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Sedentarisation is one of the main terms of the Russian Empire's policy towards Roma for several centuries. From ruler to ruler, from one territorial community to another, the attempts to impose the Roma a lifestyle customary to the state never ceased. But what were the reasons behind this and what actions were taken? 

According to Russian historical archives, some of the first mentions of Roma come from the reign of Anna Ioannovna (1730—1740). At that time, the struggle to integrate nomadic people into the existing state structure emerged. 

The fact that the Russian Empire, in addition to a large number of different peoples, was inhabited by Roma was rarely noticed. The main reason to remember was usually the lack of money in the treasury. Thus, in 1733 the question of financing the authorities in the Western Russian lands of the Empire arose. It was decided that money for administrative supplies would be collected from Roma. 

The problem surfaced immediately: the state had no statistical calculations of how many Roma lived in the region. Nor did it have the tools to figure out how and how much money could be collected from each Roma family. The Empress then ordered appointing a responsible Roma to collect and bring the money to the treasury. The developed mechanism of action began its implementation.

Presumably, Roma’s position on the adoption of this regulation was divided: some followed the rule and agreed to pay for their freedom of movement as long as no one forbade them to continue wandering; others avoided paying as they did not see the point, their lives were not improving. 

The Roma continued to lead their usual life. The person responsible for the monetary collection, in addition to the stress of the financial burden on his shoulders, had to look for nomadic camps, and from those whom he managed to catch, he took a poll tax more than the established one, since monetary obligations remained under his responsibility and it was not possible to find all payers. Additionally, there were large transportation costs for collecting funds. As a result, the monetary collection system proved to be extremely ineffective.

The order ceased to be in force with the accession of Catherine II to the throne (1762-1796), who in 1763 abolished the freemen of the Western lands. With the expansion of territories and the accession of Poland, Bessarabia (Moldova) and Crimea, the Empress set a course for the development of new lands, their settlement and the development of trade potential.

Since for the most part the Roma lived and moved mainly in the western environs, the Empress found a reason to take measures of sedentism and integration. Thus, in the new order, it was proposed to convince the leaders of the camps to convince their people to request the allocation of fertile lands, from which, without great difficulty, they would have sufficient food and would be able to settle in one place, and not be constantly on the road. Only 11 Roma people out of 4441 agreed to turn into peasantry but on the condition of not paying a poll tax higher than the previously established one which was adopted by Anna Ioannovna. 

The reason for such a small number of Roma accepting the proposition was a lack of trust in the government. For several centuries since their settlement in the European part of the world, the Roma did not feel like they belonged, wherever they went – they were outsiders, and persecution, deception were their main companions. Wandering from place to place, they had to find resources to survive, but at the same time, governments made their lives harder with numerous new rules and laws mostly aiming to get more money to the treasury and create a society that lives in the strict hierarchy. Moreover, most of the time the reason Roma being in the particular place was not out of purpose to settle down, integrate and become part of the society. Nomadism was their usual routine, the only one which they knew and in which they were born and raised. Accordingly, governmental attempts to put the people in their set of rules and values was their one-sided wish while for Roma their current place of living was one of many places on the map. 

Thus, the policy turned out to be just as failed as the previous ones, after which another one followed: it was decided to assign Roma to cities and state-owned villages. According to the law, state peasants or townspeople, among whom Roma were recorded, could not leave the village further than thirty versts (~32 km) without identification documents. The authorities believed that this could stick Roma to one place and they could start getting profit from them. 

However, to solve the occurred problem with documents and leave the place, some Roma were buying necessary papers from the landowners. Those papers stated that these people were serfs who were released on a quitrent (payment of tax in the form of goods or money). Concurrently, local citizens complained about the people wandering around their towns and villages. They were very sceptical about Roma. Roma’s culture, appearance and habits were seen as alien. The complaints included theft of horses and valuables, deception, and the lack of their own home.

From Roma’s point of view, things were also not as simple as they could seem. First of all, the idea of permanent residence was unfamiliar to them. Most likely, the reason for this was that the people did not know any other way of life other than the nomadic one. Consequently, the main value for them was freedom. Traveling around, the people saw a life of ordinary people in many parts of the Russian Empire who made a lot of effort to survive. There was no liberty, and the main part of their income went to ensuring power. Roma did not want such a life for themselves. Having a living wage, like other settled people, they were not ready to give up what they already had, namely, a life not controlled by the higher echelons.