Pyotr Stolypin

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin (Russian: Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин) (April 14 (April 2 Old Style) 1862 - September 18 (September 5 Old Style) 1911) served as Nicholas II's Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) from 1906 to 1911. He became known for his heavy-handed attempts to battle revolutionary groups and for instituting the agrarian reform.

Stolypin was a high-born member of the Russian aristocracy, related on his father's side to the poet Mikhail Lermontov. He had a good education and served in the government bureaucracy. His successes led to him first being appointed interior minister under Ivan Goremykin. A few months later, Nicholas appointed Stolypin to replace Goremykin as Prime Minister.

Russia in 1906 was plagued by revolutionary unrest and wide discontent amongst the population. Leftist organisations were waging campaigns against the autocracy, and had wide support; throughout Russia, police officials and bureaucrats were being assassinated. To respond to these attacks Stolypin introduced a system of military tribunals that held quick trials of any accused rebels. If the accused was sentenced to death, as often happened, the sentence would be carried out within a day. Thousands of Russian radicals were killed under Stolypin's system. The gallows hence acquired the nickname Stolypin's necktie.

He dissolved the First Duma on July 22 (July 9, Old Style) 1906, after the discontent of some of its more radical members to co-operate with the government and calls for land reform. To help quell dissent Stolypin also hoped to remove some of the causes of grievance amongst the peasantry. Thus, he introduced important land reforms. Stolypin also tried to improve the lives of the urban workers and worked to increase the power of local governments.

Stolypin changed the nature of the Duma to attempt to make it more willing to pass legislation proposed by the government. After dissolving the Second Duma in June 1907, he changed the weight of votes more in favour of the nobility and wealthy, reducing the value of lower class votes. This effected the elections to the Third Duma, which returned much more conservative members, more willing to co-operate with the government.

On September 14 (September 1 Old Style) 1911, Stolypin was assassinated by a leftist radical, Dmitri Bogrov, while attending a performance at the Kiev Opera House. He died four days later.