Stolypin's education reform in brief. Stolypin's agrarian reform: how it did not cancel the revolution

Years of life: 1862- 1911

From the biography.

Stolypin P.A. - statesman, chairman of the Council of Ministers since 1906.

He was a tough, skillful, intelligent politician. He saw his task as establishing order in the country through thoughtful policies. ruling circles. He was a supporter of tough measures, but at the same time sought to reach a compromise with the opposition.

Stolypin was both a conservative and a reformer at the same time. He was a very good speaker and could convince his opponents of the correctness of his course.

• Before his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, he held a number of high positions in Russia: he was the leader of the nobility, the governor, first in the Grodno and then in the Saratov province.
• On April 26, 1906, he was appointed Minister of the Interior, and on July 8, at the same time, Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

• He set a course for carrying out socio-political reforms, planning to carry out a number of reforms: agrarian reform, local government reform, introducing universal primary education, initiated the law on religious tolerance and the creation of military courts. In 1907, he achieved the dissolution of the 2nd State Duma and passed a new electoral law (according to it, the role of right-wing forces was strengthened). However, of the 47 reforms he proposed, only 10 were implemented, and even those were not fully implemented.
• There were several terrorist attempts on his life. After one of the most terrible events in 1906, when 27 people died, a son was wounded and a daughter was shell-shocked, he strengthened security measures and introduced military courts. According to the new decree, the rioters were convicted within 48 hours and the sentence was carried out within 24 hours. A new concept has appeared - “ Stolypin tie"- a noose that was tightened around the necks of the condemned, as many death sentences were carried out.
• He wanted to carry out a zemstvo reform, expanding the rights of local self-government, introducing representatives of the wealthy peasantry into the zemstvos, and limiting the rights of the leaders of the nobility. He was able to pass the law only on Western Polish zemstvos, and even then this met with discontent in society.
• June 14, 1910 - the beginning of the Stolypin reform.

Stolypin reform

1. Political - to form a new social support for the regime in the person of the peasant - the owner.
2. Economic - to increase agricultural production, which was hampered by communal land ownership (due to the constant redistribution of land, it was unprofitable for peasants to improve it).
3. Social - to solve the problem of land shortage among peasants in the overpopulated central regions, without affecting landownership.

Directions of reform:

• destruction of the community “from above”, creation of a layer of owners. Two forms of leaving the community: khutora - that is, the allocation of land in a new place, and truba - the peasants leaving the community when the estate remained in the same place. If earlier the peasant was completely dependent on the community (what land he gets, what crop he plants), now he became the full owner of the land.
• reorganization of the Peasant Land Bank. The bank bought landowners' and appanage (that is, belonging to the imperial family) lands, sold them at favorable conditions. For this purpose, in 1906. Redemption payments were abolished under the 1861 reform. This helped solve the problem of peasants' land shortage.
• Conducting agricultural activities: creating courses on cattle breeding and dairy production, introduction of progressive forms of management agriculture.
• the policy of resettlement of land-poor and landless peasants to the outskirts - to Siberia, Central Asia, to Far East. Many benefits were provided: cheap railway tickets, special carriages were produced for relocation to new places along with livestock (“Stolypin carriages”), all arrears were forgiven to peasants, and an interest-free loan was issued. And for another five years, peasants did not have to pay taxes. The conditions were attractive, which led to more than 3 million people moving in 10 years.

However, the reform was not completed, and with the death of Stolypin it gradually faded away.

Negative consequences of the Stolypin reform:

• serious changes in agriculture could not be achieved if landownership was preserved
• the reform was late short time no support was created in the village in the person of peasant owners.
• intensified social contradictions, the appearance of wealthy kulaks in the village caused discontent among the rest of the peasants.
• The resettlement policy also did not achieve its goal. The peasants had a hard time getting used to the complex climatic conditions, there were often clashes with local residents. About 16% of the peasants returned to their homeland, joining the ranks of the unemployed, and those who remained often lived in virtual poverty.
• There were many dissatisfied with this reform in society: some considered the measures too soft, while others did not want any changes in society at all.

After Stolypin's death, the reform was curtailed. But it bore fruit, and already in 1912-1913 the output of agricultural products increased significantly. Wealthy peasants provided the country with more than 40% of its grain. They were also the main consumers of many industrial products.

Military reform of P.A. Stolypin

Goal: increasing the country's defense capability, restoring Russia's military power, reforming the army and navy.

