History of Russia and by the 18th century, the Tsardom of Russia had grown to become the Russian Empire, stretching from eastern Poland to the Pacific Ocean. Peasant revolts were common, and all were fiercely suppressed. Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861, but the peasants fared poorly and often turned to revolutionary pressures. In the following decades, reform efforts such as the Stolypin reforms, the constitution of 1906, and the State Duma attempted to open and liberalize the economy and political system, but the tsars refused to relinquish autocratic rule or share their power. The Russian Revolution in 1917 was triggered by a
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in the final with the song "What If". In 2014, RTR selected Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006 winners Tolmachevy Sisters who placed seventh in the final with the song "Shine". The Russian broadcaster for the 2015 Contest, who broadcast the event in Russia and organised the selection process for its entry, was Channel One Russia (C1R). Since 2008, the Russian participation in the contest alternates between C1R and Russia-1 (RTR); with C1R in charge for 2015. Russia has used various methods to select the Russian entry in the past, including national finals and internal selections. Since 2013, both Russian broadcasters