Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin (1862-1911)
It was a privilege to play a benefit concert last night to benefit the Paul Klebnikov Fund. As many readers will remember, Paul was a brilliant journalist who served as editor of Forbes Russia until his shocking murder in 2004, for reasons indubitably related to his investigations of the shady Russian business underworld. Please read more about Paul and this worthy fund that seeks to promote civil society in Russia.
Klebnikov was a great admirer of Pyotr Stolypin (as was my father, who penned a memorable appreciation in the revised version of August 1914). So last night also celebrated the sesquicentennial of the man increasingly seen as a unique statesman in Russian history, a towering Lincolnesque figure who—like Klebnikov a century later—was cut off in midstream at the height of his creative powers. Both men paid the ultimate price for their service to Russia.
One last word: do you know the Fabbri Mansion? I didn’t, either. A perfect place for an intimate concert, inaugurated by none other than Fritz Kreisler in 1916.