Directions of military reform P.A. Stolypin:

• mass technicalization and mechanization armed forces, increasing the rate of fire and range of small arms, the emergence of heavy and rapid-fire artillery, armored vehicles, airplanes
• active introduction of new means of communication - telegraph, telephone, radio.
• changes in the recruitment of the army: it was based on the principle of universal military service (the clergy, foreigners and some categories of the population were exempt from service), the service life was reduced: in the infantry to 3 years, in other branches of the military - to 4. The army reserve was divided into two categories: 1- younger ages to replenish field units, 2- older ages, they replenished reserve and rear units.
• Along with the usual types of troops, new ones appeared: chemical, aviation, and armored vehicles.
• The officer training system was significantly improved, and new schools (electrical, automobile, railway, aeronautics) and a school for warrant officers appeared. At the same time, the process of democratization of the officer corps was underway, religious and national restrictions were lifted.
• He paid much attention to the development of the fleet and shipbuilding.

The number of troops has increased significantly and their military-technical training has improved

Technical weapons have been strengthened

The centralization of command and control of the army and navy increased, which made it possible to clearly coordinate the actions of all branches of the military.

Many undertakings of Stolypin P.A. have not lost their relevance today.

Interesting statements by P.A. Stolypin

• “You, gentlemen, need great upheavals; we need a great Russia” (carved on Stolypin’s grave. Taken from a speech on May 24, 1907 in the State Duma)
• For those in power, there is no greater sin than cowardly evasion of responsibility.
• Our eagle, the heritage of Byzantium, is a double-headed eagle. Of course, single-headed eagles are strong and powerful, but by cutting off our Russian eagle’s one head facing the East, you will not turn it into a single-headed eagle, you will only make it bleed...
• Give the state 20 years of internal and external peace, and you will not recognize today's Russia.
• Only that government has the right to exist that has mature state thought and strong state will.
• The goals and objectives of the Government cannot change depending on malice criminals: you can kill an individual, but you cannot kill the idea that animates the Government. The will aimed at restoring the opportunity to live in the country and work freely cannot be destroyed.
• In the matter of recreating our sea power, our sea power, there can only be one slogan, one password, and this password is “forward.”
• Russia needs a fleet that at any given moment could fight a fleet that is at the level of the latest scientific requirements.

This material can be used when preparing for task No. 40 on the topic: Unified State Examination C6 historical portrait.

Historical portrait of Stolypin: areas of activity

1. Domestic policy of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin

Set course for socio-political and economic reforms, strengthening the power of the country, its modernization, but while maintaining the monarchy, state integrity and inviolability of private property.

• Further strengthening of the monarchy: the dissolution of the 2nd State Duma, the adoption of a new electoral law, according to which in the 3rd State Duma The position of right-wing forces has strengthened.
• Improving agricultural efficiency: agrarian reform

the formation of a peasant owner, the allocation of farmsteads and cuts from the community, resettlement policy, benefits for obtaining a loan for land, support for cooperatives and peasant partnerships, a decree on civil equality of peasants, etc.)

• Restoring order in the country (“first calm, then reforms”): the fight against terrorism, the creation of military courts.
• National policy: the rapprochement of nations and peoples, Stolypin sought to adopt a decree on religious tolerance, resolve the Jewish question, and stop the infringement of rights based on nationality. However, he could not do much, without receiving support in high circles, he even limited the autonomy of Finland
• Carrying out local government reform: Zemstvos were established in the western provinces.
• Carrying out social reforms: improving the living conditions of workers, establishing personal integrity, the rights of workers to participate in strikes were recognized, and all class restrictions for peasants were abolished.
• Carrying out military reform in order to increase the country's defense capability and restore Russia's military power: increasing the size of the army by changing the army recruitment system, improving technical equipment, improving the quality of officer training, strengthening the centralization of army and navy control

2. Foreign policy P.A. Stolypin

Strengthening international situation Russia:

• Rapprochement with Great Britain, 1907 agreement on the division of spheres of influence in Asia
• 1907 - the final formation of the Entente (“cordial agreement”), that is, a military-political alliance between Russia, France and England. He opposed another alliance - the Triple Alliance, between Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey (later joined by Bulgaria, etc.)
• The desire to resolve conflicts in the Balkans: Russia refrained from decisive action during the Balkan crisis in 1908-1909.

