List of Russian rulers

Russian tsar throne in front of the Romanov family coat of arms - exhibited in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg

The list of Russian rulers includes all rulers of the Russian Empire and its predecessor states from 862 to 1917, when the monarchy was ended by a revolution. From 1478 the ruler was named Tsar , who also bore the title of Keeper of the Byzantine Throne . In 1721 the title, although often still referred to as Tsar, was changed to Kaiser .

Capital Novgorod

Veliky Novgorod is one of the oldest cities in Russia (founded in 859) and was ruled by the Warsaw prince Ryurik, the founder of the first East Slav empire, from 862 to 879. Novgorod was already a large center with more than ten thousand inhabitants in the medieval empire of the Kievan Rus. The social structure consisted of three classes: rich merchants and bankers (also landowners) were at the top, ordinary merchants were representatives of the middle class; Craftsmen and day laborers belonged to the lower class of the population. In the High Middle Ages, Novgorod was, besides Constantinople, the only city in Europe where not only the nobility and clergy, but also the common people could read and write, which today includes the more than 1000 letters written on birch bark found during archaeological excavations (see above birch bark documents), which tell of everyday life in the medieval city. In Novgorod at that time trade and culture flourished. This is how famous icon painters such as Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublev worked . The Norwegian kings Olav I. Tryggvason , Olav II. Haraldsson , Magnus I. , Harald III. often sought refuge in Novgorod when danger threatened. Olav I. Tryggvason and Magnus I. spent their childhood and youth here and had a close relationship with the city throughout their lives.

image	Name (life data)	Reign	title	Remarks
	Rjurik (* around 830, † around 879)	862-878	Prince	The Warsaw prince is considered to be the founder of the Rurikid dynasty . Whether it is a real person or a legend is controversial. He is said to have ruled Novgorod from 862 to 879.

