The Third Duma - 1907-12

• As a result of Stolypin's Coup, the makeup of the Third Duma was far more right-wing and conservative than the first two.

  • It was dominated by the Octobrists and the Rightists who had 154 and 147 seats respectively.
• The Third Duma was not all negative and Stolypin was able to work with the Duma to introduce some reforms which included

  • An education law extending primary schooling.
  • Improvements to the army and navy.
  • Replacing deeply unpopular Land Captains and Justices of the Peace.
  • A national health insurance scheme to pay sickness benefit to workers.
• Stolypin used the Third Duma to demonstrate that he was not just a hardliner bent on crushing Tsarist opposition.

  • The Octobrists in 1911 even thought that his reforms went too far.
• Stolypin was eventually forced to use his old tactic from 1907 of suspending the Duma in order to introduce new legislation through Article 87 which he used to introduce the zemstvo system in Poland.