All the kings of Russia in order (with portraits): full list

Below is a complete list of all Russian tsars. 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

For many years, Russia (from Rurik to Putin) many times changed the state system. First rulers wore a princely title. When, after a period of political fragmentation around Moscow, a new Russian state was formed, the Kremlin's owners thought about accepting the tsar's title.

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

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

The son of Ivan Fedor (1584-1598) was noted for his weak character and health. Nevertheless, with him, the state continued to develop. The patriarchate was established. The rulers of the Russian state have always paid much attention to the question of succession to the throne. This time he got up particularly keenly. Fedor had no children. When he passed away, the dynasty of the Rurik people on the Moscow throne stopped.

Time of Troubles

After the death of Fedor, Boris Godunov (1598-1605) came to power, his brother-in-law. He did not belong to the reigning family, and many considered him a usurper. With him, because of natural disasters, a huge famine began. The kings and presidents of Russia have always tried to keep calm in the provinces. Because of the tense situation Godunov did not succeed. Several peasant uprisings took place in the country.

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

The impostor ruled for 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 Catholics. The boyar Duma decided to transfer the crown to Vasili Shuisky (1606-1610). In troubled times, the rulers of Russia often changed.

Princes, kings and presidents of Russia had to carefully guard their authority. Shuisky did not deter her and was overthrown by the Polish interventionists.

The First Romanovs

When in 1613 Moscow was liberated from foreign invaders, the question arose of who to make a sovereign. In this text all the kings of Russia are presented in order (with portraits). Now it's time to talk about ascension to the throne of the Romanov dynasty.

The first sovereign of this kind - Michael (1613-1645) - was quite a youth when he was sent to rule a huge country. His main goal was to fight with Poland for the lands that she had seized during the Troubles.

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

Alexei had many sons. The eldest of them, Fyodor 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 (in chronological order we will consider all rulers) - knows few examples so full of changes of an epoch.

A new army and navy appeared. For this, Peter began a war against Sweden. For 21 years the Northern War lasted. During it, the Swedish army was defeated, and the kingdom agreed to give up 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 the title. In 1721 he became emperor. However, this change did not abolish the tsar's title - in ordinary speech the monarchs continued to be called kings.

The era of palace coups

The death of Peter was followed by a long period of instability of power. Monarchs succeeded each other with an enviable regularity, which contributed to the palace coups. At the head of these changes, as a rule, there was a guard or certain courtiers. In this era, the rules of 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) ).

The last of them was of German descent. Under Peter III's predecessor, Elizabeth, Russia waged a victorious war against Prussia. The new monarch renounced all conquests, returned to King Berlin and concluded a peace treaty. By this act he signed himself a death sentence. The Guard organized another palace revolution, after which the throne was the wife of Peter the Great, Catherine II.

Catherine II and Paul I

Catherine II (1762-1796) possessed a deep state mind. On the throne, she began to pursue a policy of enlightened absolutism. The Empress organized the work of the famous commission, set up to prepare a comprehensive reform project in Russia. She also wrote the Nazak. This document contained many considerations on the necessary for the country transformation. The reforms were curtailed when in the 1770s a peasant uprising broke out in the Volga region under the leadership of Pugachev.

All the kings and presidents of Russia (in chronological order we enumerated all the regal persons) took care that the country looked adequately on the outside scene. Catherine was no exception. She conducted several successful military campaigns against Turkey. As a result, Crimea and other important Black Sea regions were joined to Russia. At the end of the reign of Catherine, there were three sections of Poland. So the Russian Empire received important acquisitions in the west.

After the death of the great empress, her son Pavel I (1796-1801) came to power. This arrogant man did not like much in the Petersburg elite.

First half of the XIX century

In 1801, there was another and final palace coup. A group of conspirators dealt with Paul. On the throne was his son Alexander I (1801-1825). His reign was in 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 already. Despite the seizure 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. Historians often change their policies with 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, for thirty years in the country, conservative orders triumphed.

Second half of the XIX century

All the kings of Russia are represented here in order, with portraits. Next 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 abolition of serfdom allowed the Russian market and capitalism to develop. In the country, economic growth began. Reforms also affected the judiciary, local government, administrative and recruitment systems. The monarch tried to lift the country to his feet and learn the lessons that he gave the lost Crimean War, started under Nicholas I.

But the radicals had little reform of Alexander. Terrorists several times attempted his life. In 1881 they achieved success. Alexander II was killed by a bomb. The news was a shock to the whole world.

Because of the incident, the son of the deceased monarch Alexander III (1881-1994) forever became a tough reactionary and conservative. But most of all he is known as a peacemaker. During his reign, Russia did not have a single war.

The Last Tsar

In 1894, Alexander III died. The 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 at Nikolai that they happened more than ever.

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

Tsars and presidents of Russia at all times have 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, 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.