2. Stolypin's repression and reforms 1906-1914 Flashcards
What position did Stolypin take in the Russian government?
Between 1906 and 1911, Stolypin acted as the Tsar’s head of government, hoping to restore order through cautious reform and brutal repression.
What were the consequences of Stolypin calling a state of emergency?
In August 1906, Stolypin called a state of emergency which formally suspended the rights guaranteed by the Fundamental Laws.
. Officials were given the right to imprison people without a trial.
. Lawyers and appeals were banned in military courts, and military courts had the right to exile or execute rebels.
What figures highlight the scale of Stolypin’s repression?
Between 1906 and 1910, the courts found 37,620 people guilty of political crimes. 8,640 of these were sent to labour camps and 1,858 were ‘resettled’ to Russia’s deserts or to Siberia, meaning death in most cases. Russia’s prison population rose from 98,000 in 1905 to 250,000 in 1913.
What nicknames were created that associated Stolypin’s name with the brutal policies?
The trains that sent people into exile were called ‘Stolypin’s wagons’ and the hangman’s noose was nicknamed ‘Stolypin’s necktie’.
What was the first phase of Stolypin’s actions against revolutionary parties?
From 1906-07, the state’s main method of repressing revolutionaries was to put them on trial in military courts which didn’t allow lawyers or or appeals. The SRs responded by continuing their campaign of assassinations, leading to the deaths of 1,126 gov officials in 1906. Revolutionary leaders fled Russia, with Lenin fleeing to Finland then Western Europe.
What was the second phase of Stolypin’s actions against revolutionary parties?
The second phase lasted from 1907-14. In early 1907, Trusevich, the head of the Russian police, established 8 regional security bureaus to target revolutionary groups. The new bureaus oversaw the dissolution of the Second Duma and the arrests of the Revolutionaries who had been elected to the Duma. However, from mid 1907, Trusevich instated a policy of surveillance and subversion in order to avoid large numbers of executions and instead to disrupt the revolutionary parties through infiltration.
What were the outcomes of the second phase of Revolutionary repression?
Trusevich’s policy of surveillance and subversion was highly effective and by 1908, Stolypin was convinced he had won against the Revolutionaries. Trusevich’s agents infiltrated the revolutionary parties which breeded mistrust, as the revoltionaries had no idea who were double agents. E.g in 1909, the SRs discovered the Azef, one of their most high profile leaders, was a police informant. The Octoberists and right-wing parties supported the repressions, as did some Liberals.
In what ways did the Police fail to disrupt the revolutionary parties?
In 1912, the Bolsheviks founded the Pravda newspaper and the Mensheviks founded Luch. The Police attempted to close the Pravda 8 times but it always re-emerged.
Why did Stolypin want to make peasants small landowners?
As it would prevent the peasants from supporting revolutionary groups in order to protect their property and limited land reforms would help make Russian agriculture more productive and would increase Russia’s wealth.
What reforms did Stolypin make in 1906?
Wager on the Strong included:
. He made it easier for peasants to break away from communes and establish independent farms. (Breaking down the Mirs lessened the risk of the peasants banding together and revolting.)
. Encouraged the Peasant Land Bank to give more loans to peasants to buy land.
. He provided incentives, a Russification-driven publicity campaign and gov loans for peasants to move to land that hadn’t been farmed in Siberia.
What were the pros and cons of emigration to Siberia?
Pros - Siberia was rich in minerals and there was a large amount of potential farmland in the south-west. Stolypin’s incentives included cheap land, interest-free loans and cheap rail travel to Siberia.
Cons - Siberia had extremely difficult conditions, including freezing temperatures, meaning many died trying to establish a life there.
What were the successes of Stolypin’s land reforms?
. Between 1906 and 1913, 3.5 million peasants set up home in Siberia, with 80% settling.
. In 1905, 20% of peasants owned land while by 1915, 50% did.
. Between 1906 and 1914, 25% of peasants had left the Mirs.
. Agricultural production increased from 45.9 million tonnes in 1906 to 61.7 million in 1913.
What were the failures of Stolypin’s land reforms?
. His land reform had very limited impacts in the cities.
. The majority of peasants who accepted his incentives were located in more prosperous areas of Russia.
. Violence was rife, with many peasants forming mobs to kill or injure other peasants who accepted Stolypin’s reforms.
When and how did Stolypin die?
He was assassinated in September 1911 in the Kiev Opera House by a revolutionary.
