(1672 - 1725) a period of palace coups began in the country. This time was characterized by a rapid change, both of the rulers themselves and of the entire elite surrounding them. However, Catherine II was on the throne for 34 years, lived a long life and died at the age of 67. After her, emperors came to power in Russia, each of whom tried in his own way to raise her prestige throughout the world, and some succeeded. The history of the country forever included the names of those who ruled in Russia after Catherine II.

Briefly about the reign of Catherine II

The full name of the most famous Empress of All Russia is Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Tserbskaya. She was born on May 2, 1729 in Prussia. In 1744, she was invited by Elizabeth II with her mother to Russia, where she immediately began to study the Russian language and the history of her new homeland. In the same year, she converted from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy. On September 1, 1745, she was married to Peter Fedorovich, the future Emperor Peter III, who was 17 years old at the time of the marriage.

During the years of his reign from 1762 to 1796. Catherine II raised the general culture of the country, her political life to the European level. Under her, new legislation was adopted, which contained 526 articles. During her reign, Crimea, Azov, Kuban, Kerch, Kiburn, the western part of Volyn, as well as some regions of Belarus, Poland and Lithuania were annexed to Russia. Catherine II founded the Russian Academy of Sciences, introduced a system of secondary education, opened institutes for girls. In 1769, paper money, the so-called banknotes, was put into circulation. Money circulation at that time was based on copper money, which was extremely inconvenient for large commercial transactions. For example, 100 rubles in copper coins weighed more than 6 pounds, that is, more than a centner, which made financial transactions very difficult. Under Catherine II, the number of factories and factories increased four times, the army and navy gained strength. But there were many negative assessments of her activities. Including abuse of power by officials, bribery, embezzlement. Favorites of the empress received orders, gifts of fabulous value, privileges. Her generosity extended to almost everyone who was close to the court. During the reign of Catherine II, the situation of serfs worsened significantly.

Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (1754 - 1801) was the son of Catherine II and Peter III. From birth he was under the care of Elizabeth II. Hieromonk Plato had a great influence on the worldview of the heir to the throne. He was married twice and had 10 children. He ascended the throne after the death of Catherine II. He issued a decree on succession to the throne, which legalized the transfer of the throne from father to son, the Manifesto on a three-day corvee. On the very first day of his reign, A.N. Radishchev from Siberian exile, released N.I. Novikov and A.T. Kosciuszko. He made serious reforms and transformations in the army and navy.

The country began to pay more attention to spiritual and secular education, military educational institutions. New seminaries and theological academies were opened. Paul I in 1798 supported the Order of Malta, which was practically defeated by the troops of France and for this he was proclaimed the protector of the order, that is, its protector, and later the Chief Master. The unpopular recent political decisions made by Paul, his harsh and despotic character caused discontent throughout society. As a result of the conspiracy, he was killed in his bedroom on the night of March 23, 1801.

After the death of Paul I, in 1801, Alexander I (1777 - 1825), his eldest son, ascended the Russian throne. Carried out a number of liberal reforms. He led successful military operations against Turkey, Sweden and Persia. After the victory in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, he was among the leaders of the Congress of Vienna and the organizers of the Holy Alliance, which included Russia, Prussia and Austria. He died unexpectedly during an epidemic of typhoid fever in Taganrog. However, due to the fact that he repeatedly mentioned the desire to voluntarily leave the throne and “remove from the world”, a legend arose in society that a double died in Taganrog, and Alexander I became the elder Fyodor Kuzmich, who lived in the Urals and died in 1864.

The next Russian emperor was the brother of Alexander I, Nikolai Pavlovich, since Grand Duke Konstantin, who inherited the throne by seniority, abdicated. During the oath to the new sovereign on December 14, 1825, the Decembrist uprising took place, the purpose of which was to liberalize the existing political system, including the abolition of serfdom, and democratic freedoms up to a change in the form of government. The speech was suppressed on the same day, many were sent into exile, and the leaders were executed. Nicholas I was married to Alexandra Feodorovna, the Prussian princess Frederick-Louise-Charlotte-Wilhemine, with whom they had seven children. This marriage was of great importance for Prussia and Russia. Nicholas I had an engineering education and personally oversaw the construction of railways and the fort "Emperor Paul I", projects for fortifications for the naval defense of St. Petersburg. Died March 2, 1855 from pneumonia.

In 1855, the son of Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, Alexander II, ascended the throne. He was an excellent diplomat. He carried out the abolition of serfdom in 1861. He carried out a number of reforms that were of great importance for the further development of the country:

• in 1857 he issued a decree that liquidated all military settlements;
• in 1863 he introduced the university charter, which determined the order in Russian higher institutions;
• carried out reforms of city self-government, judicial and secondary education;
• in 1874 he approved the military reform on universal military service.

Several assassination attempts were made on the emperor. He died on March 13, 1881 after Ignaty Grinevitsky, member of the People's Will, threw a bomb at his feet.

Since 1881, Russia was ruled by Alexander III (1845 - 1894). He was married to a princess from Denmark, known in the country as Maria Feodorovna. They had six children. The emperor had a good military education, and after the death of his elder brother Nicholas, he mastered an additional course of sciences that one needed to know in order to competently manage the state. His reign was characterized by a series of harsh measures to strengthen administrative control. Judges began to be appointed by the government, censorship of printed publications was again introduced, and Old Believers were given legal status. In 1886 the so-called poll tax was abolished. Alexander III led an open foreign policy, which helped to strengthen his position in the international arena. The prestige of the country during his reign was extremely high, Russia did not participate in any war. He died on November 1, 1894 in the Livadia Palace, in the Crimea.

