The article examines the acculturation policy pursued by the tsarist government and regional authorities in relation to nomadic, semi-nomadic and sedentary peoples living in the Black Sea and Central Asian regions. Crimean Tatars and Kazakhs were selected for comparative analysis. The study analyzes the main directions of state policy pursued to integrate the Crimean Tatars and Kazakhs into Russia. These areas of work define the management system, social, military and educational spheres. The article also raises the question of whether the tsarist government had a unified program according to which the integration of nomadic, semi-nomadic and sedentary peoples took place in the southern and south-eastern outskirts of Russia. The chronological framework of the work is determined by the end of the 18th — beginning of the 20th centuries, since it was during this period that the Russian authorities carried out the main activities aimed at integrating the Crimean Tatars and Kazakhs into the empire. Archival documents, legislative acts, statistical data and scientific publications were used to cover this topic. The article indicates that this topic has not previously been the subject of special study. The study showed that the tsarist government did not have a single program in accordance with which the integration of the newly annexed peoples living in the southern and southeastern outskirts of Russia took place. In each individual case there were regional peculiarities. It is noted that the acculturation of the Crimean Tatars and Kazakhs in the management system, social, military and educational spheres cannot be assessed unambiguously. Administrative acculturation led to the gradual replacement of traditional institutions of power and the introduction of a general imperial system of management. Legislative consolidation of the rights of new subjects representing different class groups contributed to their rapid incorporation into Russian society. Acculturation in the educational sphere cannot be viewed unambiguously. The main task of the tsarist government in creating Russian-foreign schools was the gradual Russification of new subjects. At the same time, Crimean Tatars and Kazakhs, studying the Russian language and Russian literature, became familiar with the achievements of European civilization.