Since the assassination of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin in September 1911, public and academic views of this man have constantly shifted. He was silenced and discredited; the only things the Soviet pupil knew about him were a couple of talking details: “Stolypin’s tie” and “Stolypin’s rail car.” But times have changed along with the signs. Stolypin was rehabilitated as a great statesman and reformer, a man of duty and honor. On the eve of the 150th anniversary of his birth we decided to ask some experts what this name meant to them. Most of them regard Stolypin’s reforms as a lost chance for Russia’s rapid development in the 20th century.
Pavel Pozhigailo, President of the Stolypin Heritage Foundation:
– An outstanding personality with a powerful intellect and strong will, a true political leader and sincere patriot, Stolypin tried to meet two global challenges: to lead a united and politically stable Russia out of a nationwide crisis and to create preconditions for economic growth. With that purpose in mind he developed and implemented a project of systemic reforms aimed at unleashing the creative potential of the nation in general and each individual in particular. Incidentally, it was in Stolypin’s days that the GOELRO plan and Dnieper HEPP project were developed, even if differently named. And the famous economist Alexander Chayanov made the concept of Stolypin’s reforms the underpinning of the New Economic Policy.
Natalia Narochnitskaya, Political Scientist:
– In this country most reformers have been nihilists despising and hating the national heritage and emulating foreign models in the quest of a development spurt. What really amazes me in Stolypin is a unique combination of acute realization of the need for reforms, availability of a concrete program of reforms, his resolution to put them into practice, and his absolute loyalty to his Fatherland. Unlike very many other reformers and revolutionaries, from Lenin to these days, he was not ready to sacrifice the national interests in favor of his cabinet doctrines.
Sergey Mironenko, Director of Russian State Archives:
– If you asked me to name three most outstanding personalities of that epoch, I’d mention Speransky, Stolypin and Witte. Although they has a different view on many problems, all of them considered the state as an instrument of correcting various shortcomings which they saw, as people in power, in the political regime and its economic activity, totally overlooking civil society, which has been absent in this country for all times.
Alexander Repnikov, Chief Expert of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History:
– The revival of interest in Stolypin in the 1990s can be explained by the search for historical alternatives, for in those years Stolypin’s reforms were perceived as the missed opportunity on Russia’s capitalization. Liberals, monarchists and proponents of the strong state alike found something attractive in Stolypin and only representatives of the leftist political spectrum have remained consistent critics of Stolypin. In the light of this general interest, I’d like to express my appreciation for the work done by the historians who have published important documents that shed light on Stolypin’s reforms and what they meant for Russia. As people of old used to say, “Don’t feel angry or perplexed, but try to understand.”
Mikhail Baranov, Creator of the Runivers.ru Portal:
– Stolypin is Russia’s lost chance to escape the disaster of the 20th century. He was the only politician capable of holding Russia back from entering the WWI in 1914, which marked the beginning of the collapse for the Russian Empire and served as a catalyst of the revolution in 1917 and the horrors of the Civil War. A realist and patriot, he was guided by real national interests, rather than ideological slogans, and resolutely opposed any military adventures. Politicians usually try not to make effort to understand the real situation and are prone to resort to ready-made recipes suggested by some sort of ideology – in this way they shirk off any responsibility and spare the pangs of creative thinking. Mr. Stolypin always delved into the problem’s core and made decisions on the basis of real analysis and his deepest convictions.
Prepared by Guzel Agisheva
Source: newspaper Trud