The years of the reign of Nicholas II (1868 - 1918) were characterized by the rapid economic development of Russia and the simultaneous growth of social tension. The increased growth of revolutionary sentiment resulted in the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907. It was followed by a war with Japan for control of Manchuria and Korea, the country's participation in the First World War. After the February Revolution of 1917, he abdicated.

According to the decision of the Provisional Government, he was sent with his family into exile in Tobolsk. In the spring of 1918 he was transferred to Yekaterinburg, where he was shot along with his wife, children and several close associates. This is the last of those who ruled in Russia after Catherine 2. The family of Nicholas II is glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint.

The Old Russian chronicle of the XII century "The Tale of Bygone Years" introduces us to a very interesting event that happened in 862. It was in this year that the Varangian Rurik was invited by the Slavic tribes to reign in Novgorod.

This event became fundamental in counting the beginning of the statehood of the Eastern Slavs and received the conditional name "The Calling of the Varangians." It is from Rurik that the countdown of the rulers of the Russian lands begins. Our history is very rich. It is filled with both heroic and tragic events, and all of them are inextricably linked with specific personalities that history has arranged in chronological order.

Novgorod princes (862-882)

Novgorod princes of the pre-Kiev period. The state of Rurik - this is how the emerging Old Russian state can be called conditionally. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, this time is associated with the calling of the Varangians and the transfer of the capital to the city of Kyiv.

Kyiv princes (882-1263)

We refer to the Kievan princes the rulers of the Old Russian state and the Kievan principality. From the end of the 9th to the beginning of the 13th century, the throne of Kiev was considered the most prestigious, and it was occupied by the most authoritative princes (as a rule, from the Rurik dynasty), who were recognized by the other princes in the order of succession to the throne. At the end of the 12th century, this tradition began to weaken, the influential princes did not personally occupy the throne of Kiev, but sent their proteges to it.

Ruler	Years of government	Note
Yaropolk Svyatoslavich
Svyatopolk Vladimirovich	1015-1016; 1018-1019
Izyaslav Yaroslavich
Vseslav Bryachislavich
Izyaslav Yaroslavich
Svyatoslav Yaroslavich
Vsevolod Yaroslavich
Izyaslav Yaroslavich
Vsevolod Yaroslavich
Svyatopolk Izyaslavich
Mstislav Vladimirovich the Great
Yaropolk Vladimirovich
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich
Vsevolod Olgovich
Igor Olgovich	August 1146
Izyaslav Mstislavich
Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich	August 1150
Izyaslav Mstislavich	August 1150
	August 1150 - early 1151
Izyaslav Mstislavich
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich		co-ruler
Rostislav Mstislavich	December 1154
Izyaslav Davydovich
Izyaslav Davydovich
Mstislav Izyaslavich
Rostislav Mstislavich
Izyaslav Davydovich
Rostislav Mstislavich
Vladimir Mstislavich	March - May 1167
Mstislav Izyaslavich
Gleb Yurievich
Mstislav Izyaslavich
Gleb Yurievich
Mikhalko Yurievich
Roman Rostislavich
Yaropolk Rostislavich		co-ruler
Rurik Rostislavich
Yaroslav Izyaslavich
Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich	January 1174
Yaroslav Izyaslavich	January - 2nd half 1174
Roman Rostislavich
Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich
Rurik Rostislavich	late August 1180 - summer 1181
Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich
Rurik Rostislavich	summer 1194 - autumn 1201
Ingvar Yaroslavich
Rurik Rostislavich
Rostislav Rurikovich	winter 1204 - summer 1205
Rurik Rostislavich
Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny	August - September 1206
Rurik Rostislavich	September 1206 - Spring 1207
Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny	spring - October 1207
Rurik Rostislavich	October 1207 - 1210
Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny	1210 - summer 1212
Ingvar Yaroslavich
Mstislav Romanovich
Vladimir Rurikovich
Izyaslav Mstislavich	June - late 1235
Vladimir Rurikovich	late 1235-1236
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich	1236 - 1st half of 1238
Vladimir Rurikovich
Mikhail Vsevolodovich
Rostislav Mstislavich
Daniel Romanovich
Mikhail Vsevolodovich
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich

Grand Dukes of Vladimir (1157-1425)

The Grand Dukes of Vladimir are the rulers of North-Eastern Rus'. The period of their reign begins with the separation of the Rostov-Suzdal principality from Kyiv in 1132 and ends in 1389, after the entry of the Vladimir principality into the Moscow principality. In 1169, Andrei Bogolyubsky captured Kyiv and was proclaimed the Grand Duke, but did not go to Kyiv to reign. From that time on, Vladimir received the status of grand duke and turned into one of the most influential centers of the Russian lands. After the start of the Mongol invasion, the princes of Vladimir are recognized in the Horde as the oldest in Rus', and Vladimir becomes the nominal capital of the Russian lands.

