This book examines the activities of the Greeks of South Russia during the Imperial era by focusing on the Greek Benevolent Association of Odessa (GBAO). Odessa had the largest concentration of urban Greeks in the Russian empire, and the Greeks enjoyed economic and social prestige. While the stated goals of the GBAO were charitable, many of the organization's activities were nevertheless political. Because of the wealth and power of the GBAO, and its failure to openly antagonize the tsarist regime, the GBAO was able to avoid the most onerous provisions of the russification laws being pursuing by the government during the Imperial era.