In modern historiography, the legal institutions of the late Russian Empire are often associated with arbitrariness and corruption. But is this true? What was the actual system shaped by the judicial reform of 1864? How did it contribute to the rapprochement of the outskirts of the state with its center and the integration of "others" into imperial society? In search of answers to these questions, Stefan B. Kirmze explores the legal practice of imperial construction and its impact on the rights of national minorities.