Ruler	Years of government	Note
Mikhalko Yurievich
Yaropolk Rostislavich
Mikhalko Yurievich
Yuri Vsevolodovich
Konstantin Vsevolodovich
Yuri Vsevolodovich
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich
Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich	1246 - early 1248
Mikhail Yaroslavovich Khorobrit	early 1248 - winter 1248/1249
Andrey Yaroslavovich
Yaroslav Yaroslavovich Tverskoy
Vasily Yaroslavovich Kostroma
Dmitry Alexandrovich Pereyaslavsky	December 1283 - 1293
Andrey Alexandrovich Gorodetsky
Mikhail Yaroslavovich Tverskoy
Yuri Danilovich
Dmitry Mikhailovich Terrible Eyes (Tverskoy)
Alexander Mikhailovich Tverskoy
Alexander Vasilievich Suzdalsky
		co-ruler
Semyon Ivanovich Proud
Ivan II Ivanovich Red
Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy	early January - spring 1363
Dmitry Konstantinovich Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod
Vasily Dmitrievich

Moscow princes and grand dukes (1263-1547)

During the period of feudal fragmentation, Moscow princes were increasingly at the head of the troops. They managed to get out of conflicts with other countries and neighbors, seeking a positive solution to their own political issues. The Moscow princes changed history: they overthrew the Mongol yoke, returned the state to its former greatness.

Ruler	Years of government	Note
	nominally 1263, actually from 1272 (no later than 1282) - 1303
Yuri Danilovich
Semyon Ivanovich Proud
Ivan II Ivanovich Red
Vasily II Vasilyevich Dark
Yuri Dmitrievich	spring - summer 1433
Vasily II Vasilyevich Dark
Yuri Dmitrievich Zvenigorodsky
Vasily Yurievich Kosoy
Vasily II Vasilyevich Dark
Dmitry Yurievich Shemyaka
Vasily II Vasilyevich Dark
Dmitry Yurievich Shemyaka
Vasily II Vasilyevich Dark
		co-ruler Basil II
Ivan Ivanovich Young		co-ruler
Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk		co-ruler
		co-ruler of Ivan III

Russian tsars

Rurikovichi

In 1547, the Sovereign of All Rus' and the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan IV Vasilievich the Terrible was crowned Tsar and took the full title "Great Sovereign, by the grace of God the Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia, Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Ryazan, Tver, Yugorsky, Perm, Vyatsky, Bulgarian and others"; later, with the expansion of the borders of the Russian state, the title was added "Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Siberia", "and the ruler of all the Northern countries."

Godunovs

The Godunovs are an ancient Russian noble family, which, after the death of Fyodor I Ivanovich, became the Russian royal dynasty (1598-1605).

Time of Troubles

At the very beginning of the 17th century, the country was struck by a deep spiritual, economic, social, political and foreign policy crisis. It coincided with the dynastic crisis and the struggle of boyar factions for power. All this has brought the country to the brink of disaster. The impetus for the beginning of the Troubles was the suppression of the royal dynasty of Rurikovich after the death of Fedor I Ioannovich and the not very clear policy of the new royal dynasty of the Godunovs.

Romanovs

The Romanovs are a Russian boyar family. In 1613, a Zemsky Sobor was held in Moscow to elect a new tsar. The total number of electors exceeded 800 representing 58 cities. The election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne put an end to the Troubles and gave rise to the Romanov dynasty.

Ruler	Years of government	Note
Mikhail Fedorovich
Patriarch Filaret		Co-ruler of Mikhail Fedorovich from 1619 to 1633 with the title "Great Sovereign"
Fedor III Alekseevich
Ivan V Alekseevich		Ruled until 1696 with his brother
		Until 1696 he ruled jointly with his brother Ivan V

Russian emperors (1721-1917)

The title of Emperor of All Russia was adopted by Peter I on October 22 (November 2), 1721. This adoption took place at the request of the Senate after the victory in the Great Northern War. The title lasted until the February Revolution of 1917.

Ruler	Years of government	Note
Peter I the Great
Catherine I
Anna Ioannovna
Elizaveta Petrovna
Catherine II the Great
Alexander I
Nicholas I
Alexander II
Alexander III
Nicholas II

Provisional Government (1917)

In February 1917, the February Revolution took place. As a result, on March 2, 1917, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the Russian throne. Power was in the hands of the Provisional Government.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government was overthrown, the Bolsheviks came to power and began building a new state.

These people can be considered formal leaders only because the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Committee of the RCP (b) - VKP (b) - CPSU after the death of V. I. Lenin was actually the most important state position.

Kamenev Lev Borisovich		Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee
Sverdlov Yakov Mikhailovich		Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee
Vladimirsky Mikhail Fedorovich		And about. Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee
Kalinin Mikhail Ivanovich		Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, from 12/30/1922 - Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, from 01/17/1938 -
Shvernik Nikolai Mikhailovich		Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich		Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich		Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Mikoyan Anastas Ivanovich		Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Podgorny Nikolai Viktorovich		Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich
Kuznetsov Vasily Vasilievich
Andropov Yury Vladimirovich		Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council, at the same time General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU
Kuznetsov Vasily Vasilievich		And about. Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich		Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council, at the same time General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU
Kuznetsov Vasily Vasilievich		And about. Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Gromyko Andrey Andreevich		Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich		Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council, at the same time General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU

General Secretaries of the Central Committee of the RCP(b), VKP(b), CPSU (1922-1991)

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich		First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU
Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich		Until 04/08/1966 - First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, from 04/08/1966 - General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee
Andropov Yury Vladimirovich
Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich
Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich

President of the USSR (1990-1991)

The post of President of the Soviet Union was introduced on March 15, 1990 by the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR with the introduction of appropriate amendments to the Constitution of the USSR.

Presidents of the Russian Federation (1991-2018)

The post of President of the RSFSR was established on April 24, 1991 on the basis of the results of the All-Russian referendum.

For almost 400 years of the existence of this title, it was worn by completely different people - from adventurers and liberals to tyrants and conservatives.

