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Stolypin and Reform. Who was Stolypin? What was his importance to the Russian Revolution?. The Dumas. Tsar Nicholas II had made it clear in the Fundamental Laws that the Duma was not intended to have any real power.
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Stolypin and Reform Who was Stolypin? What was his importance to the Russian Revolution?
The Dumas • Tsar Nicholas II had made it clear in the Fundamental Laws that the Duma was not intended to have any real power. • The first Duma tried to assert its right to power. Tsar Nicholas II surrounded the meeting place with troops and broke up the meeting. It lasted only 75 days. • The second Duma was even less popular with the Tsar. It contained Socialist Revolutionaries and Social Democrats, who aimed to overthrow the Tsar. It lasted three months.
The Dumas (cont) • The third Duma did much better than its predecessors. • However, Tsar Nicholas II had changed the voting laws to ensure revolutionaries could not be elected. • The third Duma was filled by politicians who behaved themselves and did what the Tsar wanted.
Peter Stolypin • In 1906, Tsar Nicholas II appointed a tough new Prime Minister to make sure there were no new outbreaks of revolution. • His name was Peter Stolypin.
Stolypin’s Government • Stolypin believed in strict government. • He targeted terrorists and in 1906 1008 were arrested. They were tried in special courts and then executed. • Many were hanged and this gave the gallows a new nickname – ‘Stolypin’s Necktie’. • In the same year, 21000 people were exiled to Siberia.
Stolypin’s Government (cont) • Stolypin understood that he could not control Russia by brute force alone. • Stolypin helped the peasants to become owners of their own land, hoping this would prevent them from rebelling again. • Conditions in Russia improved. Industries grew, wages began to improve and there were improvements in harvests.
Stolypin’s Assassination • In 1911, one of Stolypin’s police agents who had been investigating terrorist groups, turned out to be a terrorist himself • He shot Stolypin and by doing so, left the Tsar and the Russian people exposed to the devastation of World War One.