In a political sense, at the beginning of the XIXth century the Russian Empire was a conglomeration of many regions, both internal and peripheral. Developing the basis of marginal policy in relation to a particular territory, the government was guided by the significance of the region for the Empire. Once the territory recognized its special status, the government was forced to commit it legislatively. It induced different levels of circulation of general imperial legislation in the annexed territories: from a combination of imperial and local legislation with the predominance of the traditional law to a unified system of imperial legislation.

The constant struggle in the government between the supporters of the rigorous unification of the administration in the marginal territories on the one hand and the adherents of the idea of their special status on the other caused inconsistency of this policy. Nevertheless, during the XIXth – the early XXth century the marginal policy reflected main goals and tasks of the imperial government.