Reforming Russia
History: KS3, topic 17.2.4
Peter Stolypin
Peter Stolypin was the driving force behind reform after 1905.
Stolypin's background
- Stolypin had been governor of several provinces in Lithuania before the 1905 uprisings.
Stolypin's rise
- In April 1906, the tsar appointed Stolypin Minister of the Interior.
- In July 1906, Stolypin replaced Goremkyn as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (chief minister in Russia).
Continued instability and the socialist threat in Russia
- The Socialist Revolutionary Combat Organisation assassinated political figures like Sergei Alexandrovich, the tsar's uncle and Vyacheslav von Plehve, the Minister of the Interior.
- Paul Avrich estimates that 4,000 government workers were murdered by socialist organisations in 1906 and 1907.
- Stolypin asked the tsar to create a reserve cabinet in case ministers were killed.
Restoring order
- Stolypin survived a bombing attack on him in August 1907. He announced a state of emergency and introduced martial law.
- Field court-martials (special military courts) were used to deal with these socialist terrorists.
- Roughly 4,000 were executed within 1 year.
- They faced secret trials immediately after being captured and were sometimes executed the next day.
'Stolypin's necktie'
- The executioner's noose was known as 'Stolypin's necktie' because it was used so often.
- Stolypin was meant to reform the state, however, his regime became even more autocratic.
- Stolypin was condemned by the Kadet party in the Duma.
Peter Stolypin's Land Reforms
Peter Stolypin is best known for reforming agriculture (farming).
Helping the peasants
- Under Sergei Witte's industrial reforms in the 1890s, the peasants had been largely ignored.
- Railroads and electrification were good for factories, industry, and exports (as well as foreign investors).
- 80% of the population were still peasants and little had changed since the emancipation of the serfs (peasant slaves) in 1861.
Law of November 1906
- The Law of November 1906 allowed peasants to create their own small farms.
- They were allowed to own their land and Witte hoped this would kill the support for socialism.
- If people owned their own property, they would be less likely to want to revolt and make every asset in society communal.
Peasants' Land Bank
- The Peasants' Land Bank had existed since the 1880s, but Stolypin scaled it up.
- The loans from the Peasants' Land Bank allowed peasants to buy their small farms.
Resettlement
- The government also encouraged resettlement (moving to other parts of the country).
- The Russian government wanted to get people out of really overcrowded cities.
- From 1906 to 1910, over 600,000 people per year moved to Siberia.
- 10 million people lived there by 1915. However, the climate is extreme in Siberia and life is hard.
Test yourself on Reforming Russia
Which title was given to the most senior minister in the tsar's council?
Which threats did the government face after 1905?
How did Stolypin try to restore order after 1905?
In what year were the serfs (peasant slaves) freed?
The Peasants' Land Bank