers/09b.html Imperial Russia, 1815-1917 - Position Paper<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref> To help quell dissent, Stolypin also hoped to remove some of the causes of grievance amongst the peasantry.  Thus, he introduced important land reforms. Stolypin also tried to improve the lives of urban laborers and worked towards increasing the power of local governments.
+
He dissolved the [[First Duma]] on {{OldStyleDate|July 22|1906|July 9}}, after the reluctance of some of its more radical members to co-operate with the government and calls for land reform.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> To help quell dissent, Stolypin also hoped to remove some of the causes of grievance amongst the peasantry.  Thus, he introduced important land reforms. Stolypin also tried to improve the lives of urban laborers and worked towards increasing the power of local governments.
  
In June of 1907, he was elected as Prime Minister. He aimed to create a moderately wealthy class of peasants, who would be supporters of societal order. (See article "[[Stolypin Reform|Stolypin's Reform]]").<ref>[http://russia.rin.ru/guides_e/6952.html P.A. Stolypin and the Attempts of Reforms<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>  
+
In July 1906 Stanley Baughan , he was elected as Prime Minister. He aimed to create a moderately wealthy class of peasants, who would be supporters of societal order. (See article "[[Stolypin Reform|Stolypin's Reform]]").<ref>[http://russia.rin.ru/guides_e/6952.html P.A. Stolypin and the Attempts of Reforms<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>  
  
Stolypin changed the nature of the [[Duma]] to attempt to make it more willing to pass legislation proposed by the government{{Fact|date=March 2007}}. After dissolving the Second Duma in June [[1907]], he changed the weight of votes more in favour of the nobility and wealthy, reducing the value of lower class votes{{Fact|date=March 2007}}. This affected the elections to the Third Duma, which returned much more conservative members, more willing to co-operate with the government.<ref>[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~pvteach/imprus/papers/09b.html Imperial Russia, 1815-1917 - Position Paper<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>
+
Stolypin changed the nature of the [[Duma]] to attempt to make it more willing to pass legislation proposed by the government{{Fact|date=March 2007}}{{cite book |last= oxley |first= peter|title= [[Russia, 1855 - 1991: from tsars to commissars]] |publisher= [[oxford university press]] |year= 2001 |isbn= 0-1991-3418-9}}. After dissolving the Second Duma in June 1907, he changed the weight of votes more in favour of the nobility and wealthy, reducing the value of lower class votes{{Fact|date=March 2007}}{{cite book|last= oxley|first= peter|title=[[Russia, 1855 - 1991: from tsars to commissars]]|publisher= [[oxford university press]]|year= 2001|isbn= 0-1991-3418-9}}. This affected the elections to the Third Duma, which returned much more conservative members, more willing to co-operate with the government.<ref name="autogenerated2" />
  
In the spring of 1911, Stolypin proposed a bill, which was not passed - prompting his resignation. He proposed spreading the system of [[zemstvo|zemstvo]] to the southwestern provinces of Russia. It was originally slated to pass with a narrow majority, but Stolypin's partisan foes had it defeated. Afterwards he resigned as Prime Minister of the [[Third Duma]].
+
In the spring of 1911, Stolypin proposed a bill, which was not passed - prompting his resignation. He proposed spreading the system of [[zemstvo]] to the southwestern provinces of Russia. It was originally slated to pass with a narrow majority, but Stolypin's partisan foes had it defeated. Afterwards he resigned as Prime Minister of the [[Third Duma]].
  
 
Lenin was afraid Stolypin might succeed in helping Russia avoid a violent revolution. Many German political leaders feared that a successful economic transformation of Russia would undermine [[Germany]]'s dominating position in Europe within a generation. Some historians believe that German leaders in 1914 chose to provoke a war with Tsarist Russia, in order to defeat it before it would grow too strong {{Fact|date=March 2007}}.
 
Lenin was afraid Stolypin might succeed in helping Russia avoid a violent revolution. Many German political leaders feared that a successful economic transformation of Russia would undermine [[Germany]]'s dominating position in Europe within a generation. Some historians believe that German leaders in 1914 chose to provoke a war with Tsarist Russia, in order to defeat it before it would grow too strong {{Fact|date=March 2007}}.
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==Assassination==
 
==Assassination==
 
[[Image:Stolypin grave.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pyotr Stolypin's grave]]
 
[[Image:Stolypin grave.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pyotr Stolypin's grave]]
 +
[[Image:Kiev Opera House.JPG|right|222px|thumb|[[Kiev Opera House]] where Stolypin was assassinated]]
 
In September 1911, Stolypin travelled to Kiev, despite prior police warnings that there was an assassination plot. He travelled without bodyguards and even refused to wear his bullet-proof vest.
 
