1894-1917 Nicholas II

Nicholas was born on 6/5/1868, ascended the throne on 20/10/1894 and was crowned on 14/5/1896. He married Alice, the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig of Hessen and they had five children - Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Alexei. Alexei suffered from haemophilia and was a permanent invalid. Stubbornly insisting on the Tsar's autocracy, Nicholas did not give way on a single issue, even when common sense and circumstance demanded it. During his reign Russia was involved in two draining wars, the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5 (in which Russia lost 400,000 men and materiel valued at 2.5 billion gold rubles) and the even costlier First World War. Massive casualties and the economic effect of the war at home were the main reasons for the revolution of February, 1917. On 02-Mar-1917 Nicholas was forced to abdicate. The royal family was sent to Siberia by the interim government, but brought back by the Bolsheviks in April 1918 to Ekaterinburg. On 17-Jul-1918, Nicolas and his family were shot by the Bolsheviks.

1881-1894 Alexander III

Alexander was born on 26-Feb-1845 and became heir to the throne after the death of his elder brother, Nicholas, in 1865. He ascended the throne on 01-Mar-1881 and was crowned on 15-May-1883. Alexander was Tsar during Russia's industrial revolution and his domestic policy was particularly cruel. Fearing he would be assassinated as his father had been, he lived in the fortress-palace of his great-grandfather Paul I, Gatchina. He married the Danish Princess, Dagmar and they had six children. Alexander died a peaceful death on 20-Oct-1894 in the Crimea.

1855-1881 Alexander II

Alexander was born on 17-Apr-1818, ascended the throne on 19-Feb-1855 and was crowned on 26-Aug-1856. Prior to his succession, in 1841, he married Maria of Hesen-Darmstadt and they eventually had seven children. After his succession, Alexander implemented numerous important reforms in the organisation of the Russian government and military, perhaps most notably the abolition of Serfdom. Rethinking foreign policy, he decided to concentrate on Russia's defences, rather than expansion, and as part of this sold Alaska and the Aleutians to the US. His greatest foreign achievement was the war of 1877-78 against the Ottoman Empire that resulted in the liberation of Bulgaria and the annulment of the conditions imposed upon Russia after its defeat in the Crimean war. On 01-Mar-1881, Alexander was killed by a bomb thrown by I. Grinevitskii, a student member of "The National Will" revolutionary group.

1825-1855 Nicholas I

Nicholas was born on 25-May-1796, the third son of Paul I. Believed unlikely to succeed to the throne, he joined the army, holding the post of Inspector General of Engineers before becoming commander of the First Guards Division. Nicholas ascended the throne after his eldest brother, Alexander I, died and his older brother, Grand Duke Constantine refused the throne. Under Nicholas, absolute monarchy flourished and power was centralised to an unprecedented degree. By nature harsh and despotic, any liberalism in Russia was brutally suppressed by him. He married Frederica, daughter of Wilhelm III of Prussia and they had seven children. He died on 18-Feb-1855, believed to have poisoned himself upon receiving news of Russia's defeat at Evpatoria in the Crimean War - a war he caused by his attempts to partition the Ottoman Empire.

1801-1825 Alexander I

The eldest son of Paul I, Alexander was born on 12-Dec-1777 and was brought up by Catherine the Great who considered him her successor. He ascended the throne on 12/3/1801 and was crowned on 15/9/1801. Extremely popular with all levels of society, the first part of his reign was very liberal. In the latter part of his reign, however, he reversed many of his changes. He died on 19-Nov-1825, but some believed that he secretly abdicated and lived out his life as a monk.

1796-1801 Paul I

The son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, Paul was born on 20-Sep-1754. After his father's overthrow by his mother, Paul lived in the fortress-palace of Gatchina where he held his own court and had a small army. He married twice, secondly to Princess Sophia of Wurttemberg with whom he had 10 children. On his mother's death, Paul declared himself Tsar. He was unpopular at court and instigated an abrupt change in Russian policies, allying with France instead or warring with her, liberating the Poles as examples. On the night of 12-Mar-1801, Paul was suffocated by conspirators opposed to his policies.