Rurikovichi

Over the years, Russia (from Rurik to Putin) has changed its political system many times. At first, the rulers had a princely title. When, after a period of political fragmentation, a new Russian state was formed around Moscow, the owners of the Kremlin thought about accepting the royal title.

This was done under Ivan the Terrible (1547-1584). This one decided to marry the kingdom. And this decision was not accidental. So the Moscow monarch emphasized that he was the successor. It was they who bestowed Orthodoxy on Russia. In the 16th century, Byzantium no longer existed (it fell under the onslaught of the Ottomans), so Ivan the Terrible rightly believed that his act would have serious symbolic significance.

Such historical figures as had a great influence on the development of the whole country. In addition to the fact that Ivan the Terrible changed his title, he also captured the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, starting Russian expansion to the East.

Ivan's son Fedor (1584-1598) was distinguished by his weak character and health. Nevertheless, under him the state continued to develop. The patriarchate was established. Rulers have always paid much attention to the issue of succession to the throne. This time he stood up especially sharply. Fedor had no children. When he died, the Rurik dynasty on the Moscow throne came to an end.

Time of Troubles

After Fyodor's death, Boris Godunov (1598-1605), his brother-in-law, came to power. He did not belong to the royal family, and many considered him a usurper. Under him, due to natural disasters, a colossal famine began. The tsars and presidents of Russia have always tried to keep calm in the provinces. Due to the tense situation, Godunov failed to do this. Several peasant uprisings took place in the country.

In addition, the adventurer Grishka Otrepiev called himself one of the sons of Ivan the Terrible and began a military campaign against Moscow. He really managed to capture the capital and become king. Boris Godunov did not live up to this moment - he died from health complications. His son Fyodor II was captured by the associates of False Dmitry and killed.

The impostor ruled for only a year, after which he was overthrown during the Moscow uprising, inspired by disgruntled Russian boyars who did not like that False Dmitry surrounded himself with Catholic Poles. decided to transfer the crown to Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610). During the Time of Troubles, the rulers of Russia often changed.

The princes, tsars and presidents of Russia had to carefully guard their power. Shuisky did not hold her back and was overthrown by the Polish interventionists.

First Romanovs

When in 1613 Moscow was liberated from foreign invaders, the question arose of who should be made sovereign. This text presents all the tsars of Russia in order (with portraits). Now it's time to tell about the ascension to the throne of the Romanov dynasty.

The first sovereign of this kind - Michael (1613-1645) - was just a young man when he was put to rule a vast country. His main goal was the struggle with Poland for the lands occupied by it during the Time of Troubles.

These were the biographies of the rulers and the dates of the reign until the middle of the 17th century. After Michael, his son Alexei (1645-1676) ruled. He annexed left-bank Ukraine and Kyiv to Russia. So, after several centuries of fragmentation and Lithuanian rule, the fraternal peoples finally began to live in one country.

Alexei had many sons. The eldest of them, Fedor III (1676-1682), died at a young age. After him came the simultaneous reign of two children - Ivan and Peter.

Peter the Great

Ivan Alekseevich was unable to govern the country. Therefore, in 1689, the sole reign of Peter the Great began. He completely rebuilt the country in a European manner. Russia - from Rurik to Putin (let's look at all the rulers in chronological order) - knows few examples of an era so full of changes.

A new army and navy appeared. To do this, Peter started a war against Sweden. The Northern War lasted 21 years. During it, the Swedish army was defeated, and the kingdom agreed to cede its southern Baltic lands. In this region, in 1703, St. Petersburg was founded - the new capital of Russia. Peter's success made him think about changing his title. In 1721 he became emperor. However, this change did not abolish the royal title - in everyday speech, monarchs continued to be called kings.

The era of palace coups

Peter's death was followed by a long period of unstable power. The monarchs succeeded each other with enviable regularity, which was facilitated. As a rule, the guards or certain courtiers were at the head of these changes. During this era, Catherine I (1725-1727), Peter II (1727-1730), Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), Ivan VI (1740-1741), Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1761) and Peter III (1761-1762) ruled ).

The last of them was of German origin. Under the predecessor of Peter III, Elizabeth, Russia waged a victorious war against Prussia. The new monarch renounced all conquests, returned Berlin to the king and concluded a peace treaty. With this act, he signed his own death warrant. The guards organized another palace coup, after which Peter's wife Catherine II was on the throne.

Catherine II and Paul I

Catherine II (1762-1796) had a deep state mind. On the throne, she began to pursue a policy of enlightened absolutism. The Empress organized the work of the famous statutory commission, the purpose of which was to prepare a comprehensive project of reforms in Russia. She also wrote the Order. This document contained many considerations about the transformations needed for the country. The reforms were curtailed when a peasant uprising led by Pugachev broke out in the Volga region in the 1770s.

All the tsars and presidents of Russia (in chronological order, we listed all the royal persons) took care that the country looked worthy on the foreign arena. She was no exception. She led several successful military campaigns against Turkey. As a result, Crimea and other important Black Sea regions were annexed to Russia. At the end of Catherine's reign, three partitions of Poland took place. So the Russian Empire received important acquisitions in the west.

After the death of the great empress, her son Paul I (1796-1801) came to power. This quarrelsome man was not liked by many in the St. Petersburg elite.

First half of the 19th century

In 1801 there was another and the last palace coup. A group of conspirators dealt with Pavel. His son Alexander I (1801-1825) was on the throne. His reign fell on the Patriotic War and the invasion of Napoleon. The rulers of the Russian state have not faced such a serious enemy intervention for two centuries. Despite the capture of Moscow, Bonaparte was defeated. Alexander became the most popular and famous monarch of the Old World. He was also called "the liberator of Europe".

