This book examines in detail the Russian government's policy of settling foreigners in European Russia during the last third of the eighteenth century. The recruitment of foreign settlers was practised by many European states during this period, primarily as part of general population policies which sought the highest possible levels of population. In Russia it was also part of the process of settling and developing frontier regions. Dr Bartlett shows the European and Russian background, describes the genesis of the Empress Catherine II's Manifestos of 1762 and 1763 (which set the policy in motion) and follows the development and implementation of policy. The two most notable ethnic groups among Imperial Russia's foreign settlers were Bulgarians and Germans, but many other nationalities were also involved. A separate chapter deals with urban settlement - foreign entrepreneurs and artisans - including the Armenian community of Astrakhan; and connections are explored with other areas of policy, notably with Catherine's interest in the Baltic provinces, her concern with the Jewish question, and with serfdom; and the question of technical improvement in agriculture during the early years of her reign.
