Russification targeted the empire’s most loyal nationalities first
Evidence
It was not until the reign of Alexander III (1881–94) that Russification became official dynastic policy: long after Ukrainian, Finnish, Lett and other nationalisms had appeared within the Empire. Ironically enough, the first Russifying measures were taken against precisely those ‘nationalities’ which had been most Kaisertreu – such as the Baltic Germans. In 1887, in the Baltic provinces, Russian was made compulsory as the language of instruction in all state schools above the lowest primary classes, a measure later extended to private schools as well. — Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, 351
Categorization
- SHARE: The Baltic Germans — most Kaisertreu yet first Russified — is a specific irony worth sharing with anyone studying imperial assimilation policies.
- CANDY: The fact that Russification struck most loyal subjects first is a compact, counterintuitive political anecdote.