1762-1796 Catherine II - the Great

Born on 21-Apr-1729 in Poland, daughter of Prince Christian of Anhalt-Zerbst, Catherine was christened Sophia. She went to Russia on 9-Feb-1744 at the invitation of Tsarina Elizaveta Petrovna as bride to Tsarevich Peter. They married on 21-Aug-1745 and she was christened into the Orthodox faith as Catherine. Very intelligent, strong-willed and a reader of histories and philosophies, Catherine corresponded with some of Europe's greatest minds, including Voltaire. She had two children with Peter III, Paul I, and a daughter who died in infancy. On 28-Jun-1762, with the support of the Imperial Guard, Catherine overthrew her husband Peter III. She was crowned on 22-Sep-1762. Her rule proved to be one of Russia's most prosperous periods. She expanded Russia's borders to the Black Sea, fought two successful wars against the Ottomans and implemented a wide range of internal reforms. She died on 06-Nov-1796.

1761-1762 Peter III

Peter was born on 10/2/1728 in Kila, son of the Duke of Holstein-Gotorb and Anna Petrovna. Peter ascended the throne on 25-Dec-1761 and ruled for six months before being deposed in a coup lead by his wife, later Catherine the Great, on 28-Jun-1762. He was imprisoned for nine days before being killed by Count Alexei Orlov, Catherine's favourite and one of the coup's organisers.

1741-1761 Elizaveta Petrovna

Elizaveta was born on 18-Dec-1709, the daughter of Peter the Great, before his official marriage to Catherine I. After Catherine's death Elizaveta's lived a precarious life during Anna Ivanovna and Ivan VI's regency as both regimes feared the Imperial Guard's loyalty to Peter's daughter. On 25-Nov-1741, Elizaveta persuaded the soldiers of the Guard to follow her and she supplanted Ivan VI, and his regent, Anna Leopoldovna. She was crowned on 25-Apr-1742. She oversaw significant advances in Russia, both economic and cultural. She abolished capital punishment on 07-May-1744 and during her reign not a single person was executed. She died on 25-Dec-1761 without an heir.

1740-1741 Ivan VI

Ivan was the son Anna Leopoldovna, Anna Ivanovna's niece, and the Duke of Braunschweig. He was born on 12-Aug-1740 and declared heir by Anna Ivanovna on 05-Oct-1740. When she died he became Tsar at the age of two months. Count Biron, Anna Ivanovna's favourite, was Regent, but on 09-Nov-1740 he was arrested and sent to Siberia. Anna Leopoldovna was declared Regent. Ivan "ruled" for just over a year before Peter the Great's daughter Elizaveta Petrovna deposed him. Ivan and his family were exiled to the Schlisselborg Fortress where Ivan was kept in secrecy under strict guard until 05-Jul-1764 when he was killed during an attempt to escape.

1730-1740 Anna Ivanovna

Anna was the daughter of Ivan V, born on 28-Jan-1693. After Peter II's death she was elected to the throne by the Supreme Privy Council in January 1730. On 04-Mar-1730 she dissolved the council and crowned herself on 28-Apr-1730. Anna did not concern herself with the responsibilities of her role, preferring to surround herself with "noble" lackeys. Power was wielded by her favourite, Count Biron, who produced a period of internal stability and successful foreign policy. Anna died in October of 1740, with no direct heirs, having nominated her grand-nephew, Ivan VI, to succeed her.

1727-1730 Peter II

Peter the Great's grandson, Peter II was born on 12-Oct-1715. He ascended the throne on 06-May-1727 at the age of 12. Until he reached his majority, the state was to be ruled by the Supreme Privy Council, Anna Petrovna and Eizaveta Petrovna. He was crowned on 25-Feb-1728. Unfortunately, he caught a chill during a military review, subsequently contracted smallpox and died on 19-Jan-1730.