In September 1911, Stolypin travelled to Kiev, despite prior police warnings that there was an assassination plot. He travelled without bodyguards and even refused to wear his bullet-proof vest.
  
On {{OldStyleDate|September 14|1911|September 1}}, while he was attending a performance at the [[Kiev Opera House]] in the presence of the Tsar and his family, Stolypin was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest, by [[Dmitri Bogrov]], who was both a leftist radical and agent of [[Okhrana]]. After being shot Stolypin was reported to have casually stood up from his chair, carefully removing his gloves and unbuttoning his jacket, and unveiled a blood-soaked waistcoast. He sunk into his chair and  shouted 'I am happy to die for the Tsar' before motioning to the Tsar in his royal box to withdraw to safety. Tsar Nicholas remained in his position and in one last theatrical gesture Stolypin blessed him with a sign of the cross. Stolypin died four days later. The following morning a resentful Tsar kneeled at his hospital bedside and repeated the words 'Forgive me'. Bogrov was hanged 10 days after the assassination, and the judicial investigation was halted by order of [[Tsar Nicholas II]]. This led to suggestions that the assassination was planned not by leftists, but by conservative monarchists who were afraid of Stolypin's reforms and his influence on the Tsar, though this has never been proved.
+
On {{OldStyleDate|September 14|1911|September 1}}, while he was attending [[Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s The Tale of Tsar Saltan at the [[Kiev Opera House]] in the presence of the Tsar and his family, Stolypin was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest, by [[Dmitri Bogrov]], who was both a leftist radical and agent of [[Okhrana]]. After being shot Stolypin was reported to have casually stood up from his chair, carefully removing his gloves and unbuttoning his jacket, and unveiled a blood-soaked waistcoast. He sank into his chair and  shouted 'I am happy to die for the Tsar' before motioning to the Tsar in his royal box to withdraw to safety. Tsar Nicholas remained in his position and in one last theatrical gesture Stolypin blessed him with a sign of the cross. Stolypin died four days later. The following morning a resentful Tsar knelt at his hospital bedside and repeated the words 'Forgive me'. Bogrov was hanged 10&nbsp;days after the assassination, and the judicial investigation was halted by order of [[Tsar Nicholas II]]. This led to suggestions that the assassination was planned not by leftists, but by conservative monarchists who were afraid of Stolypin's reforms and his influence on the Tsar, though this has never been proved.
  
 
==Legacy==
 
==Legacy==
 +
 
Opinions about Stolypin's work were divided. In the unruly atmosphere after the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]] he had to suppress violent revolt and anarchy. His agrarian reform held out much promise, however. Stolypin's phrase that it was a "wager on the strong" has often been maliciously misrepresented. Stolypin and his collaborators (most prominently his Minister of Agriculture [[Alexander Krivoshein]] and the Danish-born agronomist [[Carl Andreas Koefoed|Andrei Andreievich Køfød]]) tried to  give as many peasants as possible a chance to raise themselves out of poverty by promoting consolidation of scattered plots, introducing banking facilities for peasants and stimulating emigration from the overcrowded western areas to [[virgin land]]s in [[Kazakhstan]] and Southern [[Siberia]].
 
Opinions about Stolypin's work were divided. In the unruly atmosphere after the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]] he had to suppress violent revolt and anarchy. His agrarian reform held out much promise, however. Stolypin's phrase that it was a "wager on the strong" has often been maliciously misrepresented. Stolypin and his collaborators (most prominently his Minister of Agriculture [[Alexander Krivoshein]] and the Danish-born agronomist [[Carl Andreas Koefoed|Andrei Andreievich Køfød]]) tried to  give as many peasants as possible a chance to raise themselves out of poverty by promoting consolidation of scattered plots, introducing banking facilities for peasants and stimulating emigration from the overcrowded western areas to [[virgin land]]s in [[Kazakhstan]] and Southern [[Siberia]].
  
Line 60: Line 62:
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
{{wikiquote}}
 
*{{ru icon}} [http://www.russia-today.narod.ru/past/gen/stolyp_petr_ark.htm The ancestors Pyotr Stolypin]
 
*{{ru icon}} [http://www.russia-today.narod.ru/past/gen/stolyp_petr_ark.htm The ancestors Pyotr Stolypin]
 
*[http://www.eastview.com/xq/ASP/sku=RC098826/The/Assassination/of/Russian/Prime/Minister/Pyotr/Stolypin/1911/A/Collection/of/Documents/Russian/Ukraine//qx/research-collections/product_view.asp "The Assassination of Pyotr Stolypin" Research collection on microfilm.]
 
