Russian flag

The Leaders of Russia

By rchmusicman
  • Jul 15, 1015

    Prince Vladimir dies

    Vladimir, at the age of approximately 57, dies in a settlement called Berestovo, near Kiev. He is revered by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, and his feast day is July 15, He was a crucial player in the rise of Russia's power in its earliest days. He represents both determination and strength and virtue.
  • Jan 1, 1240

    Russia is Overtaken

    (Not the exact date) Russia is invaded and taken over by the Mongol hordes, due to a lack of a real military and a powerful, centralized government.
  • Jan 22, 1440

    Ivan III is born

    Ivan III was born in Moscow on January 22, 1440. His mother was was Maria of Bovorsk. His father, Vasily II, died in 1462, when Ivan was just 22 years old. Ivan then proceeded to carry out one of the longest reigns in Russian history.
  • Apr 5, 1462

    Ivan III becomes Grand Prince of Russia

    Ivan III becomes the Grand Prince of Russia after his father dies. Throughout his rule, he established a more autocratic role as Russian monarch, which led to the line of autocratic Czars, starting in the sixteenth century. Ivan had several wives and children, but Vasily III, his son with Sophia Paleologue, succeeded him.
  • Jun 1, 1471

    Novgorod Offensive

    Ivan is looking to unify all the lands around his current dominion, and turns to Novgorod in 1470. By this date in 1471, the Battles of the Shelon River and the Northern Dvina were both victories for Russia, and the Novgorodians were forced to comply and make peace with Russia as part of the expanding Russian empire.
  • Sep 12, 1472

    Ivan's brothers begin to fall away

    Ivan III had four younger brothers, with whom he had many quarrels. The eldest of these, Iurii, died without any children on this date in 1472. Iurii only left behind a draft of a will of his land, which Ivan seized quickly after. Ivan's brother Andrei died in 1481, leaving his lands to Ivan. Another brother, Andrei, and Boris, were both arrested for breaking a pact with Ivan not to have alliance dealings with foreign countries. They had previously fled to Lithuania, and they died in 1493/1494.
  • Jan 15, 1478

    Novgorod is shared

    In 1478-1479, agreements with Novgorodian leaders and bishops establish that Ivan controls around 20% of Novgorod, and Ivan's allies hold the other 80% in their grasp. Ivan had relations with Hungary, Denmark, Poland, but he fought a war with Sweden later on.
  • Jul 14, 1500

    Moscow gains part of Lithuania

    Moscow armies, on an offensive, obtain a great part of the land of Lithuanina, after an unsuccessful attempt to conquer the Swedish city of Viborg in 1499. The Russian Empire is steadily growing.
  • Oct 27, 1505

    Ivan III dies

    Ivan III passed away on October 27, 1505 in Moscow. He was an Eastern Orthodox Christian leader for Russia, and was succeeded by his son Vasily III.
  • Aug 25, 1530

    Ivan IV is born

    Ivan the Terrible, grandson of Ivan III, is born near Moscow. Ivan IV was the first Russian ruler to be crowned Czar of all of Russia. He led several major Russian expansionist conquests, and by the time his reign was over, Russia occupied nearly one billion acres of land.
  • Jan 16, 1547

    Ivan IV is crowned Czar

    Ivan the Terrible became the first man to be crowned Czar of all Russia, at the age of 16. By this time, Ivan had lost his father to a boil that led to blood poisoning. His father's death could have been a trigger to some of Ivan's "mental illness." Ivan's father died when Ivan was 3. His mother, five years after that, was believed to have been assassinated by poisoning.
  • Jun 16, 1552

    Ivan leads a victorious army to Kazan

    The title speaks for itself. Ivan IV led a 150,000-man army to Kazan, a rival empire in the South and had invaded Muscovy before, but now was retreating. Ivan was victorious completely and obtained around 60 to 100,000 Russian slaves and prisoners back from the jails of Kazan, which surrendered on 30 October.
  • Feb 2, 1570

    (Unexact date) Sack of Novgorod

    In 1570, after dealing with much mental and psychological toil, Ivan looks to conquer Novgorod fully. He succeeds in doing so, It is estimated that 2000-3000 people were killed in this event, not including the Russians. Ivan IV also had initially feared that the noblemen of Novgorod looked to ally with rival Lithuania. Just six years earlier, one of Ivan's most trusted advisers fled and allied with Lithuania against Russia.

