Conservatism reigned supreme in all of Europe in the middle of the 19th century but nowhere was it more evident than in Austria and Russia, the two empires inhabited by Ukrainians.

For them, as for the other subjects, their lives and minds were dominated by the principles of authoritarianism, obedience, social order, and traditionalism. Change, in every form, was looked upon with great suspicion.

Nevertheless, the new ideas, social forces, and economic relationships that were permeating Europe also seeped into the Austrian and Russian domains, despite strenuous efforts to restrain them. As internal and external pressures mounted, the Habsburg and Romanov emperors realized that the old order could no longer remain impervious to change. This realization, born of crisis, generated an era of great reforms – first in Austria and then in Russia. These reforms had an especially great impact on the Ukrainians because they were among the most disadvantaged subjects of both empires.

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