Author of quotes: Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin

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.

It must be remembered that at a time when Kronstadt was a few miles from the capital and the royal residence, when treason broke into Sveaborg, when the Baltic region was on fire, when a revolutionary wave spread in Poland and the Caucasus, when all activity in the southern industrial region stopped, when peasant unrest spread, when horror and terror began to reign, the Government had to either withdraw and give way to the revolution, forget that the government is the guardian of the statehood and integrity of the Russian people, or act and defend what was entrusted to it. But, in making the second decision, the Government, in a fatal way, brought accusations upon itself. Striking the revolution, the Government, of course, could not but hurt private interests. At that time, the Government set itself one goal - to preserve those covenants, those foundations, the beginnings of which were laid as the basis for the reforms of Emperor Nicholas II. Fighting with exceptional means, at exceptional times, the Government led and brought the country into the Second Duma. I must declare and would like my statement to be heard far beyond the walls of this assembly, that here, by the will of the Monarch, there are neither judges nor accused, that these benches (pointing to the ministers' places) are not the docks of the defendants - these are the places of the Government. For our actions at this historic moment, actions that should lead not to mutual struggle, but to the good of our homeland, we, just like you, will give an answer to history. […] In those countries where certain legal norms have not yet been developed, the center of gravity, the center of power lies not in institutions, but in people. People, gentlemen, tend to make mistakes, and get carried away, and abuse power. May these abuses be exposed, may they be judged and condemned. But the Government must have a different attitude towards attacks that lead to the creation of a mood in the atmosphere in which open action must be prepared; these attacks are calculated to cause in the Government, in power, paralysis of will and thought. All of them come down to two words addressed to the authorities: “hands up”. To these words, gentlemen, the Government, with complete calmness, with the consciousness of its rightness, can only answer with two words: "You will not intimidate"!

Do not think, gentlemen, that Russia, which is slowly recovering, can be tinted with the rouge of all sorts of liberties, and it will become healthy. […] We, the Government, we build only scaffolding that facilitates your construction. Our opponents point to these scaffoldings as to an ugly building erected by us, and furiously rush to cut down their foundation. And these forests will inevitably collapse and, perhaps, crush us under their ruins, but let, let this happen when, because of the rubble, it will already be visible, at least in the main outlines, the building of the renewed, free, - free, in the best sense of the word, free from poverty, from ignorance, from lack of rights, - devoted, as one person, to her Sovereign - Russia - and this time, gentlemen, is coming; and it will come, in spite of any revelations, since not only strength is on our side, but truth is also on our side.

As long as there is revolutionary terror, there must also be a police search. Familiarize yourself, gentlemen, with revolutionary literature, read the lines teaching how to fight by means of terror, by means of bombs, and it is recommended that these bombs be cast iron, so that there are more fragments, or that they be stuffed with nails. Check out the regicide sermon.

Only war can destroy Russia.

If, gentlemen, there are long periods for reflection, there are historical minutes to solve.

In the presence of a densely populated state, United with us, the margin will be left desolate, it leaked a stranger, if not come to Russian, and it has already started oozing. If we sleep lethargy, this region is saturated with other people's juices and when we Wake up, it may be Russian in name only.

Our eagle, the legacy of Byzantium, the double - headed eagle. Of course, the powerful and single-headed eagles, but, cutting our Russian eagle, one head facing East, you turn it into a single-headed eagle, you'll only make him bleed...

Russia needs this fleet, who at any given moment could fight with the fleet standing at the level of the latest scientific requirements. If it is not, if the Navy of Russia will be different, it will be only harmful, as it will inevitably fall prey to attackers.