*[http://www.eastview.com/xq/ASP/sku=RC098826/The/Assassination/of/Russian/Prime/Minister/Pyotr/Stolypin/1911/A/Collection/of/Documents/Russian/Ukraine//qx/research-collections/product_view.asp "The Assassination of Pyotr Stolypin" Research collection on microfilm.]
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{{succession box | before=[[Petr Nikolayevich Durnovo]]
 
{{succession box | before=[[Petr Nikolayevich Durnovo]]
| title=[[List of Ministers of Interior of Imperial Russia|Minister of Interior]]  
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|title=[[List of Ministers of Interior of Imperial Russia|Minister of Interior]]  
| years=July 1904 &ndash; February 1905
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|years=July 1904{{ndash}} February 1905
| after=[[Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Makarov]]}}
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|after=[[Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Makarov]]}}
 
{{succession box | before = [[Ivan Goremykin]] | title = [[Prime Minister of Russia]] | years = [[July 21]] [[1906]]&mdash;[[September 18]] [[1911]] | after = [[Vladimir Kokovtsov]]}}
 
{{succession box | before = [[Ivan Goremykin]] | title = [[Prime Minister of Russia]] | years = [[July 21]] [[1906]]&mdash;[[September 18]] [[1911]] | after = [[Vladimir Kokovtsov]]}}
 
{{end box}}
 
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{{RussianPMs}}
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{{Prime Ministers of Russia}}
  
 
[[category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[category:Politics]]
 
[[category:Politics]]
{{credits|Pyotr_Stolypin|211672130}}
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{{credits|Pyotr_Stolypin|248267571}}

Revision as of 00:15, 29 October 2008

Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Stolypin


In office
July 21, 1906 – September 18, 1911
Preceded by Ivan Goremykin
Succeeded by Vladimir Kokovtsov

Born 1862
Dresden
Died 1911
Kiev
Spouse Olga Borisovna Neidhardt

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin (Russian: Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин) (April 14 [O.S. April 2] 1862 – September 18 [O.S. September 5] 1911) served as Nicholas II's Chairman of the Council of Ministers—the Prime Minister of Russia—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of market-oriented smallholding landowners.[1] He is often cited as one of the last major statesmen of Imperial Russia with a clearly defined political programme and determination to undertake major reforms.[2]

Family and background

Stolypin was born in Dresden, Saxony, on 14 April 1862. His family was prominent in the Russian aristocracy, and Stolypin was related on his father's side to the poet Mikhail Lermontov. His father was Arkady Dmitrievich Stolypin (1821-1899), a Russian landowner, descendant of a great noble family, a general in the Russian artillery and later Commandant of the Kremlin Palace. His mother was Natalia Mikhailovna Stolypina (née Gorchakova; 1827-1889), the daughter of a Russian foreign minister Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov. He received a good education in St. Petersburg University and began his service in government upon graduating in 1885 when he joined the Ministry of State Domains. Four years later Stolypin was appointed marshal of Kovno province.[3]

In 1884, Stolypin married Olga Borisovna Neidhardt, the daughter of a prominent Muscovite family, with whom he had five daughters and a son.[4]

Governor and Interior Minister

In 1902 Stolypin was appointed governor in Grodno, where he was the youngest person ever appointed to this position. He next became governor of Saratov, where he became known for the suppression of peasant unrest in 1905, gaining a reputation as the only governor who was able to keep a firm hold on his province in this period of widespread revolt. Stolypin was the first governor to use effective police methods against those who might be suspected of causing trouble, and some sources suggest that he had a police record on every adult male in his province.[5] His successes as provincial governor led to Stolypin being appointed interior minister under Ivan Goremykin.

Prime Minister

A few months later, Nicholas II appointed Stolypin to replace Goremykin as Prime Minister. Russia in 1906 was plagued by revolutionary unrest and wide discontent among the population. Leftist organisations were waging campaigns against the autocracy, and had wide support; throughout Russia, police officials and bureaucrats were being assassinated. To respond to these attacks, Stolypin introduced a new court system that allowed for the arrest and speedy trial of accused offenders. Over 3,000 suspects were convicted and executed by these special courts between 1906-09.[3] The gallows hence acquired the nickname 'Stolypin's necktie'.

He dissolved the First Duma on July 22 [O.S. July 9] 1906, after the reluctance of some of its more radical members to co-operate with the government and calls for land reform.[2] To help quell dissent, Stolypin also hoped to remove some of the causes of grievance amongst the peasantry. Thus, he introduced important land reforms. Stolypin also tried to improve the lives of urban laborers and worked towards increasing the power of local governments.