Rurikid dynasty

Grand Duke of Kievan Rus

Name (life data)	Reign	title	Remarks
Oleg, "the Prophet" († 912 or 922)	879-912	Regent / Prince	Is considered the founder of the Grand Duchy of Kiev. Ruled as regent for Ryurik's son Igor and marched against Constantinople in 907. As with Ryurik, its actual existence is not completely assured.
Igor I. (* around 878, † around 945)	912-945	Prince	Son of Ryurik. First prince whose existence is considered certain.
Olga, "the saint" (* 890; † July 11, 969)	945-962	Regent	Mrs. Igors. After the death of her husband, she ruled the empire for her underage son Svyatoslav. After she was baptized in 957, she tried to Christianize the Kievan Rus, but failed. She also led several campaigns against the Drewljanen .
Svyatoslav I, "the Conqueror" (* around 942; † spring 972)	962-972	Prince	Son of Igor I and Olgas. He destroyed the Khazar Empire and increased his sphere of influence to the Don. Then he conquered the Eastern Bulgarian Empire on the Danube, as a result of which it came to war with Byzantium . While retreating from Preslav, where he had moved his residence, he was killed by the Pechenegs .
Jaropolk I (* between 958 and 960; † 980)	972-980	Prince	Son of Svyatoslav I. After the death of his father, the kingdom was divided between the brothers and a dispute broke out between the brothers. He resumed Christianization . He was able to defend himself against the attacks of his brother Oleg, but he finally lost his power to brother Vladimir in 980.
Vladimir I, "the great" (* 960, † July 15, 1015)	980-1015	Prince / Grand Prince	Son of Svyatoslav I. He conquered Novgorod and, after killing his half-brother Yaropolk I, gained control of Kiev. Baptized himself in 987, he continued to promote Christianity. It is to this fact that he owes his nickname the saint . Shortly before his death, there was a falling out with his son Yaroslav. But the campaign against his son did not take place.
Svjatopolk I, "The Cursed" (* 978 or 979; † 1019)	1015-1019	Grand Duke	The son of Vladimir I. After his father's death, Svyatopolk prevailed in Kiev, while his half-brother continued to hold his own in Novgorod. In 1016 the armies of the brothers faced each other. Svyatopolk was defeated and fled to Poland. He returned briefly as ruler in 1018 before Yaroslav finally defeated him.
Yaroslav I, "the wise" (* 979 or 986; † 1054)	1019-1054	Grand Duke	Son of Vladimir I. He was awarded the city of Novgorod, over which he continued to rule even after the death of Vladimir. There were disputes with his father and his successor Svyatopolk I. He won the decisive battle and in 1019 finally prevailed as ruler of Kiev. He passed the first Russian law and waged several wars against the Poles. He also established the seniority principle .
Isjaslav I (* 1024 - † October 3, 1078)	1054-1068, 1069-1073 and 1076-1078	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav I.
Wseslaw (* 1029; † 1101)	1068-1069	Grand Duke	Great-grandson of Vladimir I, Prince of Polotsk
Svyatoslav II (* 1027 - † December 27, 1076)	1073-1076	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav I.
Vsevolod I (* 1030; † April 13, 1093)	1078-1093	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav I.
Svyatopolk II (* 1050; † 1113)	1093-1113	Grand Duke	Son of Isjaslav I.
Vladimir II Monomakh (* 1053 - 19 May 1125)	1113-1125	Grand Duke	Son of Vsevolod I.
Mstislaw I, "the great" (June 1076 - April 1132)	1125-1132	Grand Duke	Son of Vladimir II
Jaropolk II (* 1082; † 1139)	1132-1139	Grand Duke	Son of Vladimir II
Vyacheslav I (* 1083; † 1154)	1139, 1150 and 1151-1154	Grand Duke	Son of Vladimir II
Vsevolod II (* 1104; † 1146)	1139-1146	Grand Duke	Svyatoslav II's grandson
Igor II († September 19, 1147)	1146	Grand Duke	Brother of Vsevolod II
Isjaslav II. (* 1096; † 1154)	1146-1149, 1150 and 1151-1154	Grand Duke	Son of Mstislav I.
Yuri Dolgoruki (1090 - May 15, 1157)	1149-1150, 1150-1151, and 1155-1157	Grand Duke	Son of Vladimir II
Isjaslav III. (*? † 1162)	1155, 1157-1158 and 1161	Grand Duke	Svyatoslav II's grandson
Rostislaw (* around 1110; † 1167)	1154-1155, 1159-1161, and 1161-1167	Grand Duke	Son of Mstislav I.
Mstislaw II. (*?; † 1170)	1158-1159 and 1167-1169	Grand Duke	Son of Isjaslav II.

Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal

Name (life data)	Reign	title	Remarks
Andrej Bogoljubski (* 1111; † 1174)	1168-1174	Grand Duke	Son of Yuri Dolgorukis
Mikhail Jurjewitsch (* unknown; † June 20, 1176)	1174 and 1175-1176	Grand Duke	Son of Yuri Dolgorukis
Jaropolk Rostislavich (* unknown, † after 1196)	1174-1175	Grand Duke	Andrei Bogoljubski's nephew
Vsevolod III., The big nest (* 1154, † 1212)	1176-1212	Grand Duke	Son of Yuri Dolgorukis
Constantine (* 1185 - † February 2, 1218)	1216-1218	Grand Duke	Son of Vsevolod III.
Juri II. (* 1188; † 1238)	1212-1216 and 1218-1238	Grand Duke	Son of Vsevolod III.
Yaroslav II (1190 - September 30, 1246)	1238-1246	Grand Duke	Son of Vsevolod III.
Svyatoslav III. (* 1196- † 1252)	1246-1248	Grand Duke	Son of Vsevolod III.
Andrej II. (* Unknown; † 1264)	1248-1252	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav II
Alexander Newski (around 1220 - 14 November 1263)	1252-1263	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav II
Yaroslav III (* 1230; † 1271/72)	1263-1271 / 72	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav II
Wassili (* 1241; † 1276)	1271 / 72-1276	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav II
Dimitri I (* around 1250; † 1294)	1276-1281 and 1283-1293	Grand Duke	Son of Alexander Newski
Andrei III (* around 1255 - † July 27, 1304)	1281-1283 and 1293-1304	Grand Duke	Son of Alexander Newski
Michail (* 1271; † 1318)	1304-1318	Grand Duke	Son of Yaroslav III. and Prince of Tver
Yuri III. (* 1281; November 21, 1325)	1318-1322	Grand Duke	Son of Daniil Alexandrovich; Grandson of Alexander Nevsky and Prince of Moscow
Dimitri II. (* 1299, † September 15, 1326)	1322-1326	Grand Duke	Son of Mikhail and Prince of Tver
Alexander II (1301 - 29 October 1339)	1326-1327	Grand Duke	Son of Mikhail and Prince of Tver

