Having annexed Belarus, Russians stated that Belarusians are just a Russian tribe, and that it should be united with the Russians. Since it did not conform with the truth Russian tsarist government pursued active russification policy so that Belarusians do not differ from Russians. First steps were made in the religious sphere and were aimed at the liquidation of the Brest Church Union. The Belarusian Uniates and Catholics were encouraged to give up their religions and join the Russian Orthodox church. To pursue the russification Russian schools were established. The local governments were occupied by Russian nobility. The Magderburgh privileges of cities were abrogated, and craftsmen and the merchants had to pay high taxes. Belarusian administrative division was abolished, and Belarus was divided into gubernijas ( Russian administratrive units). Brest became an ordinary provincial town of the Hrodha gubernija in the huge empire.
Meantime, in the beginning of the 19th century the French emperor Napoleon Bonapart began his great wars. Having conquered Austria and Germany he was approaching Russian empire. Facing this threat the Russian emperor Alexander I in 1811 wanted to create buffer state on the western Russian border to hedge Russia against Napoleon’ pressure. There appeared a plan to revive Belarusian state - Great Duchy. This plan was not fulfilled because in 1812 Napoleon waged war against Russia. During the campaign Belarusian noblemen supported Frenchmen because the later promised to restore the self-government of GDL. Napoleon was defeated, and Russia rule was reimposed in Belarus. The russification policy was carried out with renewed enthusiasm after the Frenchmen were repelled, and Russia control over the Belarusian territories was firmly established.
Brest was located on the very important road Europe-Russian empire what contributed to the economic development of the city. Though in the time of frequent wars this exclusively important location put under threat the existence of the city. Brest has always had adequate fortifications which were constantly modernized but the tsarist government decided to build up a big fortress in the city to have strongpoint for the Russian army on the newly acquired territories. In 1830 the construction committee was set up, and the plan of the fortress was adopted. The plan was suggested by generals Maletskij, Opperman and colonel Feldman. The fortress was destined to be constructed on the territory of the city. During the period of about thirty years (1802-1836) the city suffered from four disastrous conflagrations. The government forbid the restoration of the burnt buildings. Though the evidences are not available some historians state that the city was put on fire deliberately to make its inhabitants move to new places outside Brest. 
In 1835 the ancient city was peacefully demolished and actually ceased to exist. All architectural monuments were either destroyed or reconstructed for the needs of the new masters. The inhabitants of the city could build their houses three kilometers eastwards. In June 1, 1836 the first symbolic stone was laid into the foundation of the future fortress. The ramparts were erected in a star-like order. In 1842 the construction of the fortress was finished, and the Russian flag was raised over it. This event was documented in the new coat-of-arms of the city. The Brest fortress was located on the four islands consisting of the central enforcement and three before-bridge enforcements. The fortress was constantly modernized and reconstructed.
Three kilometers eastwards of the fortress the new Brest was growing. The town expanded to the East and spread on the plain along the right bank of the Mukhavets river where new churches were being built and straight streets were paved. This plan can be seen nowadays. In 1845 the population of Brest constituted 18.000 people. Two annual fairs were held in the city. Their turnout was not big due to poverty of the population, and the main goods traided were those confiscated at the customs and later sold at the auctions. There were two Orthodox churches, one sinagogue and some Catholic monasteries.
Tzarizm had every ground to expect an attack from all sides. There served in the garrison of the fortress an officer Romuald Tranhut who was destined to head the insurgent government in Poland in 1863. In 1845 Yaroslaw Dombrowski was enrolled in the officer training corp of the fortress where he spent 8 years. Yaroslaw Dombrowski was a member of the Warsaw clandestin National Committee. He worked out the plan of the upraising against Russian occupation in 1863. Later on he joined the Paris Commune. Brest also remembers Kastus Kalinousky. Kalinousky, revolutionary democrat, leader of the uprising of 1863 in Belarus visited the Brest area secretly, inspecting the detachments. This struggle for "your and our freedom" is the best thing of all that Brest of the 19th century remembers.
