"Encyclopedia of Death. Chronicles of Charon"

Part 2: Dictionary of Selected Deaths

The ability to live well and die well is one and the same science.

Epicurus

STOLYPIN Petr Arkadievich

and Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia in 1906-1911

Stolypin fought the first Russian revolution and its consequences so diligently that he earned the terrible nicknames of the executioner and the hangman among the people, and the rope noose on the gallows was dubbed the “Stolypin tie.” Here are the statistics of death executions carried out during his premiership (according to Professor M.N. Gernet): 1900 - 574 people, 1907 - 1139 people, 1908 - 1340 people, 1909 - 717 people, 1910 city ​​- 129 people, 1911 - 73 people.

In his life, Stolypin himself often walked close to death. To begin with, he, having married the fiancée of his brother, who was killed in a duel, then shot himself with his brother’s killer. When Stolypin was governor of Saratov, a man with a revolver attacked him. Stolypin coolly opened his coat and said: “Shoot!” The attacker, confused, released his weapon. Another time, the governor was not afraid to go to the station, where an ignorant crowd wanted to tear apart the zemstvo doctors in order to protect them. Stones were thrown from the crowd, and one of them seriously injured Stolypin's hand.

Stolypin’s phrase regarding the terrorist actions of revolutionaries is widely known: “You will not intimidate!” Former Foreign Minister L.P. Izvolsky recalled: “It is interesting to note that, facing danger with amazing courage and even flaunting it at times, he always had a premonition that he would die a violent death. He told me about this several times with amazing calm.”

When Stolypin became chairman of the Council of Ministers, in August 1900, terrorist revolutionaries blew up his dacha. The explosion killed 27 people and injured the prime minister's son and daughter. Stolypin himself was knocked to the floor by the force of the explosion, but was not injured. A week after the explosion, the government issued a decree on courts-martial. During the eight months of this decree, 1,100 people were executed in Russia. However, these executions did not help either Russia or Stolypin.

On September 1, 1911, at the Kiev Opera House, in the presence of Tsar Nicholas II and his daughters, Stolypin was shot twice from a revolver by Dmitry Bogrov (a double agent who worked simultaneously for the Social Revolutionaries and the police). During the assassination attempt, Stolypin stood leaning against the ramp; he had no security.

The wounded prime minister turned to the box in which the king was located and crossed it with a trembling hand. Then, with leisurely movements, he placed his cap and gloves on the orchestra barrier, unbuttoned his frock coat and collapsed into a chair. His white jacket quickly began to fill with blood.

When Stolypin was carried to one of the theater rooms and hastily bandaged, it turned out that he was saved from instant death by the cross of St. Vladimir, which was hit by the first bullet. She crushed the cross and walked away from her heart.

But still, this bullet pierced the chest, pleura, abdominal barrier and liver. The other wound was not so dangerous - the bullet pierced the left hand.

Doctors ordered to place the wounded prime minister in the clinic of Dr. Makovsky. Stolypin's agony lasted four days. Towards the end he began to have terrible hiccups. Then he fell into oblivion, from which he never emerged. On September 5, doctors pronounced him dead.

3rd Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire
	Nicholas II
Predecessor:	Ivan Logginovich Goremykin
Successor:	Vladimir Nikolaevich Kokovtsov
24th Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire
Predecessor:	Petr Nikolaevich Durnovo
Successor:	Alexander Alexandrovich Makarov
24th Saratov Governor
Predecessor:	Alexander Platonovich Engelhardt
Successor:	Sergey Sergeevich Tatishchev
27th Governor of Grodno
Predecessor:	Nikolai Petrovich Urusov
Successor:	Mikhail Mikhailovich Osorgin
Religion:	Orthodoxy
Birth:
Buried:	Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Kyiv
	Arkady Dmitrievich Stolypin
	Natalya Mikhailovna Gorchakova
	Olga Borisovna Neidgardt
	Son: Arkady Daughters: Maria, Natalya, Elena, Olga and Alexandra
Education:	Imperial St. Petersburg University
Academic degree:	Candidate of Physics and Mathematics Faculty, Natural Sciences Department, dissertation on economic statistics

Origin and early years

Service in Kovno

Grodno Governor

Saratov Governor

Minister of Internal Affairs

Prime Minister

Law on Courts Martial

Finnish question

Jewish question

Agrarian reform

Foreign policy

Assassination attempts on Stolypin

Explosion on Aptekarsky Island

Assassination attempt in Kyiv and death

Russian

Foreign

Performance evaluation

Idioms

Stolypin and Rasputin

Stolypin and L.N. Tolstoy

Stolypin and Witte

In literature

In numismatics

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin(April 2, 1862, Dresden, Saxony - September 5, 1911, Kyiv) - statesman of the Russian Empire. Over the years, he held the posts of district leader of the nobility in Kovno, Grodno and Saratov governor, Minister of Internal Affairs, and Prime Minister.

In Russian history at the beginning of the 20th century, he is known primarily as a reformer and statesman who played a significant role in suppressing the revolution of 1905-1907. In April 1906, Emperor Nicholas II offered Stolypin the post of Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia. Soon after this, the government was dissolved along with the State Duma of the first convocation, and Stolypin was appointed as the new prime minister.

In his new position, which he held until his death, Stolypin passed a number of bills that went down in history as the Stolypin agrarian reform, the main content of which was the introduction of private peasant land ownership. The law on military courts adopted by the government increased penalties for committing serious crimes. Subsequently, Stolypin was sharply criticized for the harshness of the measures taken. Among Stolypin's other activities as prime minister, the introduction of zemstvos in the western provinces, the restriction of the autonomy of the Grand Duchy of Finland, changes in electoral legislation and the dissolution of the Second Duma, which put an end to the revolution of 1905-1907, are of particular importance.

During speeches before deputies of the State Duma, Stolypin's oratorical abilities were revealed. His phrases “You won’t be intimidated!”, “First calm, then reforms” and “They need great upheavals, we need a great Russia” became popular.

Among his personal character traits, his fearlessness was especially highlighted by his contemporaries. 11 assassination attempts were planned and carried out on Stolypin. During the last one, committed in Kyiv by Dmitry Bogrov, Stolypin received a mortal wound, from which he died a few days later.

Biography

Origin and early years

Pyotr Arkadyevich came from a noble family that already existed in the 16th century. The founder of the Stolypins was Grigory Stolypin. His son Afanasy and grandson Sylvester were Murom city nobles. Sylvester Afanasyevich took part in the war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the second half of the 17th century. For his services he was awarded an estate in Murom district.

His grandson Emelyan Semenovich had two sons - Dmitry and Alexey. Alexei, the great-grandfather of the future prime minister, had six sons and five daughters from his marriage to Maria Afanasyevna Meshcherinova. One of the sons, Alexander, was Suvorov's adjutant, another - Arkady - became a senator, two, Nikolai and Dmitry, rose to the rank of generals. One of the five sisters of grandfather Pyotr Stolypin married Mikhail Vasilyevich Arsenyev. Their daughter Maria became the mother of the great Russian poet, playwright and prose writer M. Yu. Lermontov. Thus, Pyotr Arkadyevich was Lermontov’s second cousin. At the same time, the Stolypin family’s attitude towards their famous relative was restrained. Thus, the daughter of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, Maria, writes in her memoirs:

The father of the future reformer, Artillery General Arkady Dmitrievich Stolypin, distinguished himself during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, after which he was appointed governor of Eastern Rumelia and the Adrianople Sanjak. From his marriage to Natalya Mikhailovna Gorchakova, whose family goes back to Rurik, a son, Peter, was born in 1862.

Pyotr Stolypin was born on April 2 (14), 1862 in the capital of Saxony, Dresden, where his mother went to visit her relatives. A month and a half later - on May 24 - he was baptized in the Dresden Orthodox Church.

He spent his childhood first in the Serednikovo estate in the Moscow province (until 1869), then in the Kolnoberge estate in the Kovno province. The family also traveled to Switzerland.

When the time came to enroll the children in the gymnasium, Arkady Dmitrievich bought a house in neighboring Vilna. The two-story house with a large garden was located on Stefanovskaya Street (now Shvento Styapono Street). In 1874, 12-year-old Peter was enrolled in the second grade of the Vilna Gymnasium, where he studied until the sixth grade.

In September 1879, the 9th Army Corps under the command of his father was returned from Bulgaria to the city of Orel. Peter and his brother Alexander were transferred to the Oryol men's gymnasium. Peter was enrolled in the seventh grade. According to B. Fedorov, he “stood out among high school students for his prudence and character.”

On June 3, 1881, 19-year-old Peter graduated from the Oryol gymnasium and received a matriculation certificate. He left for St. Petersburg, where on August 31 he entered the natural sciences department (specialty - agronomy) of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the St. Petersburg Imperial University. During Stolypin's studies, one of the university teachers was the famous Russian scientist D.I. Mendeleev. He took his exam in chemistry and gave it an “excellent” grade.

22-year-old Peter married in 1884 while a student, which was very unusual for that time. The bride had a substantial dowry: the family estate of the Neidgardt family - 4845 acres in the Chistopol district of the Kazan province (P. A. Stolypin himself in 1907 had family estates of 835 acres in the Kovno and 950 in the Penza provinces, as well as an acquired estate of 320 acres in Nizhny Novgorod province).

Stolypin's marriage was associated with tragic circumstances. The elder brother Mikhail died in a duel with Prince Shakhovsky. There is a legend that later Stolypin himself also fought with his brother’s killer. During the duel, he was wounded in his right hand, which after that functioned poorly, which was often noted by contemporaries. Mikhail was engaged to the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna Olga Borisovna Neidgardt, who was the great-great-granddaughter of the great Russian commander Alexander Suvorov.

There is a legend that on his deathbed, Peter's brother placed Peter's hand on the hand of his bride. After some time, Stolypin asked Olga Borisovna’s father for her hand in marriage, pointing out his shortcoming - “youth.” The future father-in-law (actual Privy Councilor, rank II class), smiling, replied that “youth is a defect that is corrected every day.” The marriage turned out to be very happy. The Stolypin couple had five daughters and one son. There is no evidence of any scandals or betrayals in their family.

According to various sources, the young Stolypin began his public service at the Ministry of State Property. However, according to the “Formular list of the service of the Saratov Governor”, ​​on October 27, 1884, while still a student, he was enlisted in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to the same document, on October 7, 1885, the Council of the Imperial St. Petersburg University “approved Stolypin as a candidate of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics,” which immediately gave him a higher official rank, corresponding to receiving an academic degree and completing his university education.

In his last year of study, he prepared a final work on economic and statistical topics - “Tobacco (tobacco crops in Southern Russia).”

The following entry in the Formal List confirms that on February 5, 1886, Stolypin “according to a request, was transferred to serve among the officials assigned to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Industry” of the Ministry of State Property.

Documents relating to the initial period of P. A. Stolypin’s service have not been preserved in the state archives.

Moreover, according to the entries in the above-mentioned Formal List, the young official had a brilliant career. On the day of his graduation from the University, October 7, 1885, he was awarded the rank of collegiate secretary (which corresponded to class X of the table of ranks. Usually university graduates were assigned to serve with the rank of class XIV and very rarely class XII); On January 26, 1887, he became assistant chief of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Industry.

Less than a year later (January 1, 1888), Stolypin - with a deviation from career requirements and rules - was "granted the rank of chamber cadet of the Court of His Imperial Majesty."

On October 7, 1888, exactly three years after receiving his first career rank, P. A. Stolypin was promoted to titular councilor (IX class).

Five months later, Stolypin had another career takeoff: he joined the Ministry of Internal Affairs and on March 18, 1889, was appointed Kovno district marshal of the nobility and chairman of the Kovno Court of Peace Mediators (to the position of V class of civil service, 4 ranks higher than the rank he had just been assigned titular adviser). For modern understanding: it is as if a 26-year-old army captain was appointed to a position higher than a colonel.

Service in Kovno

Stolypin spent about 13 years in service in Kovno - from 1889 to 1902. This time of his life, according to the testimony of his daughter Maria, was the calmest.

Upon arrival in Kovno, the young district leader of the nobility plunged headlong into the affairs of the region. The subject of his special concern was the Agricultural Society, which, in fact, took control and custody of the entire local economic life. The main objectives of the society were to educate the peasants and increase the productivity of their farms. The main attention was paid to the introduction of advanced management methods and new varieties of grain crops. While serving as leader of the nobility, Stolypin became closely acquainted with local needs and gained administrative experience.