Inside his country, Alexander in his youth tried to implement liberal reforms. Historical figures often change their policies as they age. So Alexander soon abandoned his ideas. He died in Taganrog in 1825 under mysterious circumstances.

At the beginning of the reign of his brother Nicholas I (1825-1855) there was an uprising of the Decembrists. Because of this, conservative orders triumphed in the country for thirty years.

Second half of the 19th century

Here are all the tsars of Russia in order, with portraits. Further, we will talk about the main reformer of the national statehood - Alexander II (1855-1881). He became the initiator of the manifesto on the liberation of the peasants. The destruction of serfdom allowed the development of the Russian market and capitalism. The country began to grow economically. The reforms also affected the judiciary, local self-government, administrative and conscription systems. The monarch tried to raise the country to its feet and learn the lessons that the lost started under Nicholas I presented him.

But Alexander's reforms were not enough for the radicals. Terrorists attempted several times on his life. In 1881 they were successful. Alexander II died from a bomb explosion. The news came as a shock to the whole world.

Because of what happened, the son of the deceased monarch, Alexander III (1881-1894), forever became a tough reactionary and conservative. But he is best known as a peacemaker. During his reign, Russia did not conduct a single war.

The last king

Alexander III died in 1894. Power passed into the hands of Nicholas II (1894-1917) - his son and the last Russian monarch. By that time, the old world order with the absolute power of kings and kings had already outlived itself. Russia - from Rurik to Putin - knew a lot of upheavals, but it was under Nicholas that there were more than ever many of them.

In 1904-1905. the country experienced a humiliating war with Japan. It was followed by the first revolution. Although the unrest was suppressed, the king had to make concessions to public opinion. He agreed to establish a constitutional monarchy and a parliament.

The tsars and presidents of Russia at all times faced a certain opposition within the state. Now people could elect deputies who expressed these sentiments.

In 1914 the First World War began. No one then suspected that it would end with the fall of several empires at once, including the Russian one. In 1917, the February Revolution broke out, and the last tsar had to abdicate. Nicholas II, together with his family, was shot by the Bolsheviks in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.

On December 4, 1586, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was sentenced to death for her part in the conspiracy. Russian monarchs were also killed, only the domestic "anointed of God" died, as a rule, not under the guillotine, but became victims of popular anger or palace intrigues.

The reign of Fyodor Godunov lasted only 7 weeks

On April 24, 1605, the very next day after the death of Tsar Boris Godunov, Moscow proclaimed his 16-year-old son Fyodor, a talented and educated young man who was comprehensively prepared for the throne, to reign. But that time was troubled - False Dmitry I was moving to Moscow, who weaved intrigues in order to seize the throne and was able to lure Prince Mstislavsky and many of those who had recently supported the Godunovs to his side. The ambassadors who arrived in Moscow, on behalf of the impostor at Execution Ground, read a message in which False Dmitry I called the Godunovs usurpers, himself - Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, who allegedly managed to escape, promised all sorts of favors and benefits and urged to swear allegiance to himself. Popular unrest began, the crowd shouting "Down with the Godunovs!" rushed to the Kremlin.

With the connivance of the government of the boyars, Fyodor Godunov, his mother and sister Xenia were placed in custody, and False Dmitry I ascended the Russian throne. On June 20, 1605, Fyodor II Borisovich Godunov and his mother were strangled. That was the order of the new king. The people were told that they themselves had taken the poison.

The first Russian impostor tsar was killed at his own wedding

False Dmitry I is considered by historians to be an adventurer who pretended to be Tsarevich Dmitry, the surviving son of the Tsar. He became the first impostor who managed to take the Russian throne. False Dmitry did not stop at anything in his desire to become king: he gave out promises to the people and even staged his “confession” by Maria Naga, the mother of Tsarevich Dmitry.

But very little time had passed during the reign of False Dmitry I, and the Moscow boyars were very surprised that the Russian tsar did not observe Russian rituals and customs, but imitated the Polish monarch: he renamed the boyar duma the Senate, made a number of changes to the palace ceremonial and devastated the treasury with entertainment, expenses for maintenance of the Polish guards and for presents for the Polish king.

In Moscow, a dual situation developed - on the one hand, the tsar was loved, and on the other hand, they were very dissatisfied with him. At the head of the dissatisfied were Vasily Golitsyn, Vasily Shuisky, Mikhail Tatishchev, Prince Kurakin, as well as the Kolomna and Kazan metropolitans. The archers and the murderer of Tsar Fyodor Godunov Sherefedinov were supposed to kill the tsar. But the assassination attempt, planned for January 8, 1606, failed, and the crowd torn to pieces by the crowd.

A more favorable situation for the assassination attempt developed in the spring, when False Dmitry I announced his wedding to the Polish Marina Mnishek. On May 8, 1606, the wedding took place, and Mnishek was crowned queen. The festivities dragged on for several days, and the Poles (about 2 thousand people) who arrived at the wedding, in a drunken stupor, robbed passers-by, broke into the houses of Muscovites, and raped women. False Dmitry I retired for the duration of the wedding. This is what the conspirators took advantage of.

