Political Condition of Russia in 1855

• The Tsarist regime had considered reform but following an uprising in December 1825, Tsar Nicholas I used repression to keep order.
• Russia had distanced itself from the West and the Tsars saw Western ideas as dangerous following events such as the French Revolution.
• Russian culture was seen as superior and there were strong restrictions on other nationalities living in the Russian Empire.
• There was tight censorship and the threat of the Third Section.
• It was defeat in the Crimean War that proved the need for reform.