Diligence in the service was noted with new ranks and awards. In 1890 he was appointed an honorary justice of the peace, in 1891 he was promoted to collegiate assessor, and in 1893 he was awarded the first Order of St. Anna, in 1895 he was promoted to court councilor, in 1896 he received the court title of chamberlain, in 1899 he was promoted to collegiate councilor, and in 1901 to state councilor.

In addition to county affairs, Stolypin took care of his estate in Kolnoberg, where he studied agriculture and the problems of the peasantry.

While living in Kovno, Stolypin had four daughters - Natalya, Elena, Olga and Alexandra.

Grodno Governor

In mid-May 1902, P. A. Stolypin took his family with the closest household members “to the waters” to the small German town of Bad Elster. In her memoirs, the eldest daughter Maria describes this time as one of the happiest in the life of the Stolypin family. She also noted that the mud baths prescribed by German doctors for her father's sore right hand began to produce positive results - to the joy of the whole family.

Ten days later, the family idyll unexpectedly ended. A telegram came from the Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. von Plehve, who replaced D.S. Sipyagin, who was killed by revolutionaries, demanding to appear in St. Petersburg. Three days later, the reason for the call became known - P. A. Stolypin was unexpectedly appointed governor of Grodno on May 30, 1902. The initiative came from Plehve, who set a course to fill gubernatorial positions with local landowners.

On June 21, Stolypin arrived in Grodno and took up his duties as governor. There were some peculiarities in the administration of the province: the governor was controlled by the Vilna Governor-General; the provincial center of Grodno was smaller than the two district cities of Bialystok and Brest-Litovsk; The national composition of the province was heterogeneous (in large cities Jews predominated; the nobility was mainly represented by Poles, and the peasantry by Belarusians).

On Stolypin’s initiative, a Jewish two-year public school, a vocational school, and a special type of women’s parish school were opened in Grodno, where, in addition to general subjects, drawing, sketching and handicrafts were taught.

On the second day of work, he closed the Polish Club, where “rebellious sentiments” dominated.

Having settled into the position of governor, Stolypin began to carry out reforms that included the resettlement of peasants on farms, the elimination of striping, the introduction of artificial fertilizers, improved agricultural implements, multi-field crop rotations, land reclamation, the development of cooperation, and agricultural education of peasants.

The innovations carried out aroused criticism from large landowners. At one of the meetings, Prince Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky stated that “we need human labor, we need physical labor and the ability to do it, not education. Education should be available to the wealthy classes, but not to the masses...” Stolypin gave a sharp rebuke:

Saratov Governor

Service in Grodno completely satisfied Stolypin. However, soon the Minister of Internal Affairs Plehve again made an offer to Stolypin to take the post of governor of the Saratov province. Stolypin did not want to move to Saratov. Plehve stated: “I am not interested in your personal and family circumstances, and they cannot be taken into account. I consider you suitable for such a difficult province and expect from you some business considerations, but not weighing family interests.".

The Saratov region was not unfamiliar to Stolypin: the ancestral lands of the Stolypins were located in the province. Pyotr Arkadyevich's cousin, Afanasy Stolypin, was the Saratov leader of the nobility, and his daughter Marya was married to Prince V. A. Shcherbatov, Saratov governor in the 1860s. On the Alai River there is the village of Stolypino, near which is the “experimental farm” of A.D. Stolypin with a developed cultural economy.

Stolypin's appointment as Saratov governor was a promotion and evidenced recognition of his merits in various positions in Kovno and Grodno. By the time of his appointment as governor, the Saratov province was considered prosperous and wealthy. Saratov was home to 150 thousand inhabitants, there was a developed industry - the city had 150 plants and factories, 11 banks, 16 thousand houses, almost 3 thousand shops and shops. In addition, the Saratov province included the large cities of Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) and Kamyshin, several lines of the Ryazan-Ural Railway.

Stolypin viewed the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War critically. According to his daughter’s recollections, among his family he said:

After the defeat in the war with Japan, the Russian Empire was overwhelmed by revolutionary events. When restoring order, Stolypin showed rare courage and fearlessness, which is noted by witnesses of that time. He walked unarmed and without any security into the center of the raging crowds. This had such an effect on the people that passions subsided on their own.

Stolypin’s contemporary V.B. Lopukhin describes one of the episodes of the revolutionary events of that time as follows:

After the “massacre in Malinovka,” during which 42 people died, Adjutant General V.V. Sakharov was sent to Saratov. Sakharov stayed at Stolypin's house. Socialist-Revolutionary Bitsenko, who came under the guise of a visitor, shot him.

The episode that occurred in Balashovsky district, when zemstvo doctors were in danger from the Black Hundreds besieging them, became especially famous. The governor himself came to the rescue of the besieged and led them out under the escort of the Cossacks. At the same time, the crowd threw stones at the Zemstvo residents, one of which hit Stolypin.

Thanks to Stolypin's energetic actions, life in the Saratov province gradually calmed down. The actions of the young governor were noticed by Nicholas II, who twice expressed his personal gratitude to him for his zeal.

In the second half of April 1906, Stolypin was summoned to Tsarskoe Selo by telegram signed by the emperor. Having met him, Nicholas II said that he closely followed the actions in Saratov and, considering them exceptionally outstanding, appointed him Minister of Internal Affairs.

Having survived the revolution and four assassination attempts, Stolypin tried to resign from his position. It is noteworthy that two of his predecessors in this post - Sipyagin and Plehve - were killed by revolutionaries. The first Prime Minister of the Russian Empire, Witte, repeatedly pointed out in his memoirs the fear and reluctance of many officials to occupy responsible positions, fearing assassination attempts.

Minister of Internal Affairs

The Minister of Internal Affairs was the first among other ministers of the Russian Empire in terms of his role and scale of activity. He was in charge of:

• management of postal and telegraph affairs
• state police
• prisons, exile
• provincial and district administrations
• interaction with zemstvos
• food business (providing the population with food during crop failure)
• fire Department
• insurance
• medicine
• veterinary medicine
• local courts, etc.

After taking the post of Prime Minister, Stolypin combined both posts, remaining Minister of Internal Affairs until the end of his life.

The beginning of his work in his new post coincided with the beginning of the work of the First State Duma, which was mainly represented by the left, which from the very beginning of its work took a course towards confrontation with the authorities. Soviet historian Aron Avrekh noted that Stolypin turned out to be a good speaker, and some of his phrases became catchphrases. In total, as Minister of Internal Affairs, Stolypin spoke to deputies of the First State Duma three times. Moreover, all three times his speeches were accompanied by noise, shouts and cries from the seats of “Enough”, “Down”, “Resignation”.

Stolypin initially made it clear that “order in Russia must be fairly and firmly maintained.” Responding to reproaches about the imperfection of laws and, accordingly, the impossibility of their correct application, he uttered a phrase that became widely known

The revolutionary nature of the Duma is evidenced by its refusal to accept the demand for a general political amnesty by the amendment of deputy M.A. Stakhovich, which simultaneously condemned political extremes, including terror against the authorities. In response to his arguments that for the 90 executed in recent months, there were 288 killed and 388 wounded representatives of the authorities, mostly ordinary policemen, they shouted from the left benches: “Not enough!”...

Such a confrontation between the executive and legislative powers created difficulties for overcoming the post-war crisis and revolution. The possibility of creating a government with the participation of the opposition party, the Cadets, which had a majority in the Duma, was discussed. Stolypin, whose popularity and influence over the Tsar was growing, met with the leader of the cadets, Milyukov. To doubts expressed that the Cadets would not be able to maintain order and resist the revolution, Miliukov replied:

The last decision of the Duma, which finally persuaded the tsar to dissolve it, was an appeal to the population with explanations on the agrarian issue and a statement that it “from forced alienation privately owned lands will not retreat.” At the same time as the Duma, Goremykin’s government was dissolved. Stolypin became the new prime minister.

Prime Minister

On July 8 (21), 1906, the First State Duma was dissolved by the emperor. Stolypin replaced I. L. Goremykin as chairman of the Council of Ministers while retaining the post of Minister of Internal Affairs.

Immediately after his appointment, Stolypin began negotiations to invite popular parliamentary and public figures who belonged to the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Union of October 17 to the new cabinet. Ministerial posts were initially offered to D.N. Shipov, Prince. G. E. Lvov, gr. P. A. Heyden, N. N. Lvov, A. I. Guchkov; During further negotiations, the candidacies of A.F. Koni and Prince were also considered. E. N. Trubetskoy. Public figures, confident that the future Second Duma would be able to force the government to create a cabinet responsible to the Duma, had little interest in acting as crown ministers in a mixed public-official cabinet; They surrounded the possibility of joining the government with conditions that obviously could not be accepted by Stolypin. By the end of July the negotiations had completely failed. Since this was already the third unsuccessful attempt to attract public figures to the government (the first attempt was made by Count S. Yu. Witte in October 1905, immediately after the publication of the October Manifesto, the second by Stolypin himself in June 1906, before the dissolution of the First Duma), As a result, Stolypin was completely disillusioned with the idea of ​​a public cabinet and subsequently headed a government of purely bureaucratic composition.

Upon assuming the post of Prime Minister, Stolypin insisted on the resignation of the chief administrator of land management and agriculture, A. S. Stishinsky, and the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Prince. A. A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, while maintaining the rest of the composition of the previous cabinet of I. L. Goremykin.

As Prime Minister, Stolypin acted very energetically. He was remembered as a brilliant orator, many phrases from whose speeches became catchphrases, a man who coped with the revolution, a reformer, a fearless man on whom several attempts were made on his life. Stolypin remained in the position of Prime Minister until his death, which followed an assassination attempt in September 1911.

Dissolution of the Second Duma. New electoral system. III Duma

Stolypin's relations with the Second State Duma were very tense. The legislative body included more than a hundred representatives of parties that directly advocated the overthrow of the existing system - the RSDLP (later divided into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks) and the Socialist Revolutionaries, whose representatives repeatedly carried out assassinations and assassinations of senior officials of the Russian Empire. Polish deputies advocated separating Poland from the Russian Empire into a separate state. The two most numerous factions, the Cadets and the Trudoviks, advocated the forced alienation of land from landowners with subsequent transfer to the peasants.

Members of parties that advocated a change in the state system, once in the State Duma, continued to engage in revolutionary activities, which soon became known to the police, whose leader was Stolypin. On May 7, 1907, he published in the Duma a “Governmental Report on a Conspiracy” discovered in the capital and aimed at committing terrorist acts against the Emperor, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and against himself:

In February of this year, the department for the protection of public order and security in St. Petersburg received information that a criminal community had formed in the capital, which had set the immediate goal of its activities to commit a number of terrorist acts. […] At present, the preliminary investigation has established that a significant number of the detained persons are exposed in the fact that they joined the community formed within the Socialist Revolutionary Party, which set the goal of its activities to encroach on the sacred person of the Sovereign Emperor and commit terrorist acts aimed at against the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers [...] Indeed, members of the State Duma were in the apartment.

The government presented an ultimatum to the Duma, demanding that parliamentary immunity be lifted from the alleged participants in the conspiracy, giving the Duma the shortest possible time to respond. After the Duma did not immediately agree to the government’s terms and moved on to the procedure for discussing demands, the Tsar, without waiting for a final answer, dissolved the Duma on June 3. The act of June 3 formally violated the “Manifesto of October 17” and the Basic Laws of 1906, and therefore was called the “June Third coup” by opponents of the government.

Since information about the participation of deputies in drawing up the so-called “soldier’s order” - a revolutionary appeal addressed on behalf of soldiers to the Social Democratic faction of the Duma - was received from the Police Department informant Shornikova, who herself took part in writing this document, the essence of the events that took place remains unclear. Historians of the Soviet period, following the left side of the Duma, were convinced that the whole story from beginning to end was a police provocation undertaken on the initiative of Stolypin. At the same time, activists of revolutionary parties did not need provocations to conduct anti-government activities, so it is also entirely possible that the police agent simply served as an informant. In any case, after Stolypin’s death, the government did its best to hide traces of the police informant’s participation in the incident.