On May 14, 1606, Vasily Shuisky and his associates decided to act. The Kremlin changed security, opened prisons and issued weapons to everyone. On May 17, 1606, an armed crowd entered Red Square. False Dmitry tried to escape by flight and jumped out of the window of the chambers directly onto the pavement, where he was seized by archers and hacked to death. The body was dragged to Red Square, its clothes were torn off, a pipe was stuck in the impostor tsar's mouth, and a mask was put on his chest. Muscovites sneered at the body for 2 days, after which they buried it behind the Serpukhov Gates in the old cemetery. But this was not the end of the matter. There were rumors that "miracles work" over the grave. They dug up the body, burned it, mixed the ashes with gunpowder and fired it from a cannon towards Poland.

Ivan VI Antonovich - the emperor who did not see his subjects

Ivan VI Antonovich is the son of Anna Leopoldovna, niece of the childless Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna and Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, great-grandson of Ivan V. He was proclaimed emperor in 1740 at the age of two months, and Duke of Courland E.I. Biron was declared regent. But a year later - on December 6, 1741 - a coup d'état took place, and the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth Petrovna, ascended the Russian throne.

At first, Elizabeth thought to send the "Brunswick family" abroad, but was afraid that they might be dangerous. The deposed emperor with his mother and father were transported to Dinamunde, a suburb of Riga, and then north to Kholmogory. The boy lived in the same house with his parents, but in complete isolation from them, behind a blank wall under the supervision of Major Miller. In 1756 he was transferred "alone" to the Shlisselburg Fortress, where he was called a "famous prisoner" and kept in complete isolation from people. He couldn't even see the guards. The situation of the prisoner did not improve either under Peter III or under Catherine II.

During the time of imprisonment, several attempts were made to free the deposed emperor, the last of which turned out to be his death. On July 16, 1764, officer V.Ya. Mirovich, who was on guard in the Shlisselburg fortress, was able to win over part of the garrison to his side. He called for the release of Ivan and the overthrow of Catherine II. But when the rebels tried to free the prisoner Ivan VI, they stabbed two watchmen who were with him without a break. It is believed that Ivan Antonovich was buried in the Shlisselburg Fortress, but in fact he became the only Russian emperor whose burial place is not exactly known.

Peter III - emperor, deposed by his wife

Peter III Fedorovich - German Prince Karl Peter Ulrich, son of Anna Petrovna and Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, grandson of Peter I - ascended the Russian throne in 1761. He was not crowned, he ruled for only 187 days, but he managed to make peace with Prussia, thus crossing out the results of the victories of Russian troops in the Seven Years' War.

Peter's erratic actions in the domestic political arena deprived him of the support of Russian society, and many perceived his policy as a betrayal of national Russian interests. As a result, on June 28, 1762, a coup took place, and Catherine II was proclaimed empress. Peter III was sent to Ropsha (30 miles from St. Petersburg), where the deposed emperor died under unclear circumstances.

According to the official version, Peter III died either from a stroke or from hemorrhoids. But there is another version - Peter III was killed by the guards in the ensuing fight, and 2 days before the officially announced death. Initially, the body of Peter III was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and in 1796 Paul I ordered the body to be transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Paul I was strangled with a scarf

Many historians attribute the death of Paul I to the fact that he dared to encroach on the world hegemony of Great Britain. On the night of March 11, 1801, conspirators broke into the imperial chambers and demanded the abdication of Paul I from the throne.

The emperor tried to object, and, they say, even hit someone, in response, one of the rebels began to choke him with a scarf, and the other struck the emperor in the temple with a massive snuffbox. The people were told that Paul I had suffered an apoplexy. Tsarevich Alexander, who became Emperor Alexander I in one night, did not dare to touch the killers of his father, and Russian policy returned to the pro-English channel.

On the same days in Paris, a bomb was thrown into Bonaparte's cortege. Napoleon was not injured, and commented on the incident as follows: "They missed me in Paris, but hit in St. Petersburg."

An interesting coincidence 212 years later, on the same day that the murder of the Russian autocrat happened, the disgraced oligarch Boris Berezovsky passed away.

Alexander II - the emperor, on whom 8 attempts were made

Emperor Alexander II, the eldest son of the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, remained in the history of Russia as a reformer and liberator. Several assassination attempts were made on Alexander II. In 1867, in Paris, the Polish emigrant Berezovsky tried to kill him, in 1879 in St. Petersburg - a certain Solovyov. But these attempts were unsuccessful, and in August 1879 the executive committee of the "Narodnaya Volya" decided to kill the emperor. After that, 2 more unsuccessful attempts occurred: in November 1879, an attempt was made to blow up the imperial train, and in February 1880, an explosion thundered in the Winter Palace. To combat the revolutionary movement and protect state order, they even created the Supreme Administrative Commission, but this could not prevent the violent death of the emperor.

On March 13, 1881, when the tsar was driving along the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg, Nikolai Rysakov threw a bomb right under the carriage in which the tsar was traveling. Several people died from a terrible explosion, but the emperor remained unharmed. Alexander II got out of the wrecked carriage, went up to the wounded, to the detainee, and began to inspect the site of the explosion. But at that moment, the Narodnaya Volya terrorist Ignatius Grinevitsky threw a bomb right at the feet of the emperor, mortally wounding him.

The explosion tore the emperor's stomach, tore off his legs and disfigured his face. Even in his mind, Alexander was able to whisper: "To the palace, I want to die there." He was carried into the Winter Palace and put to bed already unconscious. On the site where Alexander II was killed, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built with donations from the people.

The last Russian emperor was shot in the basement

Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, Nicholas II, - the last Russian emperor ascended the throne in 1894 after the death of his father, Emperor Alexander III. On March 15, 1917, at the insistence of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, the Russian emperor signed the abdication of the throne both for himself and for his son Alexei and was placed under arrest with his family in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo.