In 1861 the Russian tsar reformed the semi-feudal state system, and capitalist relations started to develop in the Russian empire. Brest did not stand aside. The building of roads and rail ways contributed to the industrial development in Brest. The tobaco, candle, and leather factories were operating in the city. Here is what the statistical year book of 1863 says. “Brest-Litovsk -- provincial town with a wharf and a first-rate fortress... The population in 1861 was: 13 638 of men, 7 305 of women, 20 943 total. Brest as an important wharf on the Mukhavets river linking Dniepr and Visla water systems is of great trade significance. The main trading item is bread bought up in the neighboring regions (gubernijas) in the fall and floated to Brest along Western Boog and Mukhavets rivers. The following trade businesses are present in the city: 178 stores, 1 pub, 1 baker’s shop, 60 cantenes, 27 inns, 2 fairs. The crafts in Brest are developed poorly. The town is lighted by 52 street lamps.” The city was growing due to the rail way connecting it with Moscow. Here is the trend of the population growth in the city: 1831 - 10,000; 1862 - 20,000; 1885 - 35,000; 1897 - 47,000. By the end of 19th century the territory of the city expanded. By 1890 Brest became a big rail way node. The city was connected with Warsaw, Moscow and other industrial centers. The rail-way station was erected in the city.
In spite of the developing economy neither the appearance of the city nor its cultural level for the 60 years of its location on the new place improved. There were no sewage system in the city, and people used low-quality water from the Mukhavets river for their needs. The streets were swamped in the mud. Unremoved trash and poor fire protection were the cause of numerous fires. In 1895 major part of the city including the center got burnt down. The number and level of the educational institutions did not contribute to the cultural and educational development of the city. There were only a four-year college with a library, school for girls and couple of religious schools.
The revolutionary movements in the Russian empire echoed in Brest. The strikes on the industrial enterprises of Brest began in 1873 on the brick factory to protest against bad working conditions. By 1905 several revolutionary organizations had their branches in Brest. To support the revolution in Russia, in January 19, 1905 a general strike started in Brest. The police and the army flooded the streets of the city, and 74 participants of the strike were arrested. Neverthless, strikes continued. The army itself was subject to revolutionary influences. First, the soldiers of the Brest garrison refused to obey the orders. Later on, the soldiers joined the striking workers. Loyal troops were brought to the city, and the military rebel was suppresed. The participants were either put into jail or exiled to Siberia. The strikes of workers continued until 1907.
The appearance of the city did not change significantly, and in the period 1910-1914 Brest was a small industrial town. The cultural environment of the city was enriched by a private library, gymnasiums, two theaters, cinema. In 1914 the population comprised 53 300 people.
In August 1, 1914 the WWI began, and Brest again found itself again in the center of military operations. Year after the start of the war the German troops came up to the city. The Russian army got the order to evacuate the population of the city to Russia. The roads leading eastwards were packed with refugees. In August 26, 1915 German troops took the city and the fortress. Brest was under the German rule untill the end of 1918.
Meantime, the communist coup d’etat, later called the Great October Socialist Revolution, occured in Russia. The Communists had no strength to continue the war and initiated the peace negotiation with Germany. The negotiations began on December 22, 1917 and were conducted in Brest. They were divided into several sessions, during which the Soviet delegation tried to prolong the proceedings and took full advantage of its opportunity to issue propaganda statements, while the Germans grew increasingly impatient.
When no substantial progress has been made by January 18, the German general Max Hoffmann firmly presented the German demands, which included the establishment of independent states in the Polish and Baltic territories formerly belonging to the Russian Empire and in the Ukraine. Leon Trotsky, head of the Soviet delegation since January 9, called for a recess (January 18-30). He returned to Petrograd where he persuaded the reluctant Bolsheviks (including Lenin) to adopt a policy under which Russia would leave the war but sign no peace treaty (“neither war nor peace”).
When negotiations resumed, the Soviet delegation again tried to stall; but after the Central Powers concluded a separate peace with the nationalist Ukrainian delegation (February 9), Trotsky announced the new Soviet policy. Negotiations came to a halt on February 10. By when the Germans renewed their military offensive (February 18), the Russians immediately requested that talks be resumed. On February 23, the Germans responded with an ultimatum allowing the Russians two days to open talks and three more to conclude them. Lenin, realizing that the new Soviet state was to weak to survive the continuation of the war, threatened to resign if the German terms were not met.
On March 3 the Soviet government accepted a treaty by which Russia lost the Ukraine, its Polish and Baltic territories, and Finland. (The Ukraine was recovered in 1919, during the Russian Civil War.) The treaty was ratified by the Congress of Soviets on March 15. Both the Ukrainian and Russian treaties were annuled by the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, which marked the Allied defeat of Germany.
In the beginning of 1919 the army of newly revived Poland waged the war against the Soviet Russia. In February 20, 1919 the Poles took Brest. In August 1920 the Soviets retook the city but soon they were repelled. In March 18, 1921 a peace treaty was signed in Riga, according to which Western Belarus and Ukraine stayed under the Polish rule.