The next step was to change the electoral system. As Witte wrote,

The new electoral system, which was used in elections to the State Dumas of the III and IV convocations, increased the representation in the Duma of landowners and wealthy citizens, as well as the Russian population in relation to national minorities, which led to the formation of a pro-government majority in the III and IV Dumas. The majority in the newly elected Third Duma was made up of “Octobrists”, who received 154 mandates. The “Octobrists” located in the center ensured that Stolypin passed bills by entering into a coalition on certain issues with either right-wing or left-wing members of parliament. At the same time, the smaller All-Russian National Union (VNS) party, which was the leader in the Duma national faction, which occupied an intermediate position between the Octobrists and the right faction, had close personal ties with Stolypin (according to many contemporaries, his direct patronage).

According to a contemporary, the Third Duma was “the creation of Stolypin.” Stolypin's relationship with the Third Duma was a complex mutual compromise. Although avowedly pro-government parties (Octobrists and Nationalists) formed the majority, these parties were not puppet parties; cooperation with them required certain concessions on the part of the government. In general, Stolypin was forced to exchange general support for the government course by parliament for providing friendly parties with the opportunity to prove themselves: delaying the discussion of important bills for many years, introducing numerous but insignificant changes, etc. The most negative result was given by the smoldering conflict between the Duma and the State Council - the Duma majority deliberately edited the most important laws in such a way that the more conservative State Council then rejected them. The general political situation in the Duma was such that the government was afraid to introduce into the Duma all laws related to civil and religious equality (especially the legal status of Jews), since heated discussion of such topics could force the government to dissolve the Duma. Stolypin was unable to reach an understanding with the Duma on the fundamentally important issue of local government reform; the entire package of government bills on this topic was stuck in parliament forever. At the same time, government budget projects have always found support in the Duma.

Stolypin is criticized for the fact that, in addition to matters of national importance, he filled the Duma with “legislative gum,” which deprived representatives of the legislative assembly of initiative. The justification is given by the names of some of the issues that were discussed at the meetings:

• “On the procedure for calculating 2% pension deductions for employees in male and female schools at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Peter and Paul in Moscow during the period of service for the same pension before the publication of the law on February 2, 1904, their service in the mentioned schools in the event that it is impossible to accurately determine the amount of support received for the deducted time.”
• “On the establishment at the Erivan Teachers’ Seminary of 20 scholarships for Tatar students, with a release from the treasury of 2600 rubles. per year, about an additional allocation of 140 rubles. per year for the remuneration of a singing teacher at the said seminary and the transformation of a one-class primary school at this seminary into a two-class structure and an additional allocation of 930 rubles for its maintenance. in year"
• “On the exemption from military service of the Kalevitsa clergy of the Boshin khurul of the Don region”

One of Stolypin’s important steps aimed at improving the quality of legislative work was the convening of the Council for Local Economic Affairs, created back in 1904 on the initiative of the Minister of Internal Affairs Plehve. During four sessions (1908-1910) in the Council, rumored to be called the “Pre-Dumya,” representatives of the public, zemstvos and cities, together with government officials, discussed a wide range of bills that the government was preparing to submit to the Duma. The most important discussions were chaired by Stolypin himself.

Law on Courts Martial

The law on courts-martial was issued under conditions of revolutionary terror in the Russian Empire. During 1901-1907, tens of thousands of terrorist attacks were carried out, resulting in the deaths of more than 9 thousand people. Among them were both senior state officials and ordinary policemen. Often the victims were random people.

During the revolutionary events of 1905-1907, Stolypin personally encountered acts of revolutionary terror. They shot at him, threw a bomb, and pointed a revolver at his chest. At the time described, the revolutionaries sentenced Stolypin's only son, who was only two years old, to death by poisoning.

Among those killed by revolutionary terror were Stolypin's friends and closest acquaintances (the latter should include, first of all, V. Plehve and V. Sakharov). In both cases, the killers managed to avoid the death penalty due to judicial delays, lawyer tricks and the humanity of society.

The explosion on Aptekarsky Island on August 12, 1906 claimed the lives of several dozen people who accidentally ended up in Stolypin’s mansion. Two of Stolypin’s children, Natalya and Arkady, were also injured. At the time of the explosion, they and the nanny were on the balcony and were thrown onto the pavement by the blast wave. Natalya's leg bones were crushed and she could not walk for several years, Arkady's wounds were not serious, and the children's nanny died.

On August 19, 1906, as a “measure of exclusive protection of state order,” the “Law on Military Field Courts” was adopted, which, in provinces transferred to martial law or a state of emergency protection, temporarily introduced special courts of officers who were in charge only of cases where a crime was obvious (murder, robbery, robbery, attacks on military, police and officials). The trial took place within 24 hours after the crime was committed. The examination of the case could last no more than two days, the sentence was carried out within 24 hours. The introduction of military courts was caused by the fact that the military courts (permanently operating), at that time trying cases of revolutionary terror and serious crimes in the provinces declared in a state of exception, showed, in the opinion of the government, excessive leniency and delayed the consideration of cases. While in military courts cases were tried in front of the accused, who could use the services of defense lawyers and present their own witnesses, in military courts the accused were deprived of all rights.

In his speech on March 13, 1907 to the deputies of the Second Duma, the Prime Minister justified the need for this law as follows:

The suppression of the revolution was accompanied by the executions of individual participants on charges of rebellion, terrorism and arson of landowners' estates. During the eight months of its existence (the law on military courts was not submitted by the government for approval to the Third Duma and automatically lost force on April 20, 1907; subsequently, consideration of cases of grave crimes was transferred to military district courts, in which procedural rules of production were observed ) military courts handed down 1,102 death sentences, but 683 people were executed. In total, during the years 1906-1910, military field and military district courts handed down 5,735 death sentences for so-called “political crimes,” of which 3,741 were carried out. 66 thousand were sentenced to hard labor. Most executions were carried out by hanging.

The scale of repression became unprecedented in Russian history - after all, over the previous 80 years - from 1825 to 1905 - the state imposed 625 death sentences for political crimes, of which 191 were carried out. Subsequently, Stolypin was sharply condemned for such harsh measures. The death penalty was rejected by many, and its use began to be directly associated with the policies pursued by Stolypin. The terms “quick-fire justice” and “Stolypin reaction” came into use. In particular, one of the prominent cadets F.I. Rodichev, during a speech, in a temper, allowed the offensive expression “Stolypin tie”, as an analogy with Purishkevich’s expression “Muravyovsky collar” (who suppressed the Polish uprising of 1863, M.N. Muravyov-Vilensky received from the opposition-minded parts of Russian society nicknamed “Ant the Hangman”). The Prime Minister, who was at the meeting at that moment, demanded “satisfaction” from Rodichev, that is, he challenged him to a duel. Depressed by the criticism of the deputies, Rodichev publicly apologized, which was accepted. Despite this, the expression “Stolypin tie” became popular. These words meant a gallows noose.

Leo Tolstoy in the article “I Can’t Be Silent!” spoke out against military courts and, accordingly, government policies:

The most terrible thing about this is that all these inhuman violence and murders, in addition to the direct evil that they cause to the victims of violence and their families, cause even greater, greatest evil to the entire people, spreading the corruption of all, spreading quickly, like a fire through dry straw. classes of the Russian people. This corruption is spreading especially quickly among the simple, working people because all these crimes, which are hundreds of times greater than everything that was done and is being done by simple thieves and robbers and all revolutionaries together, are committed under the guise of something necessary, good, necessary, not only justified, but supported by various institutions, inseparable in the concepts of the people with justice and even holiness: the Senate, the Synod, the Duma, the Church, the Tsar.

He was supported by many famous people of that time, in particular, Leonid Andreev, Alexander Blok, Ilya Repin. The magazine “Vestnik Evropy” published a sympathetic response “Leo Tolstoy and his “I Can’t Be Silent”.”

As a result, as a result of the measures taken, revolutionary terror was suppressed and ceased to be of a mass nature, manifesting itself only in isolated sporadic acts of violence. State order in the country was preserved.

Finnish question

During Stolypin's premiership, the Grand Duchy of Finland was a special region of the Russian Empire.

Until 1906, its special status was confirmed by the presence of “constitutions” - Swedish laws during the reign of Gustav III (“Form of Government” of August 21, 1772 and the “Act of Union and Security” of February 21 and April 3, 1789), which were in force in Finland until joining the Russian Empire. The Grand Duchy of Finland had its own legislative body - the four-estate Sejm, broad autonomy from the central government.

On July 7 (20), 1906, the day before the dissolution of the First State Duma and the appointment of Stolypin as Prime Minister, Nicholas II approved the new Sejm Charter (in fact, the constitution), adopted by the Sejm, which provided for the abolition of the outdated class Sejm and the introduction of a unicameral parliament in the Grand Duchy (also traditionally called the Sejm - now Eduskunta), elected on the basis of universal equal suffrage by all citizens over 24 years of age.

During his premiership, Pyotr Stolypin gave speeches regarding the Grand Duchy 4 times. In them, he pointed out the unacceptability of certain features of the government in Finland. In particular, he emphasized that the inconsistency and lack of control of many Finnish institutions of supreme power leads to results that are unacceptable for a single country:

In 1908, he ensured that Finnish affairs affecting Russian interests were considered in the Council of Ministers.

On June 17, 1910, Nicholas II approved the law developed by the Stolypin government “On the procedure for issuing laws and regulations of national importance concerning Finland,” which significantly reduced Finnish autonomy and strengthened the role of the central government in Finland.

According to the Finnish historian Timo Vihavainen, Stolypin’s last words were “The main thing... That Finland...” - apparently, he meant the need to destroy the nests of revolutionaries in Finland.

Jewish question

The Jewish question in the Russian Empire during the time of Stolypin was a problem of national importance. There were a number of restrictions for Jews. In particular, they were prohibited from permanent residence outside the so-called Pale of Settlement. Such inequality regarding part of the empire’s population on religious grounds led to the fact that many young people, whose rights were infringed, joined revolutionary parties.

On the other hand, anti-Semitic sentiments prevailed among the conservative-minded population and a large part of government officials. During the revolutionary events of 1905-1907. they manifested themselves, in particular, in mass Jewish pogroms and the emergence of such so-called. “Black Hundred” organizations such as the “Union of the Russian People” (RRN), the Russian People’s Union named after Michael the Archangel and others. The Black Hundreds were distinguished by extreme anti-Semitism and advocated even greater infringement of the rights of Jews. At the same time, they enjoyed great influence in society, and among their members at various times were prominent political figures and representatives of the clergy. The Stolypin government, in general, was in confrontation with the Union of the Russian People (RNR), which did not support and sharply criticized the policies pursued by Stolypin. At the same time, there is information about the allocation of money to the RNC and its prominent figures from the ten million dollar fund of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, intended for the recruitment of informants and other activities that are not subject to disclosure. Indicative of Stolypin’s policy towards the Black Hundreds are the letter to the Odessa mayor and prominent representative of the RNC I.N. Tolmachev, which gives the most flattering assessment of this organization, and the testimony of the same Tolmachev in 1912, when the RNC collapsed into a number of warring organizations

While serving in Kovno and Grodno, Stolypin became acquainted with the life of the Jewish population. According to the memoirs of the eldest daughter Maria:

While serving as Grodno governor, on the initiative of Stolypin, a Jewish two-year public school was opened.

When Stolypin took the highest positions in the Russian Empire, at one of the meetings of the Council of Ministers he raised the Jewish question. Pyotr Arkadyevich asked “to speak frankly about the fact that it is worth raising the question of abolishing in legislation some almost unnecessary restrictions on Jews, which especially irritate the Jewish population of Russia and, without bringing any real benefit to the Russian population, […] only feed revolutionary mood of the Jewish masses." According to the recollections of the Minister of Finance and Stolypin's successor as Prime Minister Kokovtsov, none of the council members expressed any fundamental objections. Only Schwanebach noted that “one must be very careful in choosing the moment to raise the Jewish question, since history teaches that attempts to resolve this issue only led to the arousal of vain expectations, since they usually ended in minor circulars.” According to the memoirs of V.Y. Gurko, after his (V.Y. Gurko’s) sharp speech against the bill, a debate began, which outlined two opposing points of view. “Stolypin at first seemed to defend the project, but then apparently became embarrassed and said that he was postponing the resolution of the issue to another meeting.” At the next meeting, at the suggestion of Stolypin, the Council was to vote to determine the general opinion on the bill, which was to be presented to the emperor as the unanimous opinion of the government. In this case, the Council of Ministers took full responsibility for resolving the issue upon itself, without shifting it to the head of state.