The Bolsheviks wanted to hold an open trial of the ex-emperor (Lenin was an adherent of this idea), and Trotsky was to act as the main accuser of Nicholas II. But information appeared that a “White Guard conspiracy” was organized to kidnap the tsar, and on April 6, 1918, the royal family was transferred to Yekaterinburg and placed in the Ipatiev house.

On the night of July 16-17, 1918, Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, their five children and close associates were shot in the basement.

To somehow dispel the gloomy mood, we offer you to get acquainted with the killer "hello" from the Victorian era from the artist.

First Russian Emperor Peter the Great

“People of all generations in assessing the personality and activities of Peter agreed on one thing: he was considered a force. Peter was the most prominent and influential figure of his time, the leader of all the people. No one considered him an insignificant person who unconsciously used power or blindly walked along a random road. (S. F. Platonov "Personality and Activity").

Peter I was the first Russian emperor. He took this title in 1721 after the victory in the Great Northern War (1700-1721), which resulted in the expansion of Russia's territory in the Baltic region. According to the Peace of Nishtad (August 30, 1721), Russia received access to the Baltic Sea, annexed the territory of Ingria, part of Karelia, Estonia and Livonia. Thus, the country became a great European power, and by decision of the Senate, Peter was proclaimed Emperor of the Russian Empire, while he was given the titles "Great" ("Peter the Great") and "Father of the Fatherland").

It is known that from the time of his activity to the present, there are diametrically opposed assessments of both the personality of Peter I and his role in the history of Russia. Let's try to understand them and form our own opinion about him, although the fact is obvious that Peter I is one of the most prominent statesmen who determined the direction of Russia's development for many years to come.

short biography

Young Peter

He was proclaimed king at the age of 10 (in 1682), began to rule independently from 1689. From a young age he showed interest in science and a foreign way of life, among his youth friends there were many foreigners, especially Germans who lived in Moscow in German freedom. Peter was the first of the Russian tsars to make a long journey to the countries of Western Europe (1697-1698), where he not only got acquainted with the way of life and culture of these countries, but also learned a lot, delving into many crafts and sciences, as well as being engaged in self-education. After returning to Russia, he launched large-scale reforms of the Russian state and social order. He possessed tireless energy and curiosity, knew 14 crafts, but the main reason for the ambiguous attitude towards him was that he demanded the same from others - full commitment to the cause uncompromisingly. He firmly believed in the correctness and necessity of his actions, therefore, in order to achieve his goals, he did not reckon with anything.

You can read about the reforming activities of Peter I on our website:,.

In this article, we will pay more attention to the personality of Peter I and the assessment of his activities.

Personality of PeterI

Appearance and character

Peter was very tall (204 cm), but not a heroic build: he had a small foot (38 sizes), a slender build, small hands, and a swift gait.

Distinguished by the beauty and liveliness of his face, violated only by periodic strong convulsive twitches, especially in moments of excitement or emotional stress. It is believed that this was due to childhood shock during the Streltsy riots - the time of the seizure of power by his sister Sofya Alekseevna.

K.K. Steiben "Peter the Great in childhood, saved by his mother from the fury of archers"

People around were often frightened by these twitches of the face, which distorted his appearance. Here is how the Duke of Saint-Simon, who met with Peter during his stay in Paris, recalls this: “ He was very tall, well built, rather thin, with a roundish face, high forehead, fine eyebrows; his nose is rather short, but not too short, and is somewhat thick towards the end; the lips are rather large, the complexion reddish and swarthy, fine black eyes, large, lively, penetrating, beautifully shaped; a look majestic and friendly when he watches himself and restrains, otherwise severe and wild, with convulsions in the face, which are not often repeated, but distort both the eyes and the whole face, frightening all present. The convulsion usually lasted for an instant, and then his eyes became strange, as if bewildered, then everything immediately took on a normal look. His whole appearance showed intelligence, reflection and grandeur, and was not without charm.". But this was not the only thing that frightened the sometimes refined foreign aristocrats: Peter had a simple disposition and rude manners.

He was a lively, cheerful person, savvy and natural in all his manifestations: both joy and anger. But his anger was terrible and often combined with cruelty. In anger, he could hit and even beat his entourage. His evil jokes are known, especially often they were directed at noble and old boyars, who did not approve of his innovations and hampered the implementation of reforms, were supporters of native Russian moral and religious principles. In general, he treated opponents of reforms with particular cruelty and contempt. What is the value of the All-Joking, All-Drunken and Extravagant Cathedral he created, which was engaged in mockery of everything that was revered in society as primordially Russian. It was one of the inventions he founded for the purpose of entertainment, drinking amusements, a kind of jester's "order organization" that united the tsar's like-minded people.

Y. Pantsyrev "Peter and Menshikov"

The main feature of the "Sobor" was a parody of the rites of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Some historians even believe that the "Sobor" was created with the aim of discrediting the church and, along with shaving beards, is included in the general series of destroying the stereotypes of old Russian everyday life; at the "Sobor" they drank a lot and cursed a lot. It existed for about 30 years - until the mid-1720s. Perhaps that is why some people still perceive Peter I as the Antichrist (the opposite and antipode of Christ).

In this anti-behaviour, Peter was similar to Ivan the Terrible. Peter also sometimes personally performed the duties of an executioner.

