Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-19
HATED BY VARIOUS PARTIES.
Stolypin Incurred Enmity of Grand
Dukes and the Reformers.


Peter Arkadicivitch Stolypin was pre-
mier of Russia for more than five
years. He took office July %, 1906,
when the whole country was seething
with revolutions; he was struck down
at a time when there was, at least on
the exterior. comparative quiet. He
was not bureaucrat nor reaction
airy, did his best to weed out the cor
ruption that has been the bane of the
empire, and was willing enough to
work with duma packed after his
own fashion But he was very far
from being an advocate of the revolu-
ton, and his ruthless executions made
'Stolypin's neckties byword among
the popular party.
Coming as he did to ST. Petersburg
connected neither with the military
nor the bureaucratic cliques, he was
almost an unknown man there. He
had been governor of Saratoff. and had
there crushed the advanced parties
with ruthlessness that caused an at
tempt on his life in 1905. But he had
never thrown himself in with men who
saw nothing in public office bu tthe
exploiting of the public funds to their
own advantage. and to the grand ducal
following his honest administra tive
ambitions made him as unpopular as in
revolutionary circles.
To estimate the place that Stolypin de-
serves IN Russian development must be
the work of future historians. but they
may, perhaps, find the key to his char
acter in the fact that amid all the het-
erogeneous influences that play around
the imperial throne and amid the many
nationalities that struggle for power he
was Slav by birth and inclination, and
was determined that the Russia of tradi-
ton, the Russia loyal to the car. should
be restored, and that whatever conces-
sions were made TO the people should be
without disorder or without pandering to
foreign Influences. He was determined,
moreover, that all who stood in his way
whether Finnish patriots or Russian rad
icals. should go down before him.
To him as premier fell the task of work
ing in and controlling the duma Even
reduced in size and made more subserv-
lent to the imperial authority. as 1t was
soon after he took power. 1t might have
made serious trouble for a weaker man,
but by sheer personality he seemed to
dominate II. When StOlypin spoke Ii was
not so much the knowledge of the au-
thority. that he welded as the cold reso-
luton of the man that comma nded at
tention. He was thorough in his words,
as he was in his deeds, and the constitu-
tional democrats. the intellectual mod
crates of the reform party, seemed more
abhorrent to him than even the most eX-
IRENE revoutionists.
SO he rode safely through two minis
terial crises In 1909 there came up the
bill for the formati of a naval general
staff. 1t aroused the enmity of the grand
ducal clique who saw in 1t an attack on
their selfish privileges for the mere pur-
pose of Strengthening the empire. A
strong attack from the court itself was
made on him. He appealed for the sup
port of the car threatened to resign IL
he We're not upheld. and won.
Again. only few months ago, Stoly-
pin met and routed the reactionary
forces of the privileged classes. The
council OF the empire. which is dominat-
ed by the bureaucratic party, refused to
assent to the governments bill for the
establishment of Zemstvos, or local coun-
ellis. in the western provinces, including
Poland. Once more the frankness of the
premie: gained for him the victory. He
rendered his resignation and it was un-
derstood that the car was negotiating