The result, however, was completely unexpected. The majority of the Council approved the project, and the most curious thing is that among the minority was Stolypin, who himself introduced the project for discussion by the ministers, and the sovereign, despite the unanimous opinion of the Council, did not approve it, thus acting as if contrary to the entire composition of the government and accepting Therefore, we assume full responsibility for its failure to implement it. There were different versions circulating around St. Petersburg regarding the rejection of this project. They said that the main role here was played by the same Yuzefovich, who was one of the authors of the manifesto on strengthening the autocracy; they said that Stolypin himself advised the tsar not to approve him. There were other versions; I don’t know which one is true.

Nicholas II was sent a journal of the Council of Ministers, in which an opinion was expressed and a bill was presented on the abolition of the Pale of Settlement for Jews.

On December 10, 1906, in a letter, Nicholas II rejected this bill with the motivation “An inner voice is increasingly telling Me not to take this decision upon myself.” In response, Stolypin, who did not agree with the emperor’s decision, wrote to him that rumors about this bill had already hit the press, and Nicholas’ decision would cause misunderstandings in society:

In the same letter he stated:

In this regard, the Prime Minister advised Nicholas to send the bill to the Duma for further discussion. The Tsar, following Stolypin's advice, referred the issue to the State Duma for consideration.

The fate of the Stolypin bill does not testify in favor of popular representation: neither the Second, nor the Third, nor the Fourth Duma “found time” to discuss it. For the opposition parties it turned out to be “more useful” to “silence” him, and the “right” initially did not support such relaxations.

From the second half of 1907 until the end of Stolypin's premiership, there were no Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire. Stolypin also used his influence on Nicholas II to prevent state propaganda of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forgery published at the beginning of the 20th century that allegedly proved the existence of a Jewish conspiracy and gained wide popularity among right-wing Russian circles.

At the same time, during the Stolypin government, a decree was issued that determined the percentage of Jewish students in higher and secondary educational institutions. He did not reduce them, but even increased them somewhat compared to the same decree of 1889. At the same time, during the revolutionary events of 1905-1907. the previous decree was not in effect de facto, and therefore the new one seemed to restore the existing injustice - enrollment in higher and secondary educational institutions was based not on knowledge, but on nationality.

Under the Stolypin government there was a transition from religious discrimination against Jews to racial discrimination. Traditionally, Russian law limited the rights only of Jews; when converting to other faiths, the restrictions were lifted. Gradually, around 1910, legislation began to restrict the rights of those born into the Jewish faith, regardless of their religious affiliation, in some cases going so far as to limit the rights of children and grandchildren of male and female persons born into the Jewish faith.

The discovery of the murdered boy Andrei Yushchinsky in Kyiv on March 20, 1911 became the starting point of the “Beilis case” and caused a significant rise in anti-Semitic sentiment in the country. The Kiev security department received an order from Stolypin “to collect detailed information on the case of the murder of the boy Yushchinsky and report in detail about the reasons for this murder and about those responsible for it.” Stolypin did not believe in ritual murder and therefore wanted the real criminals to be found. This order was the last act of Stolypin’s “Jewish policy.”

Facts show that Stolypin was not an anti-Semite, although many publications label him this way without providing hard evidence. There are no statements of his that indicate that he has anti-Semitic views.

Agrarian reform

The economic situation of the Russian peasantry after the peasant reform of 1861 remained difficult. The agricultural population of the 50 provinces of European Russia, which amounted to about 50 million people in the 1860s, increased to 86 million by 1900, as a result of which the land plots of peasants, which averaged 4.8 acres per capita of the male population in the 60s, decreased by the end of the century to an average size of 2.8 acres. At the same time, the labor productivity of peasants in the Russian Empire was extremely low.

The reason for the low productivity of peasant labor was the agricultural system. First of all, these were the outdated three-field and striped farming, in which a third of the arable land lay fallow, and the peasant cultivated narrow strips of land located at a distance from each other. In addition, the land did not belong to the peasant as a property. It was managed by the community (“world”), which distributed it among “souls,” among “eaters,” among “workers,” or in some other way (out of 138 million dessiatines of allotment land, about 115 million were communal). Only in the western regions were peasant lands in the possession of their owners. At the same time, the yield in these provinces was higher, and there were no cases of famine during crop failures. This situation was well known to Stolypin, who spent more than 10 years in the western provinces.

The beginning of the reform was the decree of November 9, 1906 “On supplementing some provisions of the current law relating to peasant land ownership and land use.” The decree proclaimed a wide range of measures to destroy the collective land ownership of rural society and create a class of peasants - full owners of the land. The decree stated that “every householder who owns land under communal law may at any time demand that the portion of the said land due to him be consolidated as his personal property”.

The reform unfolded in several directions:

• Improving the quality of peasants' property rights to land, which consisted, first of all, of replacing collective and limited land ownership of rural societies with full-fledged private property of individual peasant households. Activities in this direction were of an administrative and legal nature;
• Eradication of outdated class civil law restrictions that impeded the effective economic activities of peasants;
• Increasing the efficiency of peasant agriculture; government measures consisted of encouraging the allocation of plots “to one place” (cuts, farms) to peasant owners, which required the state to carry out a large amount of complex and expensive land management work to develop inter-strip communal lands;
• Encouraging the purchase of privately owned (primarily landowner) lands by peasants through the Peasant Land Bank. Preferential lending was introduced. Stolypin believed that in this way the entire state assumes obligations to improve the lives of peasants, and does not shift them onto the shoulders of a small class of landowners;
• Encouraging the increase in working capital of peasant farms through lending in all forms (bank lending secured by land, loans to members of cooperatives and partnerships);
• Expanding direct subsidies for so-called “agronomic assistance” activities (agronomic consulting, educational events, maintenance of experimental and model farms, trade in modern equipment and fertilizers);
• Support for cooperatives and peasant associations.

The results of the reform include the following facts. Petitions to secure land in private ownership were submitted by members of more than 6 million households out of the existing 13.5 million. Of these, they separated from the community and received land (a total of 25.2 million dessiatines - 21.2% of the total amount of allotment lands) in sole ownership of about 1.5 million (10.6% of the total). Such significant changes in peasant life became possible, not least thanks to the Peasant Land Bank, which issued loans in the amount of 1 billion 40 million rubles. Of the 3 million peasants who moved to privately owned land allocated to them by the government in Siberia, 18% returned and, accordingly, 82% remained in their new places. Landowner farms have lost their former economic importance. In 1916, peasants sown (on their own and rented land) 89.3% of the land and owned 94% of farm animals.

Assessing Stolypin's reforms is complicated by the fact that the reforms were not fully implemented due to the tragic death of Stolypin, World War I, the February and October revolutions, and then the civil war. Stolypin himself assumed that all the reforms he planned would be implemented comprehensively (and not just in terms of agrarian reform) and would give maximum effect in the long term (according to Stolypin, “twenty years of internal and external peace” were required).

Siberian politics. "Stolypin carriages"

Stolypin paid special attention to the eastern part of the Russian Empire. In his speech on March 31, 1908 in the State Duma, dedicated to the question of the feasibility of building the Amur Railway, he said:

In 1910, Stolypin, together with the chief manager of agriculture and land management, Krivoshein, made an inspection trip to Western Siberia and the Volga region.

Stolypin’s policy regarding Siberia consisted of encouraging the resettlement of peasants from the European part of Russia to its uninhabited expanses. This resettlement was part of the agrarian reform. About 3 million people moved to Siberia. In the Altai Territory alone, during the ongoing reforms, 3,415 settlements were founded, in which over 600 thousand peasants from the European part of Russia settled, accounting for 22% of the district’s residents. They brought into circulation 3.4 million acres of empty land.

In 1910, special railway carriages were created for settlers. They differed from ordinary ones in that one part of them, the entire width of the car, was intended for peasant livestock and equipment. Later, under Soviet rule, bars were installed in these cars, and the cars themselves began to be used for the forced deportation of kulaks and other “counter-revolutionary elements” to Siberia and Central Asia. Over time, they were completely repurposed for transporting prisoners.

In this regard, this type of carriage has acquired a bad reputation. At the same time, the carriage itself, which had the official name vagonzak (carriage for prisoners), received the name “Stolypinsky”. In “The Gulag Archipelago” A. Solzhenitsyn describes the history of the term:

“Vagon-zak” - what a disgusting abbreviation! […] They want to say that this is a carriage for prisoners. But nowhere, except in the prison papers, was this word kept. The prisoners learned to call such a carriage “Stolypin” or simply “Stolypin”. […] The history of the carriage is as follows. It really went on rails for the first time under Stolypin: it was designed in 1908, but - for displaced people to the eastern parts of the country, when a strong migration movement developed and there was a shortage of rolling stock. This type of carriage was lower than an ordinary passenger carriage, but much higher than a freight carriage; it had utility rooms for utensils or poultry (the current “half” compartments, punishment cells) - but, of course, it did not have no bars, neither inside nor on the windows. The bars were installed by an inventive idea, and I am inclined to believe that they were Bolshevik. And the carriage got the name Stolypin... The minister, who challenged a deputy to a duel for a “Stolypin tie,” could no longer stop this posthumous slander.

Foreign policy

Stolypin made it a rule not to interfere in foreign politics. However, during the Bosnian crisis of 1909, direct intervention by the prime minister was needed. The crisis threatened to escalate into war involving the Balkan states, the Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian empires. The Prime Minister's position was that the country was not ready for war, and military conflict should be avoided by any means. Ultimately, the crisis ended in a moral defeat for Russia. After the events described, Stolypin insisted on the dismissal of Foreign Minister Izvolsky.

Of interest is the attitude towards Stolypin of Kaiser Wilhelm II. On June 4, 1909, Wilhelm II met with Nicholas II in the Finnish skerries. During breakfast on the imperial yacht “Standard,” the Russian prime minister was on the right hand of the distinguished guest, and a detailed conversation took place between them. Subsequently, while in exile, Wilhelm II reflected on how right Stolypin was when he warned him about the inadmissibility of war between Russia and Germany, emphasizing that the war would ultimately lead to the fact that the enemies of the monarchical system would take all measures to achieve revolution . Immediately after breakfast, the German Kaiser told Adjutant General I. L. Tatishchev that “if he had a Minister like Stolypin, Germany would rise to the greatest heights.”

The bill on zemstvos in the western provinces and the “ministerial crisis” of March 1911

The discussion and adoption of the law on zemstvos in the western provinces caused a “ministerial crisis” and became Stolypin’s last victory (which, in fact, can be called a Pyrrhic victory).

The prerequisite for the future conflict was the government's introduction of a bill that would introduce zemstvos in the provinces of the South-Western and North-Western territories. The bill significantly reduced the influence of large landowners (represented mainly by Poles) and increased the rights of small ones (represented by Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians). Considering that the share of Poles in these provinces ranged from 1 to 3.4%, the bill was democratic.

During this period, Stolypin’s activities took place against the backdrop of the growing influence of the opposition, where opposing forces rallied against the prime minister - the left, who were deprived of historical perspective by the reforms, and the right, who saw in the same reforms an attack on their privileges and were jealous of the rapid rise of a native of the provinces .

The leader of the right, who did not support this bill, P. N. Durnovo wrote to the tsar that

Stolypin asked the Tsar to appeal through the Chairman of the State Council to the right with a recommendation to support the bill. One of the members of the Council, V.F. Trepov, having received a reception from the emperor, expressed the position of the right and asked the question: “How should we understand the royal wish as an order, or can we vote according to our conscience?” Nicholas II replied that, of course, we must vote “according to our conscience.” Trepov and Durnovo took this response as the emperor’s agreement with their position, which they immediately informed other right-wing members of the State Council. As a result, on March 4, 1911, the bill was defeated by 68 out of 92 votes.

The next morning, Stolypin went to Tsarskoye Selo, where he submitted his resignation, explaining that he could not work in an atmosphere of mistrust on the part of the emperor. Nicholas II said that he did not want to lose Stolypin, and offered to find a worthy way out of the current situation. Stolypin gave the tsar an ultimatum - to send the intriguers Trepov and Durnovo on a long vacation abroad and to pass the zemstvo law under Article 87. Article 87 of the Basic Laws stipulated that the Tsar could personally implement certain laws during the period when the State Duma was not working. The article was intended for making urgent decisions during elections and inter-term vacations.

