Westernism in Russia refers to an intellectual, political, and cultural movement that advocated the adoption of Western European ideas, institutions, and models of development to modernize Russian society. It emerged prominently during the nineteenth century and became one of the central ideological currents shaping Russian debates on national identity, governance, economic development, and international relations. Westernists believed that Russia shared a common historical destiny with Europe and should follow the path of constitutional government, industrialization, scientific progress, and social reform. The origins of Westernism can be traced to the reforms of Peter the Great in the early eighteenth century. Peter introduced sweeping changes in administration, military organization, education, technology, and culture by borrowing extensively from Western Europe. Although these reforms modernized the Russian state, they also sparked debates about whether Russia should continue embracing Western models or preserve its unique traditions. These debates intensified in the nineteenth century following Russia's encounter with European political philosophies and the impact of the Napoleonic Wars. The Westernists included influential thinkers such as Vissarion Belinsky, Alexander Herzen in his early years, Timofey Granovsky, Boris Chicherin, and Konstantin Kavelin. They argued that Russia's backwardness resulted from institutions such as serfdom, autocracy, and limited civil liberties. According to them, modernization required legal reforms,