Crimean War gained worldwide attention for pioneering and publicising modern nursing while treating the wounded. The Crimean War also saw the first tactical use of railways and other modern inventions, such as the electric telegraph, with the first "live" war reporting to "The Times" by William Howard Russell. Some credit Russell with prompting the resignation of the sitting British government through his reporting of the lacklustre condition of British forces deployed in Crimea. Additionally, the telegraph reduced the independence of British overseas possessions from their commanders in London due to such rapid communications. Newspaper readership informed public opinion in the United Kingdom
Crimean War modern nursing while treating the wounded. The Crimean War proved to be the moment of truth for Nikolaevan Russia. Its humiliating outcome forced Russia’s educated elites to identify the empire’s problems and recognize the need for fundamental transformations aimed at modernizing and restoring Russia’s position in the ranks of European powers. Historians have studied the role of the Crimean War as a catalyst for the reforms of Russia’s social institutions: serfdom, justice, local self-government, education, and military service. More recently, scholars have also turned their attention to the impact of the Crimean War on the development of Russian nationalistic discourse.