Results of the activities of P.A. Stolypin:

• Despite the incompleteness of a number of reforms, the country has begun a process of modernization in all spheres of society: social, economic, political: agricultural and military reform, transformations in other spheres of society significantly strengthened the country, made it powerful in the military and economic situation(in many indicators, Russia occupied leading positions in the world).
• Stolypin P.A. managed to calm society for a certain time, however, by fighting terrorism, using cruel measures.
• His activities contributed to the formation one nation, since he implemented the principle of civil equality in his activities.
• As a far-sighted politician, he knew how to see the prospects for the country's development. Many of his ideas were implemented after his death: compulsory primary education was introduced in 1912, ideas for reviving the economy were considered and formed the basis for the transformation of Russia along the path of a market economy. It is no coincidence that in 2006 a monument was erected to him in front of the Government House in recognition of this man’s talent, his intelligence and insight.
• Many of Stolypin’s statements became aphorisms:

“You, gentlemen, need great upheavals; we need a great Russia";

“Give the state 20 years of internal and external peace, and you will not recognize today’s Russia”

Chronology of the life and work of P.A. Stolypin

Monument to P.A. Stolypin. Moscow. Krasnopresnenskaya embankment, near the Government House. Opened for the 150th anniversary of the birth of P.A. Stolypin, in 2012. Sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov.

After the completion of the revolutionary events in Russia, a period of reform began, in which the Minister of Internal Affairs P.A. took an active part. Stolypin. Considering the main reason for the stagnation to be the preservation of the peasant community, he directed all efforts towards its destruction. At the same time, the strengthening of peasant private ownership of land began.

All reforms had to take place with the consent of the autocracy, the nobility and the bourgeoisie. Their ultimate goal was to change the balance of class forces in favor of the bourgeoisie, to join it with peasants who, becoming small landowners, were supposed to serve as a support for autocratic power in the countryside. The most important goal of the reform is the integration of Russia into the world economic system.

The main problem facing rural producers was land hunger in the European part of Russia. The lack of land among the peasantry was explained by the concentration of huge plots in the hands of landowners and the very high population density in the center of the country.

In June 1906, Stolypin began to carry out moderate reforms. The decree of November 9, 1906 allowed the peasant to leave the community. He had the right to demand the consolidation of allotment plots into a single cut or to move to a farm. A fund was created from part of the state, imperial and landowners' lands for sale to peasants. A specially opened peasant bank issued cash loans for purchases.

The implementation of the decree was entrusted to the provincial and district land management commissions, consisting of officials and peasants, chaired by the governor and the district leader of the nobility.

On May 29, 1911, a law was issued to expand the rights of land management commissions to form cuts (a plot allocated to a peasant from community land) and khutors (a separate peasant estate with land). These measures were supposed to destroy peasant community and increase the number of small owners.

The problem of land shortage was solved by the resettlement of peasants in order to develop the lands of Siberia and Central Asia and the development of handicraft peasant and handicraft farms in the central part of the country. This reduced the peasantry's need for land.

The reform also pursued political goals. The resettlement of peasants from the central part of the country helped to relieve the severity of the class confrontation between peasants and landowners. The peasants' exit from the community, where communist ideology reigned, reduced the risk of them being drawn into the revolution.

The Stolypin reform was generally progressive in nature. Having finally buried the remnants of feudalism, it revived bourgeois relations and gave impetus to the productive forces in the countryside. By 1926, 20-35% of the peasants separated from the community, 10% started farmsteads, the specialization of agriculture increased, the area of ​​sown land, the gross grain harvest and its export increased.

A significant part of the peasantry, which comprised the middle peasants, was in no hurry to leave the community. The poor left the community, sold their plots and went to the city. 20% of peasants who took out bank loans went bankrupt.

Only the kulaks, who had the means to invest in the economy, sought to form farms and farms. 16% of the migrants, unable to gain a foothold in new places, returned and, joining the ranks of the proletariat, increased social tension in the country.

In an effort to transform Russia into a prosperous bourgeois state, Stolypin tried to carry out reforms in various areas (laws on civil equality, personal integrity, freedom of religion, the development of local self-government, the transformation of the judicial and police systems, national and labor issues).

Almost all of Stolypin's bills were not adopted by the State Council. His initiatives were not supported by both tsarism and democratic forces. The failure to reform the country predetermined the revolutionary events of 1917.

In Russian society the most important issue has always been agricultural. The peasants, who became free in 1861, did not actually receive ownership of the land. They were stifled by the lack of land, the community, and the landowners, so during the revolution of 1905 - 1907, the fate of Russia was decided in the countryside.

All the reforms of Stolypin, who headed the government in 1906, were in one way or another aimed at transforming the countryside. The most important of them is land, called “Stolypin”, although its project was developed even before him.