In July 1906 Stanley Baughan , he was elected as Prime Minister. He aimed to create a moderately wealthy class of peasants, who would be supporters of societal order. (See article "Stolypin's Reform").[6]

Stolypin changed the nature of the Duma to attempt to make it more willing to pass legislation proposed by the government[citation needed]oxley, peter (2001). Russia, 1855 - 1991: from tsars to commissars. oxford university press. ISBN 0-1991-3418-9. . After dissolving the Second Duma in June 1907, he changed the weight of votes more in favour of the nobility and wealthy, reducing the value of lower class votes[citation needed]oxley, peter (2001). Russia, 1855 - 1991: from tsars to commissars. oxford university press. ISBN 0-1991-3418-9. . This affected the elections to the Third Duma, which returned much more conservative members, more willing to co-operate with the government.[2]

In the spring of 1911, Stolypin proposed a bill, which was not passed - prompting his resignation. He proposed spreading the system of zemstvo to the southwestern provinces of Russia. It was originally slated to pass with a narrow majority, but Stolypin's partisan foes had it defeated. Afterwards he resigned as Prime Minister of the Third Duma.

Lenin was afraid Stolypin might succeed in helping Russia avoid a violent revolution. Many German political leaders feared that a successful economic transformation of Russia would undermine Germany's dominating position in Europe within a generation. Some historians believe that German leaders in 1914 chose to provoke a war with Tsarist Russia, in order to defeat it before it would grow too strong [citation needed].

On the other hand, the Tsar did not give Stolypin unreserved backing. In fact, it was believed that his position at Court was already seriously undermined by the time he was assassinated in 1911 [citation needed]. Stolypin's reforms did not survive the turmoil of World War I, the October Revolution nor the Russian Civil War.

Assassination

Pyotr Stolypin's grave
Kiev Opera House where Stolypin was assassinated

In September 1911, Stolypin travelled to Kiev, despite prior police warnings that there was an assassination plot. He travelled without bodyguards and even refused to wear his bullet-proof vest.

On September 14 [O.S. September 1] 1911, while he was attending Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tale of Tsar Saltan at the Kiev Opera House in the presence of the Tsar and his family, Stolypin was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest, by Dmitri Bogrov, who was both a leftist radical and agent of Okhrana. After being shot Stolypin was reported to have casually stood up from his chair, carefully removing his gloves and unbuttoning his jacket, and unveiled a blood-soaked waistcoast. He sank into his chair and shouted 'I am happy to die for the Tsar' before motioning to the Tsar in his royal box to withdraw to safety. Tsar Nicholas remained in his position and in one last theatrical gesture Stolypin blessed him with a sign of the cross. Stolypin died four days later. The following morning a resentful Tsar knelt at his hospital bedside and repeated the words 'Forgive me'. Bogrov was hanged 10 days after the assassination, and the judicial investigation was halted by order of Tsar Nicholas II. This led to suggestions that the assassination was planned not by leftists, but by conservative monarchists who were afraid of Stolypin's reforms and his influence on the Tsar, though this has never been proved.

Legacy

Opinions about Stolypin's work were divided. In the unruly atmosphere after the Russian Revolution of 1905 he had to suppress violent revolt and anarchy. His agrarian reform held out much promise, however. Stolypin's phrase that it was a "wager on the strong" has often been maliciously misrepresented. Stolypin and his collaborators (most prominently his Minister of Agriculture Alexander Krivoshein and the Danish-born agronomist Andrei Andreievich Køfød) tried to give as many peasants as possible a chance to raise themselves out of poverty by promoting consolidation of scattered plots, introducing banking facilities for peasants and stimulating emigration from the overcrowded western areas to virgin lands in Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia.

Miscellaneous

After Stolypin's elder brother was killed in a duel, Stolypin challenged his brother’s duellist. As a result, Stolypin was wounded in the right arm, which became almost paralysed after the incident.

Stolypin's death was allegedly prophesied by Grigori Rasputin, who is reported to have shouted, "Death is after him! Death is driving behind him!" as he ran after the Imperial couple in the crowd outside the opera house.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  1. Piotr Arkadevich Stolypin — FactMonster.com at www.factmonster.com
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Imperial Russia, 1815-1917 - Position Paper
  3. 3.0 3.1 Peter Stolypin
  4. Blumberg, Arnold. Great Leaders, Great Tyrants?: Contemporary Views of World Rulers Who Made History, p. 302. Greenwood Press, 1995, ISBN 0313287511.
  5. ::Peter Stolypin::
  6. P.A. Stolypin and the Attempts of Reforms

External links

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Sources

  • P. A. Stolypin: The Search for Stability in Late Imperial Russia by Abraham Ascher, Stanford University Press, 2001.
Preceded by:
Petr Nikolayevich Durnovo
Minister of Interior
July 1904 – February 1905
Succeeded by:
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Makarov
Preceded by:
Ivan Goremykin
Prime Minister of Russia
July 21 1906—September 18 1911
Succeeded by:
Vladimir Kokovtsov

Credits

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