Peter Arkadyevich Stolypin is one of the most visible and significant figures of Russian history on the rise of the monarchy. His whole life was devoted to serving the state. He was the governor in two places, the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister, and his decisions changed the lives of millions of citizens.
Childhood and youth
Stolypin was born in 1862. He was a representative of a noble aristocratic family. The poet Mikhail Lermontov was his second cousin. Peter's childhood passed first in the estate near Moscow, and then in the Coven province. He studied in Vilna and Orel (his father was a military man and often changed his place of residence).
Higher education Stolypin, whose historical portrait can not do without a description of youth, received at St. Petersburg Imperial University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics.
Successful officer
Thirteen years (from 1889 to 1902) the young official spent in Kovno, where he was the county leader of the nobility. Subsequently, he became the Grodno and Saratov governor. It was in this Volga city, Stolypin, whose historical portrait represents him as a fighter against the revolution, met the Russo-Japanese War and the alarming year 1905.
In Saratov, as in the whole country, unrest began. Pyotr Arkadevich was able to successfully calm the subordinate province. Here the echo of the revolution swept relatively imperceptibly.
Minister of the Interior and Prime Minister
Stolypin's luck was noticed by the emperor. Nikolai appointed him Minister of the Interior. This position was not what Stolypin dreamed about. A historical portrait against the backdrop of the era depicts him as a supporter of the old order. It was because of his devotion to the monarchy that he could not refuse the king.
A few months later, he became prime minister. The historical portrait of Peter Stolypin can not do without mentioning his constant conflicts with the Duma. Socialists did not allow laws to be passed. Because of this, the two parliaments were dissolved early, and the prime minister became an odious person for liberals and the other opposition.
What else is the historical portrait of Stolypin? In short, he tried to save the old system. However, he also could compromise. For example, in the western provinces a zemstvo appeared. At the same time, the prime minister initiated the limitation of Finland’s autonomy within the Russian Empire.
Stolypin Peter Arkadievich (a historical portrait may seem contradictory at first glance) was actually a very consistent person with his ideals and principles.
Assassination attempts
Stolypin’s tough stance on many issues led not only to political criticism of the public, but also to direct threats to life. There were totally 11 attempts on him (it seems that this figure is comparable only with the number of unsuccessful terrorist attacks against Alexander II).
The first attacks on Stolypin were made even at the time when he was the Saratov governor. However, these attempts were poorly organized and did not lead to anything.
Explosion on Pharmacy Island
When Peter Arkadyevich moved to St. Petersburg, a cold reception awaited him in the capital. In August 1906, an explosion was made in the official’s mansion, where he held regular meetings with citizens. The pharmacy island was shocked by a powerful wave. The radical Social Revolutionaries entered the reception in the guise of visitors and detonated a bomb. The attack cost the lives of 24 people. These were mainly visitors who came to Stolypin with personal appeals. The Penza governor Sergey Khvostov and the personal adjutant of Peter Arkadievich, Alexander Zamyatin, also died. Eyewitnesses claimed that it was he who closed the minister from the explosion.
In addition, the daughter of Stolypin suffered greatly. Doctors insisted that Natalia needed to amputate her legs. Father persuaded them to postpone the operation. As a result, they managed to save the legs, but the daughter remained disabled. Stolypin himself was not injured from the explosion: there was not a scratch on him. The bronze inkwell on his desk crashed against the wall and splattered it.
Military Courts
The reaction to the attack was extremely harsh. A few days later, the government announced that military courts were being introduced in the country. They had the right to sentence to death. This made the society even more heated and polarized.
During a meeting of the Duma, Cadet Rodichev in his speech used the phrase “Stolypin tie” (allegory for the gallows loop). This phrase went down in history (thanks in large part to Soviet textbooks, where Stolypin was scolded and called a bloody reactionary). The Prime Minister was at this famous meeting and furiously challenged Rodichev to a duel because of an unbearable insult. Later, the deputy apologized for his words.
Military courts have been criticized by the intelligentsia. For example, Count Leo Tolstoy, impressed by this decision, wrote the famous article “I can’t be silent!”, Where he mercilessly criticized the state. Soon, between the famous writer and the Prime Minister, a polemic correspondence took place, which is now in the public domain. Tolstoy was supported by such famous personalities as Alexander Blok, Leonid Andreev and Ilya Repin.
Death
The attacks directed at the prime minister continued after the episode on Apothecary Island. Stolypin haunted the terrorists. The historical portrait of this man took shape much later, and during his life he was scolded for all the problems in the country.
September 1, 1911 (according to the old style) Kiev was the center of attention of the whole country. A monument was opened there to Alexander II in honor of the 50th anniversary of the manifesto on the liberation of the peasants. Stolypin arrived in the city, as well as the entire royal family. Distinguished guests went to the Kiev theater, where there was a performance staged according to Pushkin's "Tale of Tsar Saltan."
Such events required special security measures. The security department, which was responsible for order, shortly before that received information that some terrorists were preparing another attack on the imperial family or the prime minister. This was reported by secret informant Dmitry Bogrov, who was a double agent of special services and radicals.
However, the guard made a fatal mistake, trusting this young man. The unlearned student himself wanted to end Stolypin. As an informant, he received a ticket to the performance. He had charged browning in his pocket. In the interval, Bogrov went up to Pyotr Arkadyevich, who at that time was talking with the Minister of the Court - Fredericks. The young man fired two shots. The first bullet hit Stolypin’s hand, the second crushed the cross of St. Vladimir on his chest and rebounded into the liver. The assailant was immediately seized, and executed after the trial.
The Prime Minister, bleeding, baptized the king, who was nearby, sat in his chair with the phrase "happy to die for the king", after which he was sent to the hospital. There he lay for three more days and died from a serious wound. The historical portrait of Stolypin makes it clear that this was a radical reformer of the state. It was precisely because of his irreconcilable stance and harsh decisions that he ended up in sight of numerous terrorists, the last of whom managed to commit murder.
Value and ratings
The prime minister tried to preserve the monarchy. Despite the difficult relationship with Nicholas II, he always remained faithful to the emperor. His reforms began to affect almost immediately after his death. The fight against terrorists and revolutionaries calmed the country. Agrarian reform has enabled millions of people to go east and take up their own farming there. The country quickly enriched itself and in 1913 reached its economic peak. Industry developed, agriculture and entrepreneurship gained momentum. Despite the polar assessments, on some issues the government and the Duma have learned to work with each other.
One of the people who made this possible was Peter Stolypin. The historical portrait of this statesman began to take shape much later. Only in the modern era did it become clear that all his efforts were favorable for the country.
But the efforts of the prime minister were in vain. In 1914, the First World War broke out. Austria came into conflict with Serbia, with which Russia was in allied relations. So the massacre broke out between the Entente and the central powers. It is possible that Stolypin would have dissuaded the tsar from entering the war, but he was no longer alive. A protracted campaign led to an increase in public discontent, and eventually to a revolution that destroyed the tsarist state. The historical portrait of P. A. Stolypin as a fighter against the radicals was dirty for many decades. The Soviet state saw in the royal premiere of its worst enemy.