Its goal was to strengthen the position of a “strong sole owner.” This was the first step of a reform carried out in three main directions:

Destruction of the community and the introduction of peasant private ownership of land instead of communal ownership;

Assistance to the kulaks through the Peasant Bank and through the partial sale of state and noble lands to them;

Relocation of peasants to the outskirts of the country.

The essence of the reform was that the government abandoned its previous policy of supporting the community and moved on to its violent breakup.

As you know, the community was an organizational and economic association of peasants for the use of a common forest, pasture and watering place, an alliance in relations with the authorities, a kind of social organism that gave rural residents small everyday guarantees. The community was preserved artificially until 1906, as it was a convenient means of state control over the peasants. The community was responsible for paying taxes and various payments when performing government duties. But the community hampered the development of capitalism in agriculture. At the same time, communal land use delayed natural process stratification of the peasantry and put an obstacle to the formation of a class of small owners. The inalienability of allotment lands made it impossible to obtain loans secured by them, and striping and periodic redistribution of land prevented the transition to more productive forms of its use, so giving peasants the right to freely leave the community was a long-overdue economic necessity. A feature of the Stolypin agrarian reform was the desire to quickly destroy the community. The main reason for this attitude of the authorities towards the community was the revolutionary events and agrarian unrest in 1905 - 1907.

Another equally important goal of the land reform was socio-political, since it was necessary to create a class of small owners as the social support of the autocracy as the main unit of the state, which is an opponent of all destructive theories.

The implementation of the reform was initiated by the royal decree of November 9, 1906, under the modest title “On the addition of some provisions of the current law concerning peasant land ownership,” according to which free exit from the community was allowed.

Land plots that had been in the use of peasants since the last redistribution were assigned ownership regardless of changes in the number of souls in the family. There is an opportunity to sell your plot, as well as allocate land in one place - on a farm or a plot of land. At the same time, all this implied the lifting of restrictions on the movement of peasants around the country, the transfer of part of the state and appanage lands to the Peasant Land Bank to expand operations for the purchase and sale of land, the organization of the resettlement movement to Siberia in order to provide landless and land-poor peasants with plots through the development of the vast eastern expanses . But peasants often did not have enough funds to start a farm in a new place. After 1909 there are fewer displaced people. Some of them, unable to withstand the harsh living conditions, returned.

The bank provided benefits to farmers. The peasant bank also contributed to the creation of a layer of wealthy kulaks in the village.

From 1907 to 1916 in European Russia, only 22% of peasant households left the community. The emergence of a layer of peasant farmers caused resistance on the part of communal peasants, which was expressed in damage to livestock, crops, equipment, beatings and arson of farmers. Only for 1909 - 1910. The police registered about 11 thousand cases of arson of farmsteads.

Such a reform, with all its simplicity, meant a revolution in the soil structure. The entire structure of life and the psychology of the communal peasantry had to be changed. For centuries, communal collectivism, corporatism, and egalitarianism have been established. Now it was necessary to move on to individualism, private property psychology.

The decree of November 9, 1906 was then transformed into permanent laws adopted on July 14, 1910 and May 19, 1911, which provided for additional measures to speed up the exit of peasants from the community. For example, in the case of land management work to eliminate striping within a community, its members could henceforth be considered the owners of the land, even if they did not ask for it.

Consequences:

Acceleration of the process of stratification of the peasantry,

Destruction of the peasant community,

Rejection of the reform by a significant part of the peasantry.

Results:

By 1916, 25–27% of peasant households were separated from the community,

Growth in agricultural production and increase in bread exports.

The Stolypin agrarian reform did not manage to produce all the results expected from it. The initiator of the reform himself believed that at least 20 years were needed to gradually resolve the land issue. “Give the state 20 years of internal and external peace, and you will not recognize today’s Russia,” said Stolypin. Neither Russia nor the reformer himself had these twenty years. However, over the 7 years of actual implementation of the reform, noticeable successes were achieved: the sown area increased by a total of 10%, in the areas of the greatest exodus of peasants from the community - by one and a half times, and grain exports increased by one third. Over the years, the amount of mineral fertilizers used has doubled and the use of agricultural machinery has expanded. By 1914, farmers overtook the community in supplying goods to the city and accounted for 10.3% of the total number of peasant farms (according to L.I. Semennikova, this was a lot in a short time, but not enough on a national scale). By the beginning of 1916, farmers had personal cash deposits in the amount of 2 billion rubles.

The implementation of agrarian reform accelerated the development of capitalism in Russia. The reform stimulated not only the development of agriculture, but also industry and trade: a mass of peasants flocked to the cities, increasing the labor market, and the demand for agricultural and industrial products increased sharply. Foreign observers noted that “if things go the same way for most European nations between 1912 and 1950 as they did between 1900 and 1912, then by the middle of this century Russia will dominate Europe, both politically, economically and financially."