People close to Stolypin tried to dissuade him from such a harsh ultimatum to the tsar himself. To this he replied:

Stolypin's fate hung in the balance, and only the intervention of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who convinced her son to support the prime minister's position, decided the matter in his favor. In the memoirs of Finance Minister V.N. Kokovtsov, her words are quoted, testifying to the empress’s deep gratitude to Stolypin:

The Emperor accepted Stolypin's conditions 5 days after his audience with Nicholas II. The Duma was dissolved for 3 days, the law was passed under Article 87, and Trepov and Durnovo were sent on vacation.

The Duma, which had previously voted for this law, perceived the form of its adoption as a complete disregard for itself. The leader of the “Octobrists” A.I. Guchkov resigned as chairman of the State Duma as a sign of disagreement. Subsequently, during the interrogation of the Extraordinary Investigative Commission of the Provisional Government on August 2, 1917, Stolypin’s policy was characterized by Guchkov as “an erroneous policy of compromise, a policy seeking to achieve something significant through mutual concessions.” He also noted that “a man who in public circles was accustomed to being considered an enemy of the public and a reactionary, seemed in the eyes of the reactionary circles of that time to be the most dangerous revolutionary.” Stolypin's relations with the legislative body of the Russian Empire were damaged.

Assassination attempts on Stolypin

In a short period of time from 1905 to 1911, 11 assassination attempts were planned and carried out on Stolypin, the last of which achieved its goal.

During the revolutionary events of 1905, when Stolypin was governor of Saratov, the assassination attempts were a disorganized outburst of hatred towards government officials. After Pyotr Arkadyevich first took the position of Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire, and then Prime Minister, groups of revolutionaries began to more carefully organize attempts on his life. The bloodiest was the explosion on Aptekarsky Island, during which dozens of people died. Stolypin was not injured. Many of the planned assassination attempts were discovered in time, and some were foiled by luck. Bogrov's assassination attempt during Stolypin's visit to Kyiv became fatal. A few days later he died from his wounds.

Assassination attempts in the Saratov province

In the summer of 1905, the Saratov province became one of the main centers of the peasant movement and agrarian unrest, which was accompanied by clashes between peasants and landowners. Robberies, arson and massacres spread throughout the province.

The first assassination attempt occurred while Stolypin was touring rebellious villages, accompanied by Cossacks. An unknown person shot at the governor twice, but did not hit him. At first, Stolypin even rushed after the shooter, but was held by the hand by the official of special assignments, Prince Obolensky. Stolypin himself even joked about this: “Today mischievous people shot at me from behind the bushes...”

The literature mentions an incident that occurred during one of the usual rounds of the province at that hot time, when a man standing in front of Stolypin suddenly took a revolver out of his pocket and pointed it at the governor. Stolypin, looking at him point blank, opened his coat and calmly said in front of the crowd: “Shoot!” The revolutionary could not stand it, lowered his hand, and his revolver fell out.

Stolypin’s daughter Elena writes about another failed attempt in her memoirs. According to her recollections, a conspiracy was discovered in advance, where the terrorist, who was tasked with killing the governor, was supposed to get a job as a carpenter to repair the stairs in the governor's mansion. The plot was discovered and the revolutionary was arrested.

In the memoirs of another daughter, Maria, there is a description of another attempt on Stolypin’s life, during which he again showed restraint and calm:

Under the influence of his composure and strength, passions subsided, the crowd dispersed, and the city immediately took on a peaceful appearance.

Explosion on Aptekarsky Island

On August 12 (25), 1906, another assassination attempt occurred, accompanied by a large number of victims. Stolypin himself was not injured during the explosion.

The Prime Minister had reception days on Saturdays. The terrorists arrived under the guise of petitioners in gendarme uniform, supposedly on urgent business. According to the testimony of one of Stolypin’s daughters, Elena, his adjutant, General A.N. Zamyatnin, saved him from death: “So, thanks to the faithful Zamyatin, the terrorists did not succeed in carrying out their plan, and my father was not killed.” Probably, the adjutant was confused by the headdresses of the maximalists: those who arrived were wearing old helmets, although shortly before this the uniform had undergone significant changes. Seeing that they were exposed, the terrorists first tried to break through by force, and then, when their attempt was unsuccessful, they threw a briefcase with a bomb.

The explosion was very powerful. The rooms on the first floor and the entrance were destroyed, and the upper rooms collapsed. The bomb claimed the lives of 24 people, among them adjutant A.N. Zamyatnin, secret police agents, the nanny of Stolypin’s son Arkady and the terrorists themselves. The son and daughter of the prime minister, Arkady and Natalya, were also injured from the explosion.

The daughter's injury was serious. Doctors insisted on urgent amputation of the victim’s legs. However, Stolypin asked to wait with the decision. The doctors agreed and eventually saved both legs.

Stolypin remained unharmed and did not even receive a single scratch. Only a bronze inkwell, flying over the prime minister's head, splashed him with ink.

12 days after the assassination attempt, on August 24, 1906, a government program was published, according to which “quick-decision” courts were introduced in areas under martial law. It was then that the expression “Stolypin tie” appeared, meaning the death penalty.

Assassination attempts after the explosion on Aptekarsky Island

Already in December of the same 1906, a certain Dobrzhinsky organized a “fighting squad”, which, on behalf of the central committee of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, was supposed to kill P. A. Stolypin. However, the group was discovered and captured before the act was carried out. In July 1907, a “flying detachment” was also captured, the purpose of which was also to eliminate Stolypin. In November 1907, another group of socialist revolutionaries (maximalists) who were preparing bombs to eliminate senior officials, including Stolypin, was neutralized. In December of the same year, the leader of the northern combat “flying detachment” Trauberg was arrested in Helsingfors. The main target of the detachment was Stolypin. Finally, in December of the same 1907, Feiga Elkina was arrested, having organized a revolutionary group that was preparing an assassination attempt on Stolypin.

Assassination attempt in Kyiv and death

At the end of August 1911, Emperor Nicholas II with his family and entourage, including Stolypin, were in Kiev on the occasion of the opening of the monument to Alexander II. September 1 (14), 1911, the emperor and Stolypin attended the play “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” in Kiev city theater. At that time, the head of the Kyiv security department had information that terrorists had arrived in the city with the aim of attacking a high-ranking official, and possibly the Tsar himself. The information was received from secret informant Dmitry Bogrov. It turned out, however, that Bogrov himself had planned the assassination attempt. Using a pass issued by the head of the Kiev security department, he entered the city opera house, during the second intermission he approached Stolypin and shot twice: the first bullet hit the arm, the second - the stomach, hitting the liver. After being wounded, Stolypin crossed the Tsar, sank heavily into a chair and said: “Happy to die for the Tsar.”

Nicholas II (in a letter to his mother): “Stolypin turned to me and blessed the air with his left hand. It was only then that I noticed that he had blood on his jacket. Olga and Tatyana saw everything that happened... Tatyana was greatly impressed, she cried a lot, and both slept poorly.”

The following days passed in anxiety, the doctors hoped for a recovery, but on the evening of September 4, Stolypin’s condition worsened sharply, and at about 10 o’clock in the evening on September 5, he died. In the first lines of Stolypin’s unsealed will it was written: “I want to be buried where they kill me.” Stolypin's order was carried out: on September 9, Stolypin was buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

According to one version, the assassination attempt was organized with the assistance of the security department. A number of facts indicate this. In particular, the theater ticket was issued to Bogrov by the head of the Kiev Security Department N. N. Kulyabko with the consent of the responsible employees of the Security Department P. G. Kurlov, A. I. Spiridovich and M. N. Verigin, while Bogrov was not under surveillance .

According to another version, the head of the security department, Kulyabko, was misled. At the same time, according to the memoirs of the Kyiv governor Girs, Stolypin’s security in the city was poorly organized.

Awards

Russian

Orders

• Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (April 10, 1911)
• Order of the White Eagle (29 March 1909)
• Order of St. Anne, 1st class (December 6, 1906)
• Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class (December 6, 1905)
• Order of St. Anne, 2nd class (14 May 1896)
• Order of St. Anne, 3rd class (30 August 1893)

Medals and insignia

Highest thanks

• Highest Gratitude (March 11, 1905)
• His Majesty's Heartfelt Thanks (4 January 1906)
• Supreme Rescript (March 29, 1909)
• Supreme Rescript (February 19, 1911)

Honorary titles

• Honorary citizen of Yekaterinburg (1911)

Foreign

• Order of Iskander-Salis (Bukhara, December 7, 1906)
• Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers, 1st Class (Japan)
• Order of Prince Daniel I, 1st class (Montenegro)
• Order of the Seraphim (Sweden, 12 May 1908)
• Order of St. Olaf, Grand Cross (Norway, 6 June 1908)
• Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus, Grand Cross (Italy, June 6, 1908)
• Royal Victorian Order, Grand Cross (UK, 16 June 1908)
• Order of the White Eagle, 1st class (Serbia)
• Order of the Crown (Prussia)

Performance evaluation

The assessment of Stolypin's activities, both by his contemporaries and historians, is ambiguous and polar in nature. In it, some highlight only negative aspects, while others, on the contrary, consider him a “brilliant politician,” a person who could save Russia from future wars, defeats and revolutions. Moreover, both are based on the assessments of contemporaries, documentary sources, and statistical data. Supporters and opponents often use the same numbers expressed in different contexts. Thus, in an article in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia dedicated to agrarian reform, it is written that “the development of new lands was beyond the power of the ruined peasantry. Of the 3 million people who resettled in 1906-1916, 548 thousand people, that is, 18%, returned to their former places.” Journalist Gennady Sidorovnin, citing a publication for 1911, interprets the same figures differently: “In any area of ​​human life in general there will always be 10% of losers […] Of course, three hundred thousand return, even over a 15-year period, is already a big and a difficult phenomenon […] But because of these three hundred thousand, one cannot forget, as is sometimes done, about the two and a half million resettled migrants.”

Criticism of Stolypin's activities

Dmitry Shipov, a figure in the liberal-conservative movement, summing up the current situation in October 1908, noted that the lack of political freedoms leads to a growing gap between the government and the people, leading to embitterment of the population. At the same time, Stolypin does not want to notice the error of the chosen course, no longer being able to change it, having taken the path of reaction.

Vladimir Lenin, in his article “Stolypin and the Revolution” (October 1911), wrote about him as “a chief hangman, a pogromist who prepared himself for ministerial activity by torturing peasants, organizing pogroms, and the ability to cover up this Asian “practice” with gloss and phrases.” At the same time, he called him “the head of the counter-revolution.”

In Soviet historiography, Stolypin's activities were assessed critically. Thus, TSB characterized him as a person who “carried out the June Third coup d’etat of 1907 and proposed agrarian reform with the aim of creating a social support for tsarism in the countryside in the form of the kulaks.”

In Stalin's textbook on the history of the CPSU(b), Stolypin's activities were presented in the darkest colors. It was argued that his reforms led to “landlessness of the peasants, the robbery of communal land with fists, predatory raids of gendarmes and police, tsarist provocateurs and Black Hundred thugs on the working class.”

Soviet historian Aron Avrekh noted that Stolypin's economic reforms did not at all meet the needs of the state, since they did not resolve the deep contradictions of the regime. The agrarian reform, which was certainly progressive in nature, even if it was completely successful, could not provide a sufficient level of progress for a competitive struggle with the great powers to maintain positions and survival. Avrekh considered Stolypin’s main mistake to be the belief that economic conditions must first be ensured, after which democratic reforms must be implemented. Meanwhile, the refusal to carry out political reforms led to an increase in discontent and revolutionary sentiment in the country.

In the post-Soviet period, Stolypin's activities have also been criticized. It is often based on the memoirs of Witte, Stolypin's polemics with Tolstoy, and the works of Soviet historians.

Positive assessment of Stolypin’s activities

During his lifetime, P. A. Stolypin gained not only fierce critics, but also devoted supporters. The activities of P. A. Stolypin were strongly supported by: the famous Russian Marxist philosopher P. B. Struve; philosopher, literary critic and publicist V. V. Rozanov; philosopher and lawyer I. A. Ilyin, politicians N. N. Lvov, V. A. Maklakov, A. V. Tyrkova-Williams, V. V. Shulgin, for whom P. A. Stolypin remained a model politician and even an idol until end of life.

