Stolypin was more successful in bringing political stability; yet, Rasputin did bring a small amount of stability; this was because he was associated with religion, so inevitably would be able to influence some people.
The political stability and instability had a major impact on preserving the Tsar's power because if it was stable, then the Tsar's power would surely be preserved, but this was not entirely true.
Both Stolypin and Rasputin stabilised the Tsar’s power.
The Tsar's power was preserved by Stolypin through the Field Courts Martial. This was a court where terrorists could be dealt with without investigation or delay. This stabilised the Tsarist regime because it meant that any opposition or possible revolt against the Tsar would be suppressed quickly and efficiently and it would discourage people from speaking out amongst him.
Rasputin preserved the Tsar's power through religion. The Tsar used Rasputin's simple faith and his religion to reach out to his people. Religion was popular amongst the Russian people; therefore, Rasputin used the Church as a means of control over them. This therefore meant that the Tsar had power and would not be threatened by uprisings, especially from the peasants because they were indoctrinated by the Church to support the Tsar. This is evident through the quote, "God commands us to love and obey..especially the Tsar."
Both were significant in preserving the Tsar's power, but Rasputin was more important because he manipulated religion to favour his cause. The fact that many people were illiterate meant that they could only turn to religion and accordingly would obey the Tsar, due to his influence over the Church.
Hence, this would lead to the increasing popularity of the Tsarist regime, because religion was a major part of Russian society.
Legislation brought stability through Stolypin but instability through Rasputin.
Stolypin’s Agrarian reforms stabilised the Tsar’s government because they enabled peasants to farm independently and meant they were liberated from their communes. This stabilised Russia because it ended subsistence farming and made some of the peasants happy, so they would not turn towards revolution.
On the other hand, Rasputin did not implement any legislation. This showed he was apathetic and weak and placed little stability on the Tsarist government because it manifested his lack of change as a hindrance to industrialisation and meant Russia was backward compared to the western countries, such as Britain.
Stolypin’s Agrarian reforms proved to stabilise Russia and therefore show he was better at stabilising the Tsar’s government through legislation, unlike Rasputin, who was perceived as a weak advisor.
Also, legislation lead to a better economy which boosted the reputation of the government, but not for Rasputin.
Whilst Stolypin made the Tsar’s government popular, the role of Rasputin made people despise the government even more.
Stolypin bought popularity through numerous reforms. Firstly, his Agrarian reforms ensured peasants were happy and emancipated them from their communes. This stabilised the economy because it meant the demise of subsistence farming. Also the National Insurance Act allowed sick workers to be paid, therefore stabilised the government because it pleased the workers, who were a major force which would threaten the position of the Tsar.
However, Rasputin’s background meant that his association with the aristocracy was not approved of. As a peasant, it was unusual to blend with the aristocracy, so he was not very popular due to this. Furthermore, many peasants disliked his position as the chief advisor because they felt he had betrayed them and because he associated with the aristocracy, so therefore Rasputin faced discontent from the different social classes in Russia, this is verified by several attempts made on his life. which would unavoidably discredit the Tsar’s government.
This lack of popularity would undoubtedly lead to instability in other areas, such as preserving the Tsar’s power.
Stolypin was more successful in stabilising the Tsar’s government. This was because he implemented many reforms; his success can be supported by the British Ambassador in 1906, where he stated, “Public opinion is not as revolutionary as it was a year ago.” It therefore showed Stolypin stabilised the Tsar’s position through his reforms whereas, Rasputin did not do enough to ensure this.
