30 SEPTEMBER 1911, Page 2

M. Kokovtsoff has become Prime Minister in Russia in place

of M. Stolypin. He is chiefly known for having safely guided the finances through the extraordinarily difficult period which followed the war with Japan and the revolution. He served his apprenticeship in finance under Count Witte, being appointed Assistant Minister of Finance in 1896. He has been Minister of Finance since 1906. He is a statesman of rather more " liberal " views than M. Stolypin, but he has a strong reputation for carefulness and moderation. The appointment will reassure those who feared that the death of M. Stolypin would permit the reactionary intriguers to upset or stultify the Constitution.