Czars of Russia

Ivan I

Nov 21, 1325

Ivan I ruled from 1325-1340. He earned the nickname "Kalita," or money bags, by staying loyal to the Golden Horde and not paying his army.

Ivan III

Apr 5, 1462

Ivan III ruled from 1462-1505. During his reign, the Russian state gained independence from the Mongol Tatars, finally ending 200 years of their rule. Ivan also made Moscow the centre of the Russian world by considerably expanding its borders.

Ivan IV

Dec 3, 1533

Ivan IV, or Ivan the Terrible, ruled from 1547-1584, although he still was Prince of Moscow at age 3 in 1533. After some years of ruling, Ivan performed a Coup d'état, which means he left for more power. He knew the people would be begging for him to come back, so he did for absolute power over Russia. These were the years where he tortured and killed his own preists, generals, and nobles. Then when he got attacked by real enemies, he was defenseless. Ivan the Terrible even killed his own son.

Peter the Great

May 7, 1682

Peter the Great ruled from 1682-1721. Peter was a very hands on hardworking fellow. He loved boats and crafting. Peter was known for modernizing Russia. He centralized government, modernized the army, and created a navy. He also created a city and named it after himself: St. Petersberg.

Catherine the Great

Jul 9, 1762

Catherine the Great ruled from 1762-1796. She was the longest ruling female of Russia. She was simply just brought over from Germany in her teens to have a baby with Peter III, so somebody could take the heir. Peter ended up not liking her. While she was in the palace, though, she absorbed a great amount of knowledge, languages, and became very interested in Russian culture.

Paul I

Nov 17, 1796

Paul I ruled from 1796-1801. He was the only the only son of Catherine the Great. He did not really like his mother, though, because it was rumored that he was an "affair child." Also he thought his mother didn't like him.

Alexander I

Mar 24, 1801

Alexander I ruled from 1801-1825. Alexander I was the son of Paul I. When Austria and Russia lost the battle of Austerlitz to Napoleon in 1805, Alaxander had enough. Napoleon and Alaxander signed a peace treaty, but that didn't last long. Napoleon attacked Russia, yet Alaxander used the land to his advantage. Napoleon lost, and this was a great victory for Alexander.

Nicholas I

Dec 1, 1825

Nicholas I ruled from 1825-1855. In December, 1825, Russian army officers led 3,000 soldiers in a revolt against Nicholas I taking his brother's throne. This event, called the Decembrist's Revolt, was held in Senate Square, Saint Petersberg.

Nicholas II

Nov 1, 1894

Nicholas II ruled from 1894-1917. Nicholas was a very well educated boy. He knew languages, military strarrgy, and religion. All that, and he still wasn't very ready to take the throne. In 1905, some workers were having a peaceful protest to make better working conditions and some political freedoms, and Nicholas had them shot. This event was known as "Bloody Sunday."

Prince Vladimir

Mar 2, 2022

Prince Vladimir ruled Kiev from 980-1015. He wanted to find the "best" religion for his people, so he went out on a search. He loved what he saw in Byzantine and created the Russion Orthodox Church.