In 1911, V.V. Rozanov, who was grieving the murder of P.A. Stolypin, wrote in the article “Terror against Russian Nationalism”: “all of Rus' felt that it had been hit... staggering, it could not help but clutch its heart.” And in another place: “What was valued in Stolypin? I think not a program, but a person: this “warrior” who stood up to defend, in essence, Russia.” The philosopher I. A. Ilyin, even after the death of P. A. Stolypin, believed that “Stolypin’s state work has not died, it is alive, and he will have to be reborn in Russia and revive Russia.”

In 1928, F. T. Goryachkin’s book “The First Russian Fascist Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin” was published in Harbin, in which the author, a member of the party of “Orthodox Russian fascists,” told what this political movement was and stated that Stolypin was “even more brilliant modern Benito Mussolini. This Russian colossus, this brilliant statesman." In Harbin, Russian fascists, led by K.V. Rodzaevsky, created the Stolypin Academy.

Many prominent public and political figures of our time evaluate Stolypin’s activities positively. A.I. Solzhenitsyn wrote in his book “August of the Fourteenth” that if Stolypin had not been killed in 1911, he would have prevented the world war and, accordingly, the loss of tsarist Russia in it, and therefore the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, the civil war and millions of victims of these tragic events. Solzhenitsyn assessed the policy pursued by Stolypin to pacify the revolution and introduce courts-martial:

Stolypin's phrases about "Great Russia" are often used by modern political parties. In addition, books by the former Minister of Finance of Russia B. G. Fedorov, publications under the auspices of the Stolypin Cultural Center and a number of other sources evaluate Stolypin as an outstanding reformer, statesman and great Russian patriot.

Memory

Idioms

• Don't be intimidated!- said Stolypin on March 6, 1907 before deputies of the State Duma of the second convocation. After Stolypin's speech about the program of planned reforms, representatives of the opposition sharply criticized the government's intentions. After listening to them, Stolypin again went to the podium, where he made a short but succinct speech, which ended with the words:

• I don't sell my children's blood- the phrase is given in “Memories of my father P. A. Stolypin” by daughter Maria (married Bok). After the explosion on Aptekarsky Island, as a result of which two of his children - son Arkady and daughter Natalya - were seriously injured, Nicholas II offered Stolypin significant financial assistance, to which he received the answer:

• They need great upheavals, we need Great Russia- the phrase concluded Stolypin’s speech on May 10, 1907 to deputies of the State Duma of the 2nd convocation. In it, Pyotr Arkadyevich spoke about the reforms being carried out, the life of the peasants, the right of ownership of land; repeatedly emphasized the inadmissibility of nationalization or expropriation of land from landowners in favor of the peasantry. At the end, a phrase was uttered that soon became popular:

• Give the state 20 years of internal and external peace and you will not recognize today's Russia- in an interview with one of the newspapers, Stolypin described the reforms being carried out, the main goal of which, in his words, was the creation of a class of small landowners, which was supposed to lead to the prosperity of the country.

Stolypin's relations with famous contemporaries

Stolypin and Rasputin

The topic “Stolypin - Rasputin” is not too extensive: the prime minister did not like “our friend” and avoided him in every possible way.

In the “Memoirs” of Stolypin’s daughter Maria Bok, information is provided that shows the source of Rasputin’s influence on the royal family, and also characterizes the last emperor of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II, as a weak-willed and weak person. M.P. Bok writes that when she started a conversation with her father about Rasputin, who in those years had not yet reached the apogee of his influence, Pyotr Arkadyevich winced and said with sadness in his voice that nothing could be done. Stolypin repeatedly started a conversation with Nicholas II about the inadmissibility of having a semi-literate man with a very dubious reputation in the emperor’s inner circle. To this Nikolai answered verbatim: “I agree with you, Pyotr Arkadyevich, but let it be better to have ten Rasputins than one hysteria of the empress.”

At the beginning of 1911, the persistent prime minister presented the monarch with an extensive report on Rasputin, compiled on the basis of the investigative materials of the Synod. After this, Nicholas II invited the head of government to meet with the “elder” in order to dispel the negative impression made on the basis of the collected documents. During the meeting, Rasputin tried to hypnotize his interlocutor

Stolypin ordered Rasputin to leave St. Petersburg, threatening otherwise to bring the latter to trial “to the fullest extent of the law on sectarians.” During his forced departure from the capital, Rasputin went as a pilgrim to Jerusalem. He reappeared in St. Petersburg only after Stolypin's death.

Stolypin and L.N. Tolstoy

The Stolypin family and Lev Nikolaevich had friendly relations. At one time, Tolstoy was on first terms with the father of the future head of government, but after his death he not only did not come to the funeral, but also did not express any sympathy, stating that “a dead body is nothing for him, and that he does not consider it worthy to bother with him"

Subsequently, Leo Tolstoy became one of the critics of Stolypin's actions as prime minister. It got to the point that in one of the draft letters he called him “the most pathetic person.” Tolstoy criticized the actions of the prime minister, pointing out two main, in his opinion, mistakes: “... first, they began to fight violence with violence and continue to do so […], second, […] to calm the population so that, having destroyed the community, to form small landed property."

Stolypin and Witte

Sergei Yulievich Witte - the first chairman of the government of the Russian Empire, one of the initiators of the adoption of the manifesto on October 17, according to which the State Duma was established, the man who signed the Portsmouth Peace Treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War - was one of the most ardent critics of Stolypin. Information from Witte's Memoirs is often used by critics of Stolypin's policies.

Almost the entire second volume of Witte’s memoirs, dedicated to the reign of Nicholas II, contains criticism of Stolypin. In some cases, Witte's attitude towards Stolypin manifests itself in extremely harsh turns. In particular, Witte writes that the prime minister was “killed”, and also that “the second happy event for Stolypin there was a misfortune for himself, namely the explosion on Aptekarsky Island, an explosion in which his son and daughter were injured.”

Stolypin's daughter Maria, in her memoirs, cited the following episode in the relationship between her father and Witte, which largely explains the hatred of the first Russian Prime Minister for Stolypin:

Count Witte came to my father and, terribly excited, began to talk about how he had heard rumors that deeply outraged him, namely, that in Odessa they wanted to rename a street named after him. He began to ask my father to immediately give orders to the Odessa mayor Pelican to stop such an indecent act. The pope replied that this was a matter for the city government and that it was completely contrary to his views to interfere in such matters. To my father’s surprise, Witte began to beg more and more insistently for his request to be fulfilled, and when dad repeated for the second time that this was against his principle, Witte suddenly knelt down, repeating his request again and again. When my father did not change his answer, Witte got up, quickly, without saying goodbye, went to the door and, before reaching the last one, turned and, looking angrily at my father, said that he would never forgive him for this.

Stolypin in literature, theater and cinema

In literature

The figure of Stolypin is one of the central ones in the “August of the Fourteenth” node of A. I. Solzhenitsyn’s epic “The Red Wheel”. In fact, it was Solzhenitsyn who introduced many little-known facts of Stolypin’s biography into the Russian intellectual discussion of the 1980s - 1990s.

In historical novels dedicated to the reign of Nicholas II, as well as Rasputin, Stolypin is present.

• In the novel “Evil Spirit” (in the magazine version “At the Last Line”) V. S. Pikul describes the environment and family of Nicholas II, Rasputin, the main events of the reign of the last Russian emperor. Stolypin is depicted “as a reactionary” and at the same time “an integral and strong nature - no match for other bureaucrats.” The work has been criticized for a large number of historical errors. Stolypin’s son Arkady, who lived in exile, points out this: “There are many passages in the book that are not only incorrect, but also base and slanderous, for which in a rule-of-law state the author would be answerable not to critics, but to the court.” Historical errors regarding Stolypin in this novel:

In the book, the Prime Minister is presented as a heavy smoker and lover of Armagnac. In fact, he was known for his aversion to tobacco and alcohol.

Inadequate control of the right hand, according to the novel, was the result of a bullet hitting it during one of the numerous assassination attempts. In fact, Stolypin's hand was sick from his youth.

According to the work, after the explosion on Aptekarsky Island, Stolypin’s daughter Natalya’s legs were amputated, although in reality they were saved.

The chronology of Stolypin's speeches and actions has been disrupted.

In the novel, Stolypin leaves a couple of times for his wife’s dacha in Vyritsa, which actually did not exist.

• In E. Radzinsky’s book “Rasputin: Life and Death”, in the part that is devoted to Stolypin’s attitude towards this former peasant of the Tobolsk province, the author gives a favorable description of both Pyotr Arkadyevich himself and his activities:

In the theatre

The only embodiment of the image of P.A. Stolypin for the theater is Olga Mikhailova’s play “The Story of a Crime, or Three Deaths,” written in 2012 by order of the Penza Regional Drama Theater. Today there are two productions of this play:

• at the Penza Regional Drama Theater under the title “The Story of a Crime” (premiere on May 6, 2012, directed by Ansar Khalilullin, in the role of P.A. Stolypin - Sergei Drozhzhilov);
• in the Moscow Theater.doc under the title “Tolstoy - Stolypin. Private correspondence" (premiere March 1, 2013, director Vladimir Mirzoev, in the role of P.A. Stolypin - Arman Khachatryan).

To the cinema

• “Stolypin... Unlearned Lessons” (2006), the role of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was played by Saratov actor Oleg Klishin.
• “The threshold of the First World War. Stolypin" (2007) - documentary film, directed by N. Smirnov.
• In the twelve-episode television feature film “Empire Under Attack” by Sergei Gazarov and Andrei Malyukov, one of the plots is the assassination attempt on Stolypin, committed on Aptekarsky Island.
• In the Russian television series “Sins of the Fathers,” one of the plot episodes is the murder of Stolypin in Kyiv.

In numismatics

On March 1, 2012, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation issued a silver coin dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of P. A. Stolypin, in the series of commemorative coins “Outstanding Personalities of Russia”.

Stolypin Pyotr Arkadyevich is an outstanding reformer, statesman of the Russian Empire, who at different times was the governor of several cities, then became the Minister of Internal Affairs, and at the end of his life served as Prime Minister. The agrarian reform of Pyotr Stolypin and the law on courts-martial were for their time, if not a breakthrough, then, in any case, a life raft. Many decisions in the biography of Pyotr Stolypin are considered to be the most important for the end of the revolution of 1905-1907.

Encyclopedia "Around the World"

The personality of Pyotr Stolypin is characterized by his fearlessness, because more than a dozen attempts were made on this man’s life, but he did not deviate from his ideas. Many of Stolypin’s phrases became catchphrases, for example, “We need a great Russia” and “You won’t be intimidated!” When Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was born, his noble family had existed for more than 300 years. The great Russian poet was a fairly close relative of the statesman.

Stolypin with his brother Alexander in childhood | Memory site

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin himself, whose biography began in 1862, was born not on the territory of Russia, but in the German city of Dresden, then the capital of Saxony. The relatives of his mother, Natalya Gorchakova, lived there, and the mother of the future reformer stayed with them. Peter had brothers Mikhail and Alexander, as well as a sister, with whom he was very friendly.

Stolypin: at the gymnasium and at the university

The boys grew up in the Moscow province, and then on an estate in the Kovno province. At the gymnasium, teachers emphasized Peter's prudence and strong-willed character. After receiving his matriculation certificate, Pyotr Stolypin rested briefly on his parents’ estate, and then went to the capital, where he became a student in the natural sciences department of St. Petersburg Imperial University. By the way, one of his teachers was a famous scientist. After receiving a diploma as an agronomist, Pyotr Stolypin began his service in Russia.

Activities of Pyotr Stolypin

As a brilliant university graduate, Pyotr Arkadyevich receives the position of collegiate secretary and makes an outstanding career. In three years, Stolypin rose to the rank of titular adviser, which was an unprecedented achievement in such a short period of time. Soon he was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and appointed chairman of the Kovno Court of Peace Mediators. Perhaps a modern person needs a brief explanation: Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was actually appointed to the position of general, holding the rank of captain, and even at the age of 26 years.

Chairman of the Kovno Court | LitRes Library

During his 13-year service in Kovno, as well as during his governorship in Grodno and Saratov, Stolypin paid a lot of attention to agriculture, studying advanced methods in agronomy and new varieties of grain crops. In Grodno, he managed to liquidate rebel societies in two days, opened vocational schools and special women's gymnasiums. His successes were noticed and he was transferred to Saratov, a more prosperous province. It was there that the Russian-Japanese War found Pyotr Arkadyevich, followed by the rebellion of 1905. The governor personally came out to calm the crowds of rioting fellow countrymen. Thanks to Stolypin's energetic actions, life in the Saratov province gradually calmed down.