Grand Duke of Moscow and Tsar of Russia

Name (life data)	Reign	title	Remarks
Daniil Alexandrowitsch Moskowski (* 1261; † 1303)	1272-1303	Prince	Son of Alexander Newski
Juri I. Daniilowitsch (* 1281; † 1325)	1303-1325	Prince	Son of Daniil Alexandrovich ; Alexander Newski's grandson
Ivan I, "the money sack" (* 1288; † 1341)	1325-1328 1328-1341	Prince Grand Duke	Son of Daniil Alexandrovich ; Alexander Newski's grandson
Simeon, "the proud" (* 1316; † 1353)	1341-1353	Grand Duke	Ivan I's son Simeon received the principality of Moscow when the empire was divided by Ivan I. Moscow remained the decisive power center of the empire. He was able to prevent the earlier conflicts with Tver from emerging, not least through the marriage to Maria von Tver. He died of the plague epidemic of 1353.
Ivan II, "the beautiful" (* March 30, 1326; † November 13, 1359)	1353-1359	Grand Duke	Son of Ivan I. He unexpectedly ascended the throne after the death of his brother and his sons. He annexed the area around Wereja south of Moscow. After a short reign, Ivan died and his underage son Dmitri Donskoy became Grand Duke.
Dmitri I. Donskoy (October 12, 1350 - May 19, 1389)	1359-1389	Grand Duke	Son of Ivan II
Vasily I (* 1371; † February 1425)	1389-1425	Grand Duke	Son of Dimitris I.
Vasily II, "the blind one" (* March 10, 1415, † March 1462)	1425-1462	Grand Duke	Son of Wassilis I.
Ivan III, "the great" (* January 22, 1440 - † October 27, 1505)	1462-1505	Grand Duke	Son Wassilis II. Was the first Grand Duke to use the title of Tsar of Russia
Vasily III. (* 1479- † 1533)	1505-1533	Grand Duke	Son of Ivan III.
Ivan IV, "the terrible" (* 25 August 1530, † 28 March 1584)	1533-1584	Tsar	Son of Wassilis III. He was the first crowned Russian tsar in 1547
Fyodor I (May 31, 1557 - January 17, 1598)	1584-1598	Tsar	Son of Ivan IV. Last tsar of the Rurikid dynasty. Fyodor was mentally retarded and completely insignificant as a ruler. A Regency Council ruled for him, which also included Boris Godunov.

Time of Troubles (different dynasties)

Name (life data)	Reign	title	Remarks
Boris Godunow (* 1552; † April 23, 1605)	1598-1605	Tsar	He was the first ruler after the end of the Rurikid dynasty. He came to power through the election of Semsky Sobor and was proclaimed tsar on February 21. In 1601 there were deep social and political crises. At the same time, the first false Dimitri appeared to claim the throne of the tsar. Boris Godunov died unexpectedly on April 23, 1605.
Fyodor II Godunov (1589 - June 20, 1605)	1605	Tsar	Son of Boris Godunov. He succeeded his father briefly on the throne before he was overthrown and murdered by supporters of the false Dimitris.
Dimitri I, "the wrong one" (* unknown; † May 27, 1606)	1605-1606	Tsar	He claimed to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. With the help of the Polish king Sigismund III. Wasa , he obtained the dignity of tsar, converted to Catholicism and married the Polish woman Marina . Through his politics he lost the support of the nobility. He was murdered in a revolt evoked by his successor, Vasily.
Vasily IV Shuisky (September 22, 1552 - September 12, 1612)	1606-1610	Tsar	Vasily Shuisky was elected tsar after the death of the false Dimitri. During his reign there were clashes between the noble families. A second fake Dimitri appeared and found support among the nobility. With Swedish help he held out until 1610, when he was taken prisoner in Poland, where he died in 1612.
Władysław IV. Wasa (born June 9, 1595 - † May 20, 1648)	1610-1613	-	In the period from 1610 to 1613 he was designated tsar. After the Poles had invaded Moscow, Władysław was to take over the dignity of the Tsar. His father Sigismund claimed the throne for himself and in the end neither of them took over the Russian throne.

