Former supporter of empire in dire straits (7)

I believe the answer is:

tsarist

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'former supporter of empire' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'dire straits' is the wordplay.
'dire' indicates an anagram.
'straits' with letters rearranged gives 'TSARIST'.

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tsarist that I've seen before include "Russian royal supporter" , "Russian emperor's supporter" , "Supporter of the Russian Empire" , "Russian royalist" , "Artists (anag.); supporter of Russian emperor" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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