We are quickly approaching the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Poytr Stolypin, Prime Minister of Russia from 1906 to 1911. You will come across him first via his incomplete, but potentially very effective agriarian reforms. Stolypin, together with Sergie Witte is sometimes represented as “a potential saviour” (Hite) of Tsarism. Perhaps. He is certainly a contradictory figure. His time as Prime Minister is as known for his political repression (the famed Stolypin Necktie) as economic reforms. An important early lesson here therefore might be to stress that poltical repression and economic reform (modernisation) can happen at the same time.
Here (an article from the Moscow News) reflects on how Vladimir Putin, who perhaps eyes a return to the presidency, likes to compare himself to Stolypin.
Read the article, and as we come across Stolypin this year you might like to consider / comment on the validity of comparison. Finally look out for more about Stoylpin in the next three weeks.
Mr Kydd.