Family

For the first time, Peter entered into marriage at the age of 17 at the insistence of his mother in 1689. Evdokia Lopukhina became his wife. Their son, Tsarevich Alexei, was brought up mainly by his mother, he was alien to the reforming activities of Peter. The rest of the children of Peter and Evdokia died in infancy. Subsequently, Evdokia Lopukhina was involved in the Streltsy rebellion and was exiled to a monastery.

Alexei Petrovich, the official heir to the Russian throne, condemned his father's transformations and fled to Vienna under the patronage of a relative of his wife (Charlotte of Brunswick) Emperor Charles VI. There he hoped to find support for his idea of ​​overthrowing Peter I. In 1717 he was persuaded to return home, where he was immediately taken into custody. In 1718, the Supreme Court sentenced him to death, finding him guilty of high treason.

But Tsarevich Alexei did not wait for the execution of the sentence and died in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The true cause of his death has not yet been established.

The prince had two children: Peter Alekseevich, who became Emperor Peter II in 1727 (read about him on our website:), and daughter Natalya.

In 1703, Peter I met 19-year-old Katerina, nee Martha Samuilovna Skavronskaya, who was captured by Russian troops as spoils of war during the capture of the Swedish fortress of Marienburg. Peter took the former maid from the Baltic peasants from Alexander Menshikov and made her his mistress. They had 6 daughters (including Elizabeth, the future empress, and three sons who died in infancy). The official wedding of Peter I with Ekaterina Alekseevna took place in 1712, shortly after returning from the Prut campaign. In 1724, Peter crowned Catherine as empress and co-ruler. After the death of Peter in January 1725, Ekaterina Alekseevna, with the support of the serving nobility and guards regiments, became the first ruling Russian Empress Catherine I (read about her on our website:), but the reign was short-lived and died in 1727, leaving the throne to Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich.

According to some sources, Peter I had 14 officially registered children. Many of them died in infancy.

Death of PeterI

Peter I died on February 8, 2725 in the Winter Palace. The cause of his death was nephrolithiasis complicated by uremia, but a sharp exacerbation of the disease began after Peter, inspecting the Ladoga Canal in October, entered waist-deep water to save a boat with soldiers that had run aground. It turns out that he could not only execute and get angry, but also sacrifice his health and, as it turned out, his life for the sake of others. After that, his health deteriorated sharply and death occurred.

I. Nikitin "Peter on his deathbed"

Contemporaries and historians about the activities of Peter the Great

Here are just a few of the many characteristics of this person, which cannot be characterized unambiguously. They say a man should be judged by his deeds. Peter's deeds are enormous, but always with the realization of this, another problem arises: at what cost?

Let's listen to different opinions about Peter I.

Mikhail Lomonosov always spoke of Peter enthusiastically: “With whom shall I compare the Great Sovereign? I see in antiquity and in modern times Possessors, called great. Indeed, before others are great. However, they are small before Peter. ... To whom shall I liken our Hero? I have often wondered what is the One who with an all-powerful wave governs the sky, the earth and the sea: His spirit breathes - and the waters flow, touches the mountains - and they rise up. .

L. Bernstam. Monument to Peter I "Tsar Carpenter"

Swedish writer and playwright Johan August Strindberg characterized him like this: “The barbarian who civilized his Russia; he who built cities, but did not want to live in them; he who punished his wife with a whip and gave the woman wide freedom - his life was great, rich and useful in public terms, in private terms, such as it turned out.

Historian S.M. Solovyov highly appreciated the activities of Peter, and considered the polarity of assessments of such a broad personality as Peter to be inevitable: “The difference of views stemmed from the enormity of the work done by Peter, the duration of the influence of this work. The more significant a phenomenon is, the more divergent views and opinions it generates, and the more they talk about it, the more they feel its influence on themselves.

P. N. Milyukov believes that the reforms were carried out by Peter spontaneously, from time to time, under the pressure of specific circumstances, without any logic and plan, they were "reforms without a reformer." He also mentions that only "at the cost of ruining the country, Russia was elevated to the rank of a European power." According to Milyukov, during the reign of Peter the Great, the population of Russia within the boundaries of 1695 decreased due to incessant wars.

N. M. Karamzin agreed with the characterization of Peter as "Great", but criticized him for his excessive passion for the foreign, the desire to make Russia the Netherlands. According to the historian, a sharp change in the "old" way of life and national traditions undertaken by the emperor is far from always justified. As a result, Russian educated people "became citizens of the world, but ceased to be, in some cases, citizens of Russia." But "A great man proves his greatness by the very mistakes."

Some historians believe that Peter did not change the most important thing in the country: serfdom. Temporary improvements in the present doomed Russia to a crisis in the future.

Thinker and publicist Ivan Solonevich gives an extremely negative characterization of the activities of Peter I. In his opinion, the result of Peter's activities was the gap between the ruling elite and the people, the denationalization of the first. He accused Peter of cruelty, incompetence, tyranny and cowardice.

IN. Klyuchevsky understands Peter's reforms not as transformations carried out according to a premeditated plan, but as a response and reaction to the dictates of the times: “The reform itself came out of the urgent needs of the state and the people, instinctively
felt by a powerful person with a sensitive mind and a strong character. "The reform was his personal affair, an unprecedentedly violent affair, and yet, involuntary and necessary." The historian goes on to say that “the reform gradually turned into a stubborn internal struggle, stirred up all the stagnant mold of Russian
life, agitated all classes of society ... ".

Conclusion

Peter I, the first Russian emperor, influenced Russian history so significantly that interest in his activities is unlikely to ever fade, no matter how his reforms are evaluated.