On the one hand, Russia had made Political, Social and Economic progress before 1914 due to a number of reforms. Beginning with progress, A Duma had been instated which gave the middle class a feeling of a little more authority. There was a right form political parties which resulted in over 20 different political parties which ranged to extreme to democratic and had 524 deputies.
The Tsar had appointed Pyotr Stolypin as one of his ministers whom believed that the best way to strengthen support for the regime was by careful reform and was determined to change political atmosphere of the countryside despite the attacks of terrorism against him. He introduced a lot of reforms which benefited the peasants and he knew the peasants were key in building a coalition of support in the Duma. Stolypin persuaded the Tsar Nicholas II to introduce a number of reforms: All State and Crown lands were made available to the Peasants Land Bank for purchase by peasants which ultimately made the peasants feel as if they had more independence.
Stolypin enabled for peasants to leave their Mir without needing consent first which again gave the peasants a sense of freedom and independence to build up their own consolidated farms. He also declared an end to the redistribution of land as the population was growing rapidly from 133 million to 161 million from 1900-1910; the land was made hereditary property of the head of the family as landholdings had been extended. By these reforms, Stolypin had hoped to create a new class of well-to-do peasants which he called his “Bet on the sober and strong”. The idea of all his reforms was so that the peasants would be and able and try new agricultural techniques and grow what they wished and how they did it which would improve their land. Stolypin believed that these new independent famers would provide stable support for the imperial government. His policies saw