THE problem of immigration into Russia has occupied successive Russian governments since time of Catherine Great and has posed interesting questions to student of Russian social history, questions which with their manifold ramifications scholars have investigated in isolated instances only. It is known that Russian governments repeatedly tried to attract skilled and industrious workers and peasants; but their efforts were continually checked by apprehensions both within and outside Russia. On one side, it was feared that politically and religiously undesirable elements might enter; on other, home countries of prospective immigrants wished to avoid transfer of valuable skills abroad. A concrete illustration of difficulties involved in eastward migration movement and of type of countermeasures employed is furnished by documents to be found in various Swiss archives. They reflect actions and attitudes encountered in many European countries, and they deal with problems which are typical of all emigration activities. The account which Swiss documents give us begins in I762; for, notwithstanding earlier Russian interest in European immigration, it was only during reign of Catherine II that methodical efforts toward large-scale immigration were successfully undertaken. From very beginning of her reign Catherine directed her attention to population problems. Aware of the wide extent of Our realms she issued a proclamation within four months of her coming to throne inviting all but Jews to come and settle in her lands,' and by I765 first traces of activities of her agents in Switzerland were apparent. The agents were charged with three different tasks, two of them important but affecting few people, third one far-reaching in every respect. The first concerned introduction of educators into Russia. A Major General von Biilow,2 about seventy years old and a scion of prominent family in Mecklenburg, was commissioned to engage some ten widows and ladies of a cer-