This book examines how the Russian Empire expanded across the barrier of the Caucasus mountains to take control of the Georgian lands at the close of the 18th century. With no organized plan for conquest, imperial policy fluctuated based on personnel changes in the imperial government and strategic reevaluations of imperial interests. Particular attention is paid to the role of two significant individuals--Princes Potemkin and Tsitsianov--in pushing the Empire towards total incorporation.