However, the majority of peasants were still committed to the community. For the poor - she personified social protection, for the rich - an easy solution to their problems. Thus, it was not possible to radically reform the “soil”.

Revolution 1905 - 1907

Reasons, objectives, driving forces. The causes of the revolution were rooted in the economic and socio-political system of Russia. The unresolved agrarian-peasant question, the preservation of landownership and peasant land shortages, high degree exploitation of the working people of all nations, the autocratic system, complete political lack of rights and lack of democratic freedoms, police and bureaucratic arbitrariness and accumulated social protest - all this could not but give rise to a revolutionary explosion. The catalyst that accelerated the emergence of the revolution was the deterioration of the financial situation of workers due to the economic crisis of 1900-1903. and a shameful defeat for tsarism in Russian-Japanese war 1904-1905

The objectives of the revolution are the overthrow of the autocracy, the convening of the Constituent Assembly to establish a democratic system, the elimination of class inequality; introduction of freedom of speech, assembly, parties and associations; the destruction of landownership and the distribution of land to peasants; reducing the working day to 8 hours, recognizing the right of workers to strike and creating trade unions; achieving equality of rights for the peoples of Russia. Wide sections of the population were interested in the implementation of these tasks.

Participants in the revolution were: workers and peasants, soldiers and sailors, most of the middle and petty bourgeoisie, intelligentsia and office workers. Therefore, in terms of the goals and composition of the participants, it was nationwide and had a bourgeois-democratic character.

Stages of the revolution. The revolution lasted 2.5 years (from January 9, 1905 to June 3, 1907). It went through several stages in its development. The prologue to the revolution was the events in St. Petersburg - the general strike and Bloody Sunday. On January 9, workers who went to the Tsar with a petition were shot. It was compiled by participants in the “Meeting of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg” under the leadership of G. A. Gapon. The petition contained a request from workers to improve their financial situation and political demands - the convening of a Constituent Assembly on the basis of universal, equal and secret suffrage, the introduction of democratic freedoms. This was the reason for the execution, as a result of which more than 1,200 people were killed and about 5 thousand were wounded. In response, the workers took up arms and began building barricades.

First stage. From January 9 to the end of September 1905 - the beginning and development of the revolution along an ascending line, its expansion in depth and breadth. More and more masses of the population were drawn into it. It gradually covered all regions of Russia. Main events: January-February strikes and protest demonstrations in response to Bloody Sunday under the slogan “Down with autocracy!”; spring-summer demonstrations of workers in Moscow, Odessa, Warsaw, Lodz, Riga and Baku (more than 800 thousand); the creation in Ivanovo-Voznesensk of a new body of workers' power - the Council of Authorized Deputies; uprising of sailors on the battleship "Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky"; mass movement of peasants and agricultural workers in 1/5 of the districts of Central Russia, Georgia and Latvia; the creation of the Peasant Union, which made political demands. During this period, part of the bourgeoisie financially and morally supported popular uprisings. Under the pressure of the revolution, the government made its first concession and promised to convene the State Duma. (It was named Bulyginskaya after the Minister of Internal Affairs.) An attempt to create a legislative advisory body with significantly limited voting rights of the population in the context of the development of the revolution.

Second stage. October - December 1905 - the highest rise of the revolution. Main events: the general All-Russian October political strike (more than 2 million participants) and as a result the publication of the Manifesto on October 17 “On the improvement public order", in which the Tsar promised to introduce some political freedoms and convene a legislative State Duma on the basis of a new electoral law; peasant riots that led to the abolition of redemption payments; performances in the army and navy (uprising in Sevastopol under the leadership of Lieutenant P.P. Schmidt); December strikes and uprisings in Moscow, Kharkov, Chita, Krasnoyarsk and other cities. The government suppressed all armed uprisings. At the height of the uprising in Moscow, which caused a special political resonance in the country, on December 11, 1905, a decree “On changing the regulations on elections to the State Duma” was published and preparations for elections were announced. This act allowed the government to reduce the intensity of revolutionary passions. The bourgeois-liberal strata, frightened by the scale of the movement, recoiled from the revolution. They welcomed the publication of the Manifesto and the new electoral law, believing that this meant the weakening of autocracy and the beginning of parliamentarism in Russia. Taking advantage of the promised freedoms, they began to create their own political parties.