Governor of Grodno | Russian newspaper

Twice he expressed his gratitude to him, and for the third time he appointed him Minister of the Interior. Today you might think that this is a great honor. In fact, two predecessors in this post were brutally killed, and Pyotr Arkadyevich was not eager to become the third, especially since four attempts had already been made on his life, but there was no choice. The difficulty of the work was that the bulk of the State Duma was revolutionary and openly opposed. This confrontation between the executive and legislative branches created enormous difficulties. As a result, the First State Duma was dissolved, and Stolypin began to combine his position with the post of prime minister.

Saratov Governor | Chronos. The World History

Here the activity of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was again energetic. He showed himself not only to be a brilliant orator, many of whose phrases became catchphrases, but also to be a reformer and a fearless fighter against the revolution. Stolypin passed a number of bills that went down in history as the Stolypin agrarian reform. He remained in the position of prime minister until his death, which occurred as a result of another assassination attempt.

Reforms of Pyotr Stolypin

As Prime Minister, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin began implementing reforms immediately. They concerned bills, foreign policy, local government bodies, and the national issue. But Stolypin’s agrarian reform acquired paramount importance. The prime minister's main idea was to motivate peasants to become private owners. If the previous form of the community fettered the initiative of many hard-working people, now Pyotr Arkadyevich hoped to rely on the wealthy peasantry.

Prime Minister Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin | Russian newspaper

To implement such plans, it was possible to make very profitable bank loans for private peasants, as well as to transfer large uncultivated state territories in Siberia, the Far East, Central Asia and the North Caucasus into private hands. The second important reform was the zemstvo, that is, the introduction of local government bodies that reduced the influence of wealthy landowners on politics. This reform of Pyotr Stolypin was very difficult to implement, especially in the western regions, where residents were accustomed to relying on the gentry. The idea was also opposed in the legislative council.

Portrait "Stolypin", artist Vladimir Mochalov | Wikipedia

As a result, the prime minister even had to give an ultimatum to the emperor. Nicholas II was ready to deal very harshly with Stolypin, but Empress Maria Feodorovna intervened in the matter, persuading the reigning son to accept the reformer’s conditions. Thanks to the third, industrial reform, the rules for hiring workers, the length of the working day changed, insurance against illness and accidents was introduced, and so on. Another equally important reform of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin concerned the national issue.

Portrait of Pyotr Stolypin | Russian planet

He was a supporter of the unification of the peoples of the country and proposed creating a special ministry of nationalities that could find a compromise to satisfy the interests of each nation without humiliating their culture, traditions, history, languages, and religion. The Prime Minister believed that in this way it was possible to eradicate ethnic and religious hatred and make Russia equally attractive to people of any nationality.

The results of Stolypin's reforms

The assessment of Stolypin's activities both during his life and later by professional historians was ambiguous. Pyotr Arkadyevich had and still has both ardent supporters who believe that he alone could prevent the subsequent October Revolution and save Russia from many years of war, and no less ardent opponents who are confident that the Prime Minister used extremely cruel and harsh methods and does not deserve praise . The results of Stolypin's reforms were carefully studied for decades, and it was they that formed the basis of Perestroika. Stolypin's phrases about "Great Russia" are often used by modern political parties.

Reformer of the Russian Empire | Chronos. The World History

Many are interested in the relationship and Stolypin. It is worth noting that they treated each other sharply negatively. Pyotr Arkadyevich even prepared a special report for the emperor on the negative impact of Rasputin’s activities on the Russian Empire, to which he received the famous answer: “Better a dozen Rasputins than one hysteria of the empress.” However, it was at the request of Stolypin that Rasputin left not only St. Petersburg, but also Russia, going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and returned back only after the death of the famous reformer.

Personal life

Pyotr Stolypin married at the age of 22, while still a student, which was nonsense at that time. Some contemporaries of Stolypin say that he was chasing a very substantial dowry, while others claim that the young man defended the honor of the family. The fact is that the wife of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was the bride of his older brother Mikhail, who died from wounds received in a duel with Prince Shakhovsky. And on his deathbed, allegedly, the brother asked Peter to take his betrothed wife.

Pyotr Stolypin and his wife, Olga Neidgardt | Russian newspaper

Whether this story is a legend or not, Stolypin really married Olga Neidgardt, who was the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna, and was also the great-great-granddaughter of the great commander Alexander Suvorov. This marriage turned out to be very happy: according to contemporaries, the couple lived in perfect harmony. The couple had five daughters and one son. The only son of Pyotr Stolypin, whose name was Arkady, would later immigrate and become a famous publicist writer in France.

Death

As mentioned above, attempts were made ten times on Pyotr Stolypin’s life to no avail. They wanted to kill him four times when Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was the governor of Saratov, but these were rather not organized acts, but outbursts of aggression. But when he headed the government, the revolutionaries began to plan his murder more carefully. During the Prime Minister's stay on Aptekarsky Island, an explosion was carried out, in which Stolypin himself was not injured, but dozens of innocent people were killed.

Painting by Diana Nesypova “The Murder of Stolypin” | Russian folk line

It was after this event that the government issued a decree on “quick-fix” courts, popularly known as the “Stolypin tie.” This meant a quick death penalty for terrorists. Several subsequent conspiracies were discovered in time and also did not harm the reformer. However, nothing could save Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin from the 11th, committed in the fall of 1911.

Death of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin | To be remembered

He and the imperial family were in Kyiv on the occasion of the opening of the monument. There, a message came from secret informant Dmitry Bogrov that terrorists had arrived in the capital of Ukraine to kill. But in fact, the assassination attempt was conceived by Bogrov himself, and not on the emperor, but on Stolypin. And since they trusted this man, he was given a pass to the theater box, where high-ranking persons were present. Bogrov shot twice at Pyotr Arkadyevich, who died from his wounds four days later and was buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin(2 (14) April 1862, Dresden, Saxony - 5 (18) September 1911, Kyiv) - statesman of the Russian Empire. Over the years, he held the posts of district marshal of the nobility in Kovno, Grodno governor, Saratov governor, Minister of Internal Affairs, and Prime Minister.

Known as an orator, reformer, the man who suppressed the revolution of 1905-1907. In 1906, the emperor offered Stolypin the post of Minister of Internal Affairs. Soon, along with the State Duma of the first convocation, the government was dissolved. Stolypin was appointed the new prime minister.

In his new position, which he held until his death, Stolypin passed a number of bills that went down in history as the Stolypin agrarian reform, the main content of which was the introduction of private peasant land ownership. The law on military courts adopted by the government increased penalties for committing serious crimes. Subsequently, Stolypin was sharply criticized for the harshness of the measures taken. Among Stolypin's other activities as prime minister, the introduction of zemstvos in the western provinces, the restriction of the autonomy of the Grand Duchy of Finland, changes in electoral legislation and the dissolution of the Second Duma, which put an end to the revolution of 1905-1907, are of particular importance.

During speeches before deputies of the State Duma, Stolypin's oratorical talent was revealed. His phrases “You won’t be intimidated!” and “They need great upheavals, we need a great Russia” became popular.

Among his personal character traits, his fearlessness was especially highlighted by his contemporaries. 11 assassination attempts were planned and carried out on Stolypin. During the last one, committed by Bogrov in Kyiv, Stolypin received a mortal wound, from which he died a few days later.

Biography

Father - Arkady Dmitrievich, ataman of the Ural Cossack army, who later reached the highest rank of general. Mother - Natalya Mikhailovna, nee Princess Gorchakova.

1862-1874 Pyotr Arkadyevich spent his childhood in the Serednikovo estate in the Moscow region, the Kolnoberge estate in the Kovno province, the family also traveled to Switzerland. He received a good home education. When the time came for the children to study, the father bought a house in Vilna.

1874 P.A. Stolypin was enrolled in the second grade of the Vilna Gymnasium, where he studied until the 6th grade.

1879 Transferred to the Oryol classical gymnasium, at the request of his father.

1881-1885 P.A. Stolypin studied at St. Petersburg University. His inclination towards exact sciences was revealed even in the gymnasium. Upon completion, he received a diploma awarding the degree of candidate from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics.

Pyotr Stolypin married early, while still a student in 1884. His wife was Olga Borisovna Neidgardt, the great-great-granddaughter of A.V. Suvorova, daughter of the Chief Chamberlain, Actual Privy Councilor B.A. Neidgardt, maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna. Olga was the bride of Mikhail Stolypin, who was killed in a duel in 1882. The young people were brought together by a common misfortune. Pyotr Arkadyevich fought with his brother’s killer, Prince Shakhovsky, and was seriously wounded in the arm. There is, however, another version, which was told, in particular, by S.N. Syromyatnikov, who knew P.A. closely. Stolypin's career. His hand began to dry out during his high school years.

Final exam with P.A. Stolypin was received by D.I. Mendeleev, he became so interested in listening to the student’s brilliant answers that he began to ask him questions that were not part of the curriculum. “My father, who studied and read on natural subjects with passion, answered everything in such a way that the exam began to turn into something similar to a scientific debate, when the professor suddenly stopped, grabbed his head and said: “My God, what am I? Well, pretty, five, five, great."

1886-1889 Serving in the Ministry of State Property with the rank of collegiate secretary, on January 13, 1st Old Style 1888, he received the first court rank (chamber cadet).

1889 , March 31 Appointed, at his own request, as the leader of the nobility of the Kovno district and the chairman of the Kovno congress of world mediators, and then as the provincial leader of the nobility.

1902 , June 12 Appointment to the position of governor of Grodno, the beginning of a career as an administrator of large territories. At the first meeting of the Grodno committee, he presented a program for the economic reorganization of the province. Important points of which were: land reclamation, credit for agriculture and social insurance. Vocational schools were opened under him.

1903 , February 28 (15th according to the old style) appointment as Saratov governor; March 21 (8th according to the old style) performance of P.A. Stolypin to Emperor Nicholas II. The Saratov province was prosperous, but at the same time the most difficult. Frequent changes of governors did not solve the problems of land disputes, then peasant unrest and worker discontent. The new governor immediately set about improving the city. Paving of asphalt, repair and gas lighting of streets, modernization of the telephone network, construction of water supply, hospitals and educational institutions began. P.A. Stolypin reorganized the government system of the province, getting rid of corrupt officials.

Summer 1905 The Saratov province became one of the main centers of the peasant movement. With the Cossacks, he traveled around rebellious villages, personally persuaded the peasants to calm down, threatened Siberia and hard labor. Amateur peasant organizations were decisively dispersed, the instigators were searched and arrested. For the suppression of the peasant movement in the Samara province P.A. Stolypin was awarded the highest gratitude of Nicholas II. July 31, 18th Art. Art. - first attempt on Stolypin’s life (3 shots). In Saratov, P.A.’s political and economic views finally took shape. Stolypin and the program of his first reforms.

In April 1906 Mr. P.A. Stolypin received a telegram from the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, I. L. Goremykin, with orders to immediately leave for St. Petersburg. May 9, April 26, old style 1906 P.A. Stolypin became Minister of Internal Affairs. From that time until the end, Stolypin attended weekly reports with the emperor.

Head of the Government of Change

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin belonged to a noble noble family. The future reformer at the university was going to become a chemist. However, in 1899 he was appointed provincial marshal of the nobility in Kovno. 39-year-old Stolypin turned out to be the youngest governor in Russia. During the revolution of 1905, Saratov governor Stolypin suppressed peasant unrest using harsh measures, including executions. On April 26, 1906, Stolypin became Minister of Internal Affairs.
While still governor of Saratov, Stolypin proposed carrying out an agrarian reform in Russia, which would make it possible to turn the peasants into strong masters. Some officials, such as Witte, also understood the importance of the issue. Peasants made up 75% of the population; the future of Russia depended on their situation.

21 July, 8th old style 1906 after the resignation of S.Yu. Witte and the dissolution of the First State Duma P.A. Stolypin took the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He set about suppressing unrest throughout the empire.

