In the Russian Empire before Catherine the Great, ethnic Germans were strongly represented among royalty and aristocracy, as the European nobility was highly interrelated. In addition, they made up numerous large land owners, military officers, and the upper echelons of the imperial service, engineers, scientists, artists, physicians, and the bourgeoisie in general, because there was strong education among some of the German peoples. The Germans of Russia did not necessarily speak Russian; many spoke German, while French was often used as the language of the high aristocracy.