In October 1905, on the basis of the Liberation Union and the Union of Zemstvo Constitutionalists, the Constitutional Democratic Party was formed (cadets). Its members expressed the interests of the average urban bourgeoisie and intelligentsia. Their leader was the historian P. N. Milyukov. The program included the demand for the establishment of a parliamentary democratic system in the form of a constitutional monarchy, universal suffrage, and the introduction of broad political freedoms, an 8-hour working day, the right to strike and trade unions. The Cadets spoke out for the preservation of a united and indivisible Russia with the granting of autonomy to Poland and Finland. The cadet program implied the modernization of the Russian political system along Western European lines. The Cadets became a party in opposition to the tsarist government.

In November 1905 it was created "Union October 17". The Octobrists expressed the interests of large industrialists, the financial bourgeoisie, liberal landowners and wealthy intelligentsia. The leader of the party was businessman A.I. Guchkov. The Octobrist program provided for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy with a strong executive power of the Tsar and a legislative Duma, the preservation of a united and indivisible Russia (with the granting of autonomy to Finland). They were willing to cooperate with the government, although they recognized the need for some reforms. They offered to solve agrarian question, without affecting landownership (dissolve the community, return the plots to the peasants, by relocating the peasants to the outskirts, reduce land hunger in the center of Russia).

Conservative-monarchist circles organized in November 1905 "Union of the Russian People" and in 1908 "Union of Michael the Archangel"(Black Hundreds). Their leaders were Dr. A. I. Dubrovin, large landowners N. E. Markov and V. M. Purishkevich. They fought against any revolutionary and democratic protests, insisted on strengthening the autocracy, the integrity and indivisibility of Russia, preserving the dominant position of the Russians and strengthening their positions Orthodox Church. Third stage. From January 1906 to June 3, 1907 - the sweetness and retreat of the revolution. Main events: “rearguard battles of the proletariat”, which had an offensive, political nature (1.1 million workers took part in strikes in 1906, 740 thousand in 1907); a new scope of the peasant movement (half of the landowners' estates in the center of Russia burned); sailors' uprisings (Kronstadt and Svea-borg); national liberation movement (Poland, Finland, Baltic states, Ukraine).

Gradually the wave of popular protests weakened. Center of gravity at social movement moved to polling stations and the State Duma. Elections to it were not universal (farmers, women, soldiers, sailors, students and workers employed in small enterprises did not participate in them). Each class had its own standards of representation: the vote of 1 landowner was equal to 3 votes of the bourgeoisie, 15 votes of peasants and 45 votes of workers. The outcome of the election was determined by the ratio of the number of electors. The government still counted on the monarchical commitment and Duma illusions of the peasants, so a relatively high standard of representation was established for them. The elections were not direct: for peasants - four degrees, for workers - three degrees, for nobles and the bourgeoisie - two degrees. An age limit (25 years) and a high property qualification for city residents was introduced to ensure the advantage of the big bourgeoisie in the elections. I State Duma (April - June 1906). Among its Deputies were 34% Cadets, 14% Octobrists, 23% Trudoviks (a faction close to the Socialist Revolutionaries and expressing the interests of the peasantry). The Social Democrats were represented by the Mensheviks (about 4% of the seats). The Black Hundreds did not enter the Duma. The Bolsheviks boycotted the elections. Contemporaries called the First State Duma “the Duma of people’s hopes for a peaceful path.” However, her legislative rights were cut even before convocation. In February 1906, the advisory State Council was transformed into an upper legislative chamber. New “Basic State Laws” Russian Empire published in April before the opening of the Duma, preserved the formula of the supreme autocratic power of the emperor and reserved for the tsar the right to issue decrees without her approval, which contradicted the promises of the Manifesto of October 17. Nevertheless, some limitation of autocracy was achieved, since the State Duma received the right of legislative initiative; new laws could not be adopted without its participation. The Duma had the right to send requests to the government, express no confidence in it, and approved the state budget. The Duma proposed a program for the democratization of Russia. It provided for: the introduction of ministerial responsibility to the Duma; guarantee of all civil liberties; establishment of universal free education; carrying out agrarian reform; meeting the demands of national minorities; cancellation death penalty and complete political amnesty. The government did not accept this program, which intensified its confrontation with the Duma. The main issue in the Duma was the agrarian question. The bottom line of the bill was discussed: the Cadets and the Trudoviks. Both of them stood for the creation of a “state land fund” from state, monastic, appanage and part of landowners’ lands. However, the cadets recommended not to touch the profitable landowners' estates. They proposed to buy back the seized part of the landowners’ land from the owners “at a fair valuation” at the expense of the state. The Trudoviks’ project provided for the alienation of all privately owned lands free of charge, leaving their owners with only a “labor standard.” During the discussion, some of the Trudoviks put forward an even more radical project - the complete abolition of private ownership of land, the declaration natural resources and mineral resources are a national property. The government, supported by all conservative forces in the country, rejected all projects. 72 days after the opening of the Duma, the Tsar dissolved it, saying that it did not calm the people, but inflamed passions. Repressions were intensified: military courts and punitive detachments operated.

