Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin. (№ 438530)

With the vastness of our territory, it is undeniably important to be able to transfer the army from one corner of the country to another. No fortresses, gentlemen, will replace your means of communication. Fortresses are a fulcrum for the army - therefore, the very presence of fortresses requires either the presence of an army in the region, or the ability to transport it there ... In a strategic sense, it is important for an army to have a stronghold in the local population. But I repeat that I am not talking about war, I understand that for us the highest good would be eternal peace with Japan and China; but even from a peaceful point of view, it is important, gentlemen, perhaps even more important, to have that human stronghold of which I have just spoken. The reporter of the state defense commission said here that nature does not tolerate emptiness. I have to repeat this phrase. At the same time, our remote, harsh outskirts are rich, rich in gold, rich in forests, rich in furs, rich in vast expanses of land suitable for cultivation. And under such circumstances, gentlemen, in the presence of a densely populated state neighboring us, this outskirts will not remain deserted. A foreigner will seep into it if a Russian does not come there first, and this seepage, gentlemen, has already begun. If we continue to sleep in a lethargic sleep, then this region will be saturated with other people's juices, and when we wake up, perhaps it will turn out to be Russian only in name.