Stolypin introduced crop rotation and land reforms to help increase food production and also give to some extent what people wanted. This is significant as it shows that because Stolypin introduced this reform people began to feel more content and also that there needs were being fulfilled. The result of the reform was that there was a mass increase in food production and that a happy work force could be seen and this could have been seen to an extent to the introduction of some sort of freedom. However the downfall of this reform was that some peasants began to seize this opportunity to get rich and eventually they were known as the Kulaks. Some upper class citizens in Russia weren’t happy with these reforms but some of them gradually had to accept these reforms.
Stolypin also began to introduce reforms in education, he tried to reduce the number of illiterates in Russia by making children attend school. Between 1904 to 1914 primary school numbers doubled and secondary schools quadrupled. While policies progressed considerably it had been criticised for being to little to late but it made it easier for revolutionary ideas to spread amongst a discontented public. The education reform shows Stolypin’s influence, even if the reform was a little to late at least it was a start in the right direction. This shows that Stolypin was quite influential in the education department and brought massive changes in schools, both secondary and primary.
Industrialisation was established to help modernise the Russian economy, this was seen to be a way to not merely improve Russia’s economy but to also generate wealth and help the economy to make more use of resources. It would also help to put Russia in a much powerful position. The bad thing about industrialisation was that there were targets to be met, the peasants would have to pay more tax and also rely on foreign investments. This shows that Stolypin began to think ahead and planed to make Russia more powerful, he was considerably influential in this matter as these reforms, as he had presumed began to take effect and started to improve Russia on the whole.
In his willpower to achieve his goal for the country he began to become very harsh and even heartless after an incident which happened at his house. The incident of blowing up his house made Stolypin much more aware, alert and more careful. As a result of the bombing Stolypin began to use the Tsar’s secret police (Okhrana)to threaten people and also to execute them, as a form of punishment know as the “hangman’s noose”. This affected his reform because he knew that his life was in danger, and a question could be asked whether some people really wanted Stolypin to improve Russia, or was it that he was becoming better known, powerful and was considered to be a threat.
Stolypin tried to build an alliance between the government and the Octoberist, however the attempt was futile and failed. This shows that Stolypin wasn’t influential in this matter. Stolypin in February 1907 began to introduce a Duma with a wide variety of reforms. The purpose of this was to see the main areas of social discontent. Later on Stolypin offered improvements for the Duma, in reforms to improve workers condition and civil rights. This was rejected again by the Duma, who did not cooperate, Stolypin then had to introduce new rules which would make the Duma cooperate. This shows that Stolypin didn’t give up in finding the cooperation of the Duma, he changed rules to gain the cooperation of the Duma. This shows that Stolypin was very influential.
Stolypin believed that the Duma would help him achieve his aims of reforming Russia and accepted that the only way that this would happen is with the assistance of the Duma. He believed that he was the solution to Russia’s problems. Finally we can see that Stolypin was substantially influential in helping Russia to reform. To some extent he did reform Russia in major areas, where she needed help for example: politically, agricultural, industrial, education and so fourth. Stolypin was seen to be a ruthless figure that brought Russia on the verge of reforming her. Even thought Stolypin used the Okhrana to get his point across and to execute people, he was still seen as the saint who was given time to change Russia for the good.