1725-1727 Catherine I

Russia's first Empress was the second wife of Peter the Great. She was the daughter of a Lithuanian peasant and employed as a servant at Marienburg where she married a Swedsh dragoon. When Marienburg fell to the Russians, she was captured by Count Sheremetov and put to work in the regimental laundry. From Sheremetov she was acquired by Prince Menshikov, a favourite of Peter the Great. Peter saw her at Menshikov's home in 1703 and took her as his mistress. In 1705 she converted to the Orthodox faith and on 19-Feb-1712 married Peter the Great. After Peter's death, Catherine was placed on the throne by the Imperial Guard. Real power was controlled by the Supreme Privy Council and Menshikov. She died on 06-May-1727.

1682-1725 Peter the Great

Peter was the fourteenth child of Alexei Mikhailovich and was born on 30-May-1672. He ascended the throne on 25-Jun-1682 as co-ruler with his brother Ivan V. Due to Ivan's ill health and Peter's minority, Sofia Alexeevna was their Regent until 1689. Peter enacted many large reforms; creating a regular army and navy, subjugating the Church to the State, reorganising the administration of Russia, amongst many others. Under his far-sighted, skilful guidance Russia became a great European nation. He married twice and had 11 children. many of whom died in childhood. He died on 28-Jan-1725 without naming an heir.

1682-1689 Sofia Alexeevna

Born on 05-Sep-1657, Sofia was noted for her intelligence and ambition. Upon the death of Feodor Alexeevich she lead a group of Boyars in a struggle for power. On 28-May-1682 she became Ivan V and Peter the Great's Regent. She was extremely active in internal and foreign policy, concluding several important treaties. In 1689 she was overthrown by supporters of Peter and exiled to a monastery. In 1698 she was forced to take the veil.

1682-1696 Ivan V

Ivan was the son of Alexei Mikhailovich and was born on 27-Aug-1666. Although not an official heir, as Alexei's oldest son he shuld have succeeded the heir-less Feodor. However, due to his ill health, the Duma voted Peter Tsar instead. Following an insurrection by Ivan's relatives amongst the Boyars, lead by Czarevna Sofia, the Duma declared Ivan First Tsar, Peter Second Tsar and Sofia Alexeevna Regent. Ivan and Peter were crowned on 25-Jun-1682. Because of his poor health, Ivan V played no role in the affairs of State. He had five children, including Anna Ivanovna and died on 29-Jan-1696.

1676-1682 Feodor Alexeevich

Feodor was born on 30-Apr-1661, declared heir to the throne on 01-Sep-1674 and ascended to the throne on 30-Jan-1676. Physically unhealthy with a weak character, power during his reign was concentrated in the hands of his maternal Boyar relatives. The major foreign success of his rule was stopping the Ottoman Empire expanding into the Ukraine. He married twice, but only had one child who died as an infant. Feodor himself died on 27-Apr-1682 without naming an heir.

1645-1676 Alexei Mikhailovich

Born on 19-Mar-1629, Alexei ascended the throne on 13-Jul-1645 and was crowned Tsar three days later. He married twice having twenty-one children from the marriages. Russia and the Ukraine were unified during his reign and the Church was reformed under Patriarch Nikon with Alexei's support. He died on 30-Jan-1676.

1613-1645 Mikhail Feodorovich

Founder of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail was born on 18-Jul-1596. He was elected Sovereign of all Russia in Moscow's Red Square by the Zemskii Sobor (the forerunner of the Duma) and crowned Tsar on 11-Jul-1613. During his reign, he created the unified Russian state, ended internal strife and reformed the Russian army. He married twice, having 10 children with Evdokia Lukianovna Streshneva, his second wife. He died on 13-Jul-1645 from dropsy.

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Last update 23-Oct-02