Between 1863 and 1869, the number of students grew from sixteen to ninety. In 1869 the polytechnic moved into a new building. Since there was a lack of technical universities in Russia, many students - especially from the Baltic Sea governments - had gone to study at ETH Zurich, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, TU Dresden and Leibniz University Hannover. That should be changed. On January 1, 1874, Alexander II of Russia introduced general conscription. Now all men from the age of 21 had to serve fifteen years, six in Imperial Russian Army and nine in the reserve. For graduates of the Russian university who wanted to study, the period of service was only six months. This difference led to a significant increase in student numbers. At the beginning of the academic year 1874/75, 59 students enrolled, the total student body comprised 201 members. In the course of Russification, Nicholas II of Russia nationalized the university by decree of May 6, 1896. From 1896 to 1918 it was called the Riga Polytechnic Institute (Rīgas Politehniskais institūts - RPI). The number of students continued to increase, reaching 2088 students in 1913/14. In 1918/19 the Polytechnic was called the Baltic Technical University (Baltijas Tehniskā augstskola).