Romanov dynasty

Tsar of Russia

Name (life data)	Reign	title	Remarks
Michael I (July 22, 1596 - July 23, 1645)	1613-1645	Tsar	Son of Philaret . First tsar of the Romanov family , who was elected and crowned tsar in 1613. At the beginning he had to fend off violent attacks from the Poles, who did not recognize him as tsar.
Alexei I, "the meekest" (born March 29, 1629, † February 8, 1676)	1645-1676	Tsar	Son of Michael I. During his reign there was severe oppression of the peasants. The additional high tax burden repeatedly led to uprisings from 1648 onwards. In 1649 serfdom was established by law. Alexei waged a war with Poland from 1654, in which Sweden also entered in 1656 and fought against Russia. It was not until the Peace of Andrussovo in 1667 that the war ended and Smolensk, Kiev and eastern Ukraine became part of Russia.
Fyodor III (June 9, 1661 - May 7, 1682)	1676-1682	Tsar	Son of Alexeis I. He was at war with the Ottoman Empire for most of his reign . Fyodor had initiated many reforms, but he never finished most of them. The abolition of the rank order in the military was important .
Sofia Alexejewna (September 27, 1657 - July 14, 1704)	1682-1689	Regent	Daughter Alexeis I. After Fjodor's death, the question of succession arose. After bloody uprisings by the Strelitzen , she was declared regent for the two underage tsars Ivan V and Peter I. The unsuccessful campaigns against the Crimean Tatars led to their overthrow in August 1689. Peter I had them sheared to the nun.
Ivan V (September 6, 1666 - February 8, 1696)	1682-1696	Tsar	Son Alexeis I. He was crowned tsar together with Peter. Due to his health, Ivan never played a political role. In the first few years the government was with his sister Sofia, who had been appointed regent. After their disempowerment, his brother Peter ruled.
Peter I, "the great" (born June 9, 1672; † February 8, 1725)	1682-1725	Tsar	Son of Alexeis I.

