Saratov Gubernia under PA Stolypin

Pyotr Arkadievich Stolypin was appointed to the highest leadership position in the Saratov gubernia at the insistence of the Minister of Internal Affairs VK Plehve. Parting with his protege, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich expressed the hope that in the difficult province an exemplary order will be imposed.

At the threshold of the twentieth century

The future estate by the year 1900 occupied an area of 85 thousand km ² with a population of about 2.5 million people. In addition to the Saratov Uyezd, the structure of the province included:

• Atkarsky, Balashovsky, Volsky;
• Kamyshinsky, Kuznetsky, Petrovsky;
• Serdobsky, Khvalynsky and Tsaritsyno counties.

The sharpest socioeconomic and socio-political crisis that struck autocratic Russia did not bypass the city and the village of Saratov province. Petrovsky and Atka districts, headed by liberal governments, were covered by peasant unrest.

The general discontent of the population, caused by a powerful decline in industrial production, grew. The closure of the metalworking, flour milling, cement plants, processing enterprises left several thousand workers without means of livelihood.

Radically inclined representatives of the intelligentsia became sharply active. Provincial Zemstvo Assembly for a third consisted of liberal opposition.

Despite the fact that from the economic point of view, the Saratov gubernia always belonged to the category of wealthy and rich regions, the situation became critical.

New Governor

Having assessed the state of affairs, Stolypin proposed a number of measures to remedy the situation. Actively applying force methods of calming the peasantry, Petr Arkadevich took practical steps to increase the land plots of the poorest strata by renting the lands of the public fund.

The staffing of the zemstvo employees was revised: 10 people were dismissed, 38 were suspended from service. According to the new governor, the official zemstvo persons of the Saratov gubernia should be engaged exclusively in cultural and economic activities, and not with the propaganda of their political ideas.

Implementing the government policy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Stolypin saw his task in strengthening the existing regime and its main support - the nobility. Emperor Nicholas II, who visited Kuznetsky Uyezd in 1904, highly appreciated the activities of the governor.

The Revolution of 1905

Failures in the Russo-Japanese War aggravated the national crisis, giving it a large-scale character. Saratov Gubernia did not stay aside. The counties embraced the peasant performances with renewed vigor. By the autumn 293 landowners' estates were plundered (6 times the national average), the working-class movement expanded.

PA Stolypin saw the way out only in toughening extrajudicial executions and attracting government troops. The governor repeatedly personally led the military when putting things in order in the countryside. By this time, the first attempts to assassinate the official's life (four episodes) are also included. Stolypin, according to contemporaries, showed a rare self-control and courage. An example is the case in Balashov Uyezd, when Petr Arkadevich himself came to the Zemstvo doctors besieged by the Black Hundreds to escort the Cossacks.

As preventive measures, arrests, detention and deportation of unreliable persons were used without any formal charges. Actions of the governor found support of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the emperor himself. On restoring order, Pyotr Arkadevich was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree.

Stolypin and Saratov Province

Life has returned to the usual course. The active development of the city and the strengthening of the social sphere began. The Saratov gubernia received a huge loan of 965,000 rubles for the asphalting of city streets, the development of a water supply network, the creation of a gas lighting system, and the modernization of telephone communications.

The number of city hospitals, accommodation facilities, schools increased. The first students took the Mariinskaya Women's Gymnasium and the Aviation College. Already in the post of Prime Minister Stolypin insisted on the establishment of the Saratov Imperial University. The first in 1909 opened the medical faculty.

In 1906, PA Stolypin left Saratov, receiving the post of Minister of Internal Affairs.

From grateful descendants

The memory of the legendary statesman is kept in the hearts of the Saratovites. The first in modern Russia monument to the great reformer, the leading institution of higher education - the Volga Academy of Civil Service - was given his name in the regional center.

In the Saratov Museum of Local History there is a permanent exhibition dedicated to PA Stolypin. The exposition (693 items) contains unique items, including Peter Arkadevich's uniform and military overcoat, his personal signatures on archival documents, a series of photographs of the period of governor's activity and at the highest state posts.

The Saratov guberniya played an important role in Stolypin's life. It was here that the program of his innovative reforms was finally formed, and the political and economic worldview was strengthened.