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Petr DurnovoStatesman
Country:
 Russia |
Content:
- Early Life and Military Service
- Transition to the Ministry of Justice and Police
- Senator and Deputy Minister of the Interior
- Minister of the Interior During the 1905 Revolution
- Controversial Allegations and Resignation
- Later Years and Legacy
Early Life and Military Service
Pyotr Nikolayevich Durnovowas born in 1844. He graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps as a midshipman and entered naval service. After serving in long naval voyages, he completed his studies at the Military Law Academy and became an assistant prosecutor in the Navy Court.
Transition to the Ministry of Justice and Police
In 1872, Durnovo transferred to the Ministry of Justice. He served as an assistant prosecutor and later as a prosecutor in various district courts and chambers. In 1881, he joined the Ministry of the Interior.
From 1884 to 1893, under Ministers Tolstoy and I.N. Durnovo, he served as Director of the Police Department. During this time, he widely implemented administrative arrests and deportations.
Senator and Deputy Minister of the Interior
In 1893, Durnovo became a senator. In 1900, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Interior, with direct responsibility for postal and telegraph affairs.
Minister of the Interior During the 1905 Revolution
In October 1905, Count Witte appointed Durnovo as Minister of the Interior. He simultaneously became a member of the State Council. His tenure marked a period of conflict with the revolutionary movement. Durnovo employed repressive police measures and did not oppose pogroms orchestrated by the Union of Russian People and other Black Hundred organizations.
Controversial Allegations and Resignation
In December 1905, Durnovo ordered the arrest of members of the St. Petersburg Council of Workers' Deputies and other cities. He also banned numerous newspapers. Despite the promises made in the October 17 Manifesto, Durnovo suppressed freedom of speech and assembly.
On April 24, 1906, just before the opening of the State Duma, Durnovo resigned from the ministry along with the rest of Witte's cabinet.
In December 1905, a letter by A. Stakhovich appeared in the newspaper "Molva," accusing Durnovo of breaking a contract to supply oats to the Russian army. The allegations remained unrefuted.
Later Years and Legacy
In the State Council, Durnovo became the chairman of the right-wing faction. In 1911, he vehemently opposed Minister of the Interior Stolypin's proposal to introduce zemstvos (local self-government units) in the western provinces. His opposition contributed to the rejection of the bill by the State Council. Fearing Stolypin's resignation, the government suspended the sessions of the State Council and the Duma for three days and passed the zemstvo law using Article 87 of the constitution. Durnovo was granted an unpaid leave of absence and returned to Russia only after Stolypin's assassination.
Durnovo was the target of an assassination attempt by a Russian socialist-revolutionary in 1906. The attempt is believed to have been facilitated by Azef of the Okhrana secret police. Durnovo died in an unknown location and at an unknown date.