In April 1906, P. A. Stolypin was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, who became Chairman of the Council of Ministers in July of the same year (created in October 1905). P. A. Stolypin (1862-1911) - from a family of large landowners, quickly made a successful career in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and was the governor of a number of provinces. He received the personal gratitude of the tsar for the suppression of peasant unrest in the Saratov province in 1905. Possessing a broad political outlook and a decisive character, he became the central political figure in Russia at the final stage of the revolution and in subsequent years. He took an active part in the development and implementation of agrarian reform. The main political idea of ​​P. A. Stolypin was that reforms can be successfully implemented only if there is a strong state power. Therefore, his policy of reforming Russia was combined with an intensification of the fight against revolutionary movement, police repression and punitive actions. In September 1911 he died as a result terrorist attack. II State Duma (February - June 1907). During the elections of the new Duma, the right of workers and peasants to participate in them was curtailed. Propaganda of radical parties was prohibited, their rallies were dispersed. The Tsar wanted to get an obedient Duma, but he miscalculated. The Second State Duma turned out to be even more left-wing than the first. The Cadet Center “melted” (19% of places). The right flank strengthened - 10% of the Black Hundreds, 15% of the Octobrists and bourgeois-nationalist deputies entered the Duma. Trudoviki, Socialist Revolutionaries and Social Democrats formed a left bloc with 222 seats (43%). As before, the agrarian question was central. The Black Hundreds demanded that the landowners' property be preserved intact, and that allotment peasant lands be withdrawn from the community and divided into cuts among the peasants. This project coincided with the government's agrarian reform program. The cadets abandoned the idea of ​​creating a state fund. They proposed to buy part of the land from the landowners and transfer it to the peasants, dividing the costs equally between them and the state. The Trudoviks again put forward their project for the gratuitous alienation of all privately owned lands and their distribution according to the “labor norm”. Social Democrats demanded the complete confiscation of landowners' land and the creation of local committees to distribute it among the peasants. Projects for the forced alienation of landowners' land frightened the government. The decision was made to disperse the Duma. It lasted 102 days. The pretext for dissolution was the accusation of deputies of the Social Democratic faction of preparing a coup d'etat. In fact, the coup was carried out by the government. On June 3, 1907, simultaneously with the Manifesto on the dissolution of the Second State Duma, a new electoral law was published. This act was a direct violation of Article 86 of the “Basic Laws of the Russian Empire”, according to which no new law could not be adopted without the approval of the State Council and the State Duma. June 3 is considered the last day of the revolution of 1905-1907.

The meaning of revolution. Main result was that the supreme power was forced to change the socio-political system of Russia. It has developed new government agencies, indicating the beginning of the development of parliamentarism. Some limitation of autocracy was achieved, although the tsar retained the ability to make legislative decisions and full executive power. The socio-political situation of Russian citizens has changed; Democratic freedoms were introduced, censorship was abolished, and the organization of trade unions and legal political parties was allowed. The bourgeoisie received a wide opportunity to participate in political life countries. The financial situation of workers has improved. In a number of industries there has been an increase wages and the working day was reduced to 9-10 hours. The peasants achieved the abolition of redemption payments. The freedom of movement of peasants was expanded and the power of zemstvo chiefs was limited. Agrarian reform began, destroying the community and strengthening the rights of peasants as landowners, which contributed to the further capitalist evolution of agriculture. The end of the revolution led to the establishment of temporary internal political stabilization

Stolypin's reforms (briefly)

Stolypin carried out his reforms from 1906, when he was appointed prime minister, until his death on September 5, caused by assassins' bullets.

