Since the beginning of the Modern Age, the Principality of Moscow was eager to expand toward the West and South of Europe. During the Romanov Dynasty Russia included broad swaths of populations that did not speak Russian and even had various different religions. After Poland was divided up and the Caucasus and parts of Central Asia had been conquered in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Czar obtained full control of very expansive cultural areas, which Russia attempted to assimilate as part of their colonization from the mid-1800s on. Such efforts were also undertaken with the weapons of language: speaking Polish, Ukrainian and Lithuanian was forbidden, and only Russian was allowed in schools and official public offices.

Contributions by: Jan Zofka, Kerstin Armborst-Weihs, Ruth Bartholomä, Karsten BrÃ"ggemann, Andreas Frings, Jan Kusber, Malte Rolf, Michael Smith, Irene Sneidere