Stolypin's Land reforms

Question 1

Who is Petr Stolypin?

Answer 1

Chief minister in 1907 and seen as one of the few who could have saved the regime

Question 2

What did Stolypin do?

Answer 2

Played an important role in restoring order and crushing oppositions after 1905
- Also introduced some reform measures and contributed to stability in the years leading up to ww1

Question 3

What was Stolypin prepared to do in order to deal with oppositions in 1905?

Answer 3

He was prepared to use violence to deal w/ them

Question 4

What did Stolypin face in 07

Answer 4

He faced radical violence
- 3k killed by terrorists

Question 5

How did Stolypin respond to the murders?

Answer 5

He carried out 1k death sentences

Question 6

What did Stolypin do to trade unions and newspapers

Answer 6

He put pressure on them and by 08 policies seemed to work w/ considerably less political assassinations

Question 7

Agriculture reform

Answer 7

Reform was needed if tsardom was to be maintained

Question 8

What did Stolypin think was the best way to strengthen support for regime?

Answer 8

To create a class of prosperous peasants

Question 9

What were the key problems Stolypin needed to address

Answer 9

• negative effect of MIR on economic development
• Ineffective land usage in village that resulted in inefficient agriculture
• The ever - present “ land hunger” among peasants

Question 10

Reform policies

Answer 10

• Redemption payments to MIR cancelled
• Cheap loans offered by peasant banks

Question 11

Cancellation of Redemption payments to MIR

Answer 11

Gave peasants free ownership of their land and freedom to leave MIR
- By 1914 1/3 of peasants left MIR

Question 12

Cheap loans offered by peasant banks

Answer 12

Allowed more capitalists peasants to strips of land and consolidate into larger and more efficient buildings
- “Kuvals” could effectively withdraw from village community

Question 13

What were the benefits of peasants selling land?

Answer 13

Could either become wage labourers and move to new cities and take a government grant to populate uncultured Sibera

Question 14

Successes of Russian reform policies under Nicholas the second

Answer 14

• Agriculture production increase
• Land owning

Question 15

Increase in agriculture production

Answer 15

Lead to record harvest in 1913
- Some historians claimed it has more to do w/weather than reforms

Question 16

Land owning

Answer 16

By 1916 24% of households in European Russia owned their land ( more were in the process of doing so)

Question 17

Failures of Russian reforms under Nicholas the second

Answer 17

• Best land was still owned by the tsar and gently
• Reforms not addressing problems of overpopulation and “land hunger”
• Reforms generated a growing class of orientated poor peasants

Question 18

What percent of peasants were able to consolidate their land?

Answer 18

Only 10% were able to consolidate their lands into larger farms by 1914

Question 19

What were orientated peasants?

Answer 19

Dangerous group of people who lacked much in wealth and stability therefore, were susceptible to revolt and radicalism
- They drifted into cities to work and some became discontented farm labourers

Question 20

What was the result of Stolypin attempting to construct a middle group of “enlightened conservatism”

Answer 20

Gave him enemies on both sides of the political spectrum, conservative and radical alike

Question 21

Stolypin’s death

Answer 21

Killed in 1911 by a left wing radical w/ connections to the secret police

Question 22

How long did Stolypin estimate Russia needed to stabilise?

Answer 22

20 years

Question 23

How long did reforms actually take to stabilise Russia?

Answer 23

7 years of peace before ww1

Question 24

What was the impact of ww1 and 1917 revolutions on Russian reforms?

Answer 24

It meant they were not given the chance to continue

Question 25

What did optimist and marxists historians argue?

Answer 25

That the Stolypin era was one of hope and possibility

Question 26

What did pessimistic historians argue?

Answer 26

Argued that real progress was made either politically or economically