Agrarian reform

Briefly speaking, the main goal of Stolypin's agrarian reform was to create a wide stratum of rich peasants. Unlike the 1861 reform, the emphasis was on the individual owner rather than the community. The previous communal form fettered the initiative of the hard-working peasants, but now, freed from the community and not looking back at the “poor and drunk,” they could dramatically increase the efficiency of their farming. The law of June 14, 1910 stated that from now on, “every householder who owns an allotment of land on a communal basis may at any time demand that the part due to him from the said land be strengthened as his personal property.” Stolypin believed that the wealthy peasantry would become the real support of the autocracy. An important part of the Stolypin agrarian reform was the activity credit bank. This institution sold land to peasants on credit, either state-owned or purchased from landowners. Moreover, the interest rate on loans for independent peasants was half that for communities. Through a credit bank, peasants acquired in 1905-1914. about 9 and a half million hectares of land. However, measures against defaulters were harsh: the land was taken away from them and put back on sale. Thus, the reforms not only made it possible to acquire land, but also encouraged people to actively work on it. Another important part of Stolypin's reform was the resettlement of peasants to free lands. A bill prepared by the government provided for the transfer of state lands in Siberia to private hands without redemption. However, there were also difficulties: there were not enough funds or surveyors to carry out land survey work. But despite this, resettlement to Siberia, as well as the Far East, Central Asia and North Caucasus picked up pace. The move was free, and specially equipped “Stolypin” cars made it possible to transport railway livestock The state tried to improve life in the resettlement areas: schools, medical centers, etc. were built.

Zemstvo

Being a supporter of zemstvo administration, Stolypin extended zemstvo institutions to some provinces where they had not existed before. It was not always politically simple. For example, the implementation of zemstvo reform in the western provinces, historically dependent on the gentry, was approved by the Duma, which supported the improvement of the situation of the Belarusian and Russian population, which constituted the majority in these territories, but was met with sharp rebuff in the State Council, which supported the gentry.

Industry reform

The main stage in resolving the labor issue during the years of Stolypin's premiership was the work of the Special Meeting in 1906 and 1907, which prepared ten bills that affected the main aspects of labor in industrial enterprises. These were questions about rules for hiring workers, insurance for accidents and illnesses, working hours, etc. Unfortunately, the positions of industrialists and workers (as well as those who incited the latter to disobedience and rebellion) were too far from each other and the compromises found did not suit either one or the other (which was readily used by all kinds of revolutionaries).

National question

Stolypin perfectly understood the importance of this issue in such a multinational country as Russia. He was a supporter of unification, not disunity, of the peoples of the country. He proposed creating a special ministry of nationalities that would study the characteristics of each nation: history, traditions, culture, social life, religion, etc. - so that they flow into our great power with the greatest mutual benefit. Stolypin believed that all peoples should have equal rights and responsibilities and be loyal to Russia. Also, the task of the new ministry was to counter the internal and external enemies of the country who sought to sow ethnic and religious discord.

Agrarian question occupied a central place in domestic politics. The beginning of agrarian reform, the inspirer and developer of which was P.A. Stolypin, put a decree on November 9, 1906.

Stolypin reform

After a very difficult discussion in the State Duma and the State Council, the decree was approved by the Tsar as a law from June 14, 1910. It was supplemented by the law on land management from May 29, 1911.

The main provision of Stolypin’s reform was community destruction. To achieve this, an emphasis was placed on the development of personal peasant property in the countryside by giving peasants the right to leave the community and create farmsteads.

An important point of the reform: landlord ownership of land remained intact. This caused sharp opposition from peasant deputies in the Duma and the masses of peasants.

Another measure proposed by Stolypin was also supposed to destroy the community: resettlement of peasants. The meaning of this action was twofold. The socio-economic goal is to obtain a land fund, primarily in the central regions of Russia, where the lack of land among peasants made it difficult to create farmsteads and farms. In addition, this made it possible to develop new territories, i.e. further development capitalism, although this oriented it towards the extensive path. The political goal is to defuse social tension in the center of the country. The main resettlement areas are Siberia, Central Asia, the North Caucasus, and Kazakhstan. The government allocated funds for the migrants to travel and settle down in a new place, but practice has shown that they were clearly not enough.

In the period 1905 - 1916. About 3 million householders left the community, which is approximately 1/3 of their number in the provinces where the reform was carried out. This means that it was not possible to either destroy the community or create a stable layer of owners. This conclusion is complemented by data on the failure of resettlement policy. In 1908 - 1909 the number of displaced people amounted to 1.3 million people, but very soon many of them began to return back. The reasons were different: the bureaucracy of the Russian bureaucracy, the lack of funds for setting up a household, ignorance of local conditions and the more than restrained attitude of the old-timers towards the settlers. Many died along the way or went completely bankrupt.

Thus, the social goals set by the government were not achieved. But the reform accelerated the stratification in the countryside - a rural bourgeoisie and proletariat were formed. Obviously, the destruction of the community opened the way for capitalist development, because the community was a feudal relic.