STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES OF IMPERIAL INTEGRATION IN RUSSIAN EAST PRUSSIA (1758-1762)

This paper examines the five-year period of Russian rule in East Prussia during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), analyzing this episode within the broader contexts of early modern European military occupations and Russia’s imperial integration policies in the Baltic provinces. The occupation regime’s practices were shaped by utilitarian wartime objectives: securing contributions, ensuring logistical support, establishing a stable rear base for the army, and maintaining local loyalty all of which were ultimately achieved. Drawing on previously unused documents from the Russian Archive of Ancient Acts, the Manuscripts Department of the Russian National Library, and the Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg – complemented by Prussian personal testimonies – the article reconstructs the ‘Russian era’ in Königsberg and East Prussia from multiple perspectives. It traces the formation and structure of the Russian imperial administration while also highlighting long-term integration strategies applied across the northwestern periphery of the Russian Empire. The ‘Russian era’ of East Prussia is presented not as a random episode of an unsuccessful war, but as an example of the realisation of such strategies. The evidence reveals a transition from military occupation to domination, including the adaptation of the Ostsee model – a system of indirect rule via agreements with local corporations. The study emphasizes the collaborative roles of the imperial center, military authorities, and Baltic German elites, who served as intermediaries for St. Petersburg’s policies.