in the campaign “Military Annexation of the Crimean Khanate (1783)”
The colonization of the steppes adjacent to Crimea with settlers to create a loyal rear: as early as 1752, New Serbia was formed from Serbs – "officially – to guard the southern frontiers from Tatar and Turkish raids, but in fact – to subdue the Zaporozhians"[1], and in 1776 Potemkin directly ordered "not to return fugitives"[2], accelerating the settlement of the south.