In the Russian Empire, Imperial Russian Guard units (also lifguard or life-guard, лейб-гвардия, leyb-gvardiya), derived from German Leibgarde (en: lifeguard or life-guard), were intended to ensure the security of the sovereign, initially, that of Peter the Great in the 1690s. These were based on the Prussian Royal Life Guards. During the 19th century the Imperial Russian Guard regiments were not exclusively composed of Russian troops, but also included Lithuanian, Finnish and Ukrainian units.