Emperor of Russia

Name (life data)	Reign	title	Remarks
Peter I, "the great" (born June 9, 1672; † February 8, 1725)	1682-1725	Emperor	Son Alexeis I. In 1721 Peter accepted the title of emperor . In 1724 he made his second wife co-regent. He reformed the Russian Empire based on the Western model.
Catherine I (April 15, 1684 - May 17, 1727)	1725-1727	empress	Mrs. Peters I. First Empress of Russia. Peter the Great appointed her co-regent as early as 1724. After his death, Alexander Danilowitsch Mensikov helped her to the throne. She handed over the government to him, but died two years later.
Peter II (born October 23, 1715 - † January 29, 1730)	1727-1730	Emperor	Grandson of Peter I, last male Romanov on the throne. The young tsar was strongly influenced, Menshikov first tried to expand his power, but was overthrown by Dolgoruki. He moved the court back to Moscow. In 1730, Peter developed smallpox and died.
Anna (February 7, 1693 - October 28, 1740)	1730-1740	empress	Daughter of Ivan V. She cared little about government affairs. Under her reign the spread towards Central Asia began. Russia participated in the War of the Polish Succession and the Russo-Austrian Turkish War. Their reign is also called the Dark Age.
Ivan VI (23 August 1740 - 16 July 1764)	1740-1741	Emperor	Ivan V's great-grandson Empress Anna appointed her sister's grandson to be the heir to the throne. As a baby he ascended the throne of Russia under the reign of Anna Leopoldovna . Elisabeth Petrovna overthrew the young tsar the following year. Ivan was imprisoned and murdered in 1764.
Elisabeth (December 29, 1709 - January 5, 1762)	1741-1762	empress	Daughter of Peter I and Katharinas I. Last of the original Romanovs on the throne. In terms of domestic politics, Elisabeth was able to stabilize the empire. It led a strict religious policy, which meant that Jews and those of different faiths suffered from reprisals. In the Seven Years' War Russia fought on Austria's side against Prussia.
Peter III (February 21, 1728 - July 17, 1762)	1762	Emperor	Grandson of Peter I and Katharinas I, founder of the Romanow-Holstein-Gottorp line . Made peace with Prussia and switched to his side in the Seven Years' War. He was overthrown by a plot that put his wife Katharina on the throne. Supporters of the Tsarina murdered him in July 1762.
Catherine II, "the great" (* May 2, 1729; † November 17, 1796)	1762-1796	empress	Mrs. Peters III. She disempowered her husband and was proclaimed empress. It promoted the settlement of foreigners in Russia. It was able to expand Russia's sphere of influence to such an extent that after two wars against the Turks Russia had access to the Black Sea. She also played a decisive role in the three partitions of Poland and in 1788 waged war against the Swedes.
Paul I (October 1, 1754 - March 23, 1801)	1796-1801	Emperor	Son of Peter III. and Catherine II. He made an alliance with France, the enemy of his previous allies. Conspirators wanted to force him to abdicate. Paul refused and was murdered.
Alexander I. (23 December 1777 - 1 December 1825)	1801-1825	Emperor	Son of Paul I fought against Napoleon in the Bund and brokered the peace of Tilsit. Participated in the wars of liberation that ended with the fall of Napoleon. He also participated in the Congress of Vienna in the reorganization of Europe.
Nicholas I (July 6, 1796 - March 2, 1855)	1825-1855	Emperor	Son of Paul I Domestically, the Decembrists attacked him. He also faced the November uprising of the Poles. In terms of foreign policy, he waged war against Persia and Turkey, among others. Nikolaus wanted to conquer Turkey again in 1853 and thus triggered the Crimean War , the end of which he never lived to see.
Alexander II, "the liberator" (April 29, 1818 - March 13, 1881)	1855-1881	Emperor	Son of Nicholas I. He agreed to the Peace of Paris in 1856 , thus ending the Crimean War. The abolition of serfdom earned him the name Liberator Tsar. In 1877, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire due to the Bulgarian April Uprising . He began many reforms, but had opponents of the regime monitored and persecuted. He died in an explosives attack.
Alexander III, "the peacemaker" (* March 10, 1845, † November 1, 1894)	1881-1894	Emperor	Son of Alexander II. After coming to power, he lifted many of his murdered father's liberalizations. He strengthened the autocracy in Russia and founded the secret police Okhrana . During his reign, Russia did not wage wars, which is why he was nicknamed "the peacemaker".
Nicholas II (May 18, 1868 - July 17, 1918)	1894-1917	Emperor	Son of Alexander III. Last crowned emperor of Russia. The defeat in the war against Japan in 1905 - after the crackdown on a peaceful demonstration on St. Petersburg's Bloody Sunday - triggered the Russian Revolution in 1905 . The emperor had to accept the formation of a Duma. 1914-18 Russia fought in the First World War . Nikolaus abdicated in 1917 as a result of the February Revolution and was murdered by the Bolsheviks with his family in the summer of 1918 . He has been venerated as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church since 2000.

Others

Nikolai II had renounced the throne in 1917 in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov , but Russia's Provisional Government had immediately urged Mikhail to renounce the throne. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolajewitsch Romanow the Younger was proclaimed tsar in 1922 by Zemsky Sobor of the Amur Provisional Government . However, he could not take office because he was in exile in Paris at the time and the Amur Provisional Government was overturned in December 1922.

literature

Hans-Joachim Torke (Ed.): The Russian Tsars 1547–1917 . Verlag CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-42105-9 .