P.A. From the very beginning of his activities as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Stolypin was aware of the need for reforms and the inevitability of severe consequences for whoever took responsibility for their implementation. It is not for nothing that he wrote in his will: “Bury me where they will kill me.”8 The agrarian reform was the first according to plan, since the revolutionary uprisings of 1906-1907 took place in the countryside, and basically represented the seizure of landowners’ lands. In two years, 4 thousand estates were burned and 17 thousand protests were suppressed. The most dangerous terrorist party for the authorities, the Socialist Revolutionaries, which acted under the slogan “Land to the Peasants,” had a social base in the countryside among peasants, the vast majority of whom were poor.

12th old style 1906 The Socialist-Revolutionaries-maximalists made an unsuccessful attempt on Stolypin's life. Two suicide bombers in gendarme uniform detonated two bombs during visiting hours at the ministerial dacha on Aptekarsky Island. Stolypin himself remained unharmed. However, his children were seriously injured: 14-year-old daughter Natalya had broken leg bones, so she could not walk for several years, and 3-year-old son Arkady was wounded in the head. A total of 33 people were killed (27 instantly, 6 died from wounds), 32 were injured.

September 1, August 19, old style on the initiative of P.A. Stolypin approved a provision on military courts that passed sentences in terrorism cases within 2 days and carried them out within 24 hours. From August 1906 to April 1907, 1,100 people were executed. Following the verdict of military courts, Duma deputy F.I. was hanged. Rodichev has a reason to call the noose a “Stolypin tie.” Too harsh and incorrigible sentences gave rise to many personal accounts against the government among people far from politics (the most striking example is V.I. Chapaev, who did not forgive the noble class for the death of his older brother)

When the unrest began to subside, Stolypin moved forward with his main project - peasant reform. It envisioned the creation of a class of prosperous peasant proprietors on whom the government could rely.

At the initiative of the head of government, the emperor issued a decree of October 18, 5th Old Style 1906, on peasant liberties. He equalized the rights of peasants with the rest of the population. Peasants received freedom of movement, the right to obtain a passport, admission to educational institutions and the public service, wealthy peasants with a large amount of land could now participate in zemstvo elections.

Decree from November 22, on the 9th Old Style of the same year, pursued the goal of disbanding the community and transferring those wishing to separate cuttings and farmsteads. During the Stolypin reforms from 1907 to 1915, 3 million owners left the community, 1.6 million farms and farmsteads were formed.

The head of government, who enjoyed a reputation as a “rightist,” defended the existence of the Duma as a legislative body and spoke March 19, on the 6th old style, 1907, before the Duma members with a rather radical program: it was proposed to make primary education universal, adopt laws on the inviolability of the person and home, and introduce a social insurance system. The Duma left the declaration without a response.

Stolypin considered the establishment of peace to be the most important condition for carrying out reforms. In 1907 the government managed to establish allied relations with recent enemies - Japan and Great Britain.

29th of November, on the 16th old style, Stolypin spoke before the Third State Duma with a program of reforms, linking their beginning with the adoption by the Duma of laws on peasant reform. The Duma also adopted for discussion a law on universal primary education, the introduction of which began locally in 1910.

IN 1908 Stolypin managed to obtain funds from the Duma for the construction of the Amur Railway, which connected Siberia and Vladivostok along a route passing through the territory of Russia. The railway was put into operation in 1916, which completed the construction of the Great Trans-Siberian Railway.

Summer 1908 The government allocated land for peasant settlers in Siberia, Central Asia and the Far East, and the resettlement of those wishing to the East began.

Political struggle and new ideas of the head of government in 1911

Stolypin spent a significant part of his energy on internal political struggle. The critical moment has arrived 18th of March, 5th old style 1911, when Stolypin resigned. His draft law on the introduction of zemstvos in the western provinces was considered. The head of government proposed electing zemstvo leaders on the territory of modern Poland and Belarus without class restrictions in different curiae, separating Polish voters from Russians, Belarusians, and Lithuanians. This was done to increase the influence of peasant owners and limit the power of Polish landowners. The problem of the Western Territory was known to Stolypin from his work there in his youth.

In the evening September 14, On the 1st old style, the royal court and members of the government gathered at the Kiev City Theater.

There was an opera by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". During the second intermission (before which the famous “Flight of the Bumblebee” was performed), Stolypin stood up from his seat, leaned against the fence of the orchestra pit and talked with Minister of War Sukhomlinov. Suddenly, an unknown young man approached him and shot him point-blank from a Browning gun. Wounded in the chest, Stolypin stepped towards his chair, sank into it and lost consciousness. The shooter, Socialist Revolutionary Dmitry (Mordekai) Grigoryevich Bogrov, froze in a daze.

Everything happened in front of the king and his daughters. There were still quite a few people in the hall, everyone froze and waited for what would happen next. The terrorist was the first to come to his senses - he started to run, but on the way out he was captured by officers from the public, disarmed and severely beaten by the crowd. When Bogrov and Stolypin were taken out of the hall, the audience sang “God Save the Tsar.” They sang with enthusiasm, because they considered it a miracle that in the presence of the first person of the state, a criminal shot at the second person.

The head of the Council of Ministers soon woke up and said that he was now doomed. Doctors did not share this point of view - the wound was considered moderate - according to official bulletins, the bullet did not hit any vital organ. For an unknown reason, the life doctors decided not to remove the bullet, which led to blood poisoning, from which the first minister died 4 days later. Before his death, he asked to be given papers unknown to those around him to sign.

The Kiev press already on the third day after the assassination attempt, while Stolypin was still alive, exposed Bogrov as an agent of the Security Branch.

Suspicious facts regarding the death of Stolypin

• Even for an officer who took up a post under patronage, the head of the Kyiv security department N.N. Kulyabko acted too unprofessionally: he allowed his agent, provocateur D.G., to appear. Bogrova, in the theater, where the top officials of the state were. Bogrov promised him to show him in the theater terrorists plotting against the Tsar and Stolypin, Kulyabko trusted him and did not even search him.

• The Emperor did not visit the dying Stolypin in the hospital, making excuses for more important matters, and did not attend his funeral.

• At the trial, Bogrov behaved very confidently, as if he was convinced that he would be saved.

• The terrorist was hanged very hastily, on September 24, the 11th of the old style.

• Only one official (the head of the Kyiv security department Kulyabko) paid for the incident; all the others were not punished at all.

• The new head of government, V.N. Kokovtsov reported to the Tsar that there was more to the Stolypin murder case than just a stupid oversight by the Security Department, and asked for a more thorough investigation. This demand remained unanswered.

Stolypin's work on the future political structure of Russia, written in recent days, containing ideas for new transformations, disappeared without a trace after his death.

Stolypin Pyotr Arkadevich - a prominent statesman and major reformer of Russia, state councilor, minister of internal affairs, prime minister.

Biography

Childhood

Father, Arkady Dmitrievich, after participating in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878, was appointed governor of the Balkans (Eastern Rumelia). Mother, Natalya Mikhailovna (nee Gorchakova), was from the ancient Rurik family. Being in the last month of pregnancy, she went to visit relatives in Dresden, where she gave birth to Peter. His childhood passed in the Serednikovo estate and the Kolnoberge estate.

Education

From 1874 to 1879, Peter studied at the Vilna Gymnasium (modern Vilnius), from 1879 to 1881 - at the Oryol Gymnasium. Already during his studies, he stood out among his peers for his prudence, seriousness and strong character. After high school, he graduated from the Imperial University (Faculty of Physics and Mathematics) in St. Petersburg.

Career

Documents about the beginning of the career of the great reformer have not survived. Information on this matter is very contradictory: some claim that after university Stolypin worked in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Industry, others immediately name the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, it is known for certain that in two years Stolypin climbed 5 steps of the bureaucratic ladder at once: 1886 - the rank of collegiate secretary (corresponding to the X class of the table of ranks), 1887 - assistant clerk (VII class), 1888 - the rank of chamber cadet (V class ).

In 1889, Stolypin was appointed district marshal of the nobility in Koven (modern Kaunas) and chairman of the court of peace mediators. In this position, Pyotr Arkadyevich is actively involved in the development of agriculture and continues to move up the career ladder: one after another, he is showered with promotions, titles and awards.

In 1902, on Plehve’s initiative, Stolypin was appointed governor of Grodno. In Grodno, Stolypin carries out educational and agricultural reforms, but does not have time to turn around, as he is sent as governor to Saratov.

In 1906, Stolypin was summoned by telegram to an appointment with the emperor, who offered him the dangerous post of Minister of Internal Affairs. At that time, both previous ministers were killed by revolutionaries, Stolypin himself had already been the victim of assassination attempts 4 times, so it is quite understandable that Pyotr Arkadyevich tried to refuse such royal favor. Nicholas II had no choice but to simply order. In the same year, he also became prime minister.

Suffrage reforms

It was Stolypin who had to restrain the aggression of the First State Duma and participate in its dissolution. He also did not have a good relationship with the Second Duma, after the dissolution of which Stolypin carried out a number of reforms in the electoral system of the Russian Empire. The Third Duma was convened in accordance with the reforms carried out and was the brainchild of Stolypin, but in this way he could completely control it.

Law on Courts Martial

The reformer was criticized for the harshness of this law, adopted by Stolypin in 1907, but he was forced to somehow stop the wave of bloody terror that covered the country in the first years of the 20th century: prominent statesmen, governors and ordinary people died at the hands of terrorists. According to this law, the criminal was tried within 24 hours immediately after committing the crime in the same place where he was caught, and the sentence was carried out immediately within 24 hours.

Autonomy of Finland

The Principality of Finland was considered a special territory of the Russian Empire, which had its own autonomy. Stolypin took a number of decisive measures and achieved a limitation of this autonomy: since 1908, all Finnish affairs were resolved only through the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Agrarian reform

Stolypin began to carry it out almost immediately. The main goal of the reform was the introduction of private ownership of land among peasants and the settlement of free lands in Siberia, where entire carriages with peasants went. The reform promised to give excellent results, but the premature death of Stolypin interrupted its progress.

In 1911, just before his death, Stolypin managed to organize zemstvos in the western provinces.

Personal life

The personal life of the great reformer was very interesting. Having tragic origins, his marriage turned out to be long and happy. Peter's elder brother, Mikhail, died in a duel, but before his death he bequeathed his bride, Olga Borisovna Neidgardt, to his younger brother. She was the great-great-granddaughter of Suvorov and at that time was at the empress’s court as a maid of honor.

So Olga became Stolypin’s wife. There is no information about scandals and betrayals in the Stolypin family, so we can assume that the family life of the great politician was a success. The marriage produced 5 girls and 1 boy.

Death

In September 1811, Stolypin was with the emperor in Kyiv, where he was mortally wounded by the revolutionary Bogrov, who shot him twice at point-blank range. The great reformer was buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Stolypin's main achievements

• The revolution of 1905–1907 was suppressed, and the Second State Duma was dissolved, thanks to Stolypin.
• Author of the agrarian reform (Stolypin). It assumed the establishment of peasant private ownership of land.
• He passed the law on military courts, which toughened punishments for serious crimes.
• Established zemstvos in the western provinces.

Important dates in Stolypin's biography

• 1862 - birth
• 1874–1879 - Vilna Gymnasium
• 1879–1881 - Oryol gymnasium
• 1881–1885 - study at St. Petersburg University
• 1889–1902 - district marshal of the nobility in Koven
• 1893 - Order of St. Anne
• 1901 - State Councilor
• 1902 - Governor of Grodno
• 1906 - Minister of the Interior, Prime Minister, agrarian reform
• 1907 - law on courts-martial
• 1908 - restriction of the autonomy of the Principality of Finland
• 1911 - establishment of zemstvos in the western provinces, death

• Stolypin owns the famous phrase “They need great upheavals - we need a great Russia.”
• Stolypin was the second cousin of the great poet of the 19th century, M. Yu. Lermontov.
• While studying at the Imperial University of St. Petersburg, Stolypin was lucky enough to become a student of D. I. Mendeleev himself.
• Stolypin had poor control of his right hand. There is information that he shot himself in a duel with Shakhovsky, the killer of his brother, who wounded Peter in the right hand.
• Historians count 11 attempts on the life of the great reformer.
• In 1906, an explosion was organized on Aptekarsky Island, in the minister’s mansion: dozens of people who were in the house were killed. Stolypin's daughter, Natalya, received severe injuries to her legs and could not walk for a long time. Son Arkady received bruises. Their nanny died before their eyes.