  • Ivan IV dies, Times of Trouble begins

    Ivan IV dies while playing a game of chess, suffering a stroke. After over two decades of war with several Baltic states and Russian occupants, Sweden and Livonia and regained much territory from Russia, but a later campaign in Siberia in 1580-1582 was a success. But, the damaged kingdom was now left to the unfit son of Ivan IV, Feodor I.

  • Michael Romanov is born

    Michael, the son of Feodor Romanov, is born in Moscow on this date in 1596. He was unanimously voted in as Czar of Russia in 1613 and ruled for 32 years until his death in 1645. Michael was the first official Czar in the Romanov line, and this line of Czars endured all the way until 1917, at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution.

  • Michael's Father is Returned

    The Treaty of Deulino was signed and legalized on this date in 1618, bringing back Michael's father, Feodor, back from exile. Feodor remained in Russia until his death in 1633. Around this time, Michael had also allied with Sweden against Poland.

  • Michael Romanov dies

    Michael passes away in Moscow, partly from a tragic incident where one of Michael's daughters failed to marry a son of King Christian IV of Denmark. This had a traumatic influence on the Czar, and he actually died upon his 49th birthday. Way to end on a good note. Michael was succeeded by his son, Alexis Romanov.

  • Peter the Great is Born

    Peter I, the son of Alexis, and one of the most vital and crucially important men in Russian history, is born in Moscow on this date in 1672. His father, Alexis I, died in 1676, and Peter's half-brother, Feodor III, was the rightful herir, but was not fit entirely to be the new czar. He died in 1682, and his younger brother, Ivan V, was next in line, but was also weak of mind, so he and Peter, ten years old, shared the czardom of Russia, with Peter's mother acting as the regent, or ruler.

  • Peter is crowned as a Russian Czar

    Peter is crowned as co-czar of Russia with his half-brother Ivan V, after Feodor III dies. Peter's elder half-sister, Sophia, leads a Streltsy rebellion and Sophia then claims the title of regent after Peter's mother dies. Eventually, Sophia is ousted by Peter from the title of Regent and sent into a convent. She renounces her royalty. Peter became the sole Czar once Ivan died in 1696.

  • Peter is building military knowledge

    Peter, now 18 years old, had been assembling an army of his friends and followers, and this army grew from tens to hundreds to thousands, and Peter also learned about making and operating ships, which he experiemented with on small Russian lakes as a youth. Peter also now had the full idealism of resisting old Russian traditions and ignoring them, as he wanted to have Russia become more Westernized and militarily strong.

  • Peter is the Sole Czar of Russia

    Ivan V dies, so Peter is now the sole emperor of all of Russia. Peter has military advisers from England and other European powers, and he encourages Westernization and strengthening government and military. His height, remarkably, was a lofty 6' 8'' in his prime, yet lean. He was completely un-Russian in appearance, and he then led several conquests against the Ottoman Turks, Sweden, Siberian tribes, and he expanded Russia's borders.

  • Catherine the Great dies

    Catherine died at the age of 67 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She was a very major ruler in Russian history, as she was an expansionist, reformer, and she herself was very educated, political, and she added a great deal of acreage to Russia during her 34-year tenure. She also stood up and began to start up institutions for women, so she was also a figurehead of gender equality in the still very patriarchal Russia. Her rule is considered the Golden Age, by some.

  • Sweden and Russia in the fight

    King Charles XII had previously defeated Peter and the Russians in 1708, and looked to march upon Moscow. But, Peter and the Russians crushed a Swedish army invading Russian territory, and retreated. Charles XII then decided to invade Ukraine instead, and Russians then destroyed any supplies that may have aided the Swedes, and on this date August II was restored as King of Poland and Charles was exiled into the Ottoman Empire, whom Peter had also fought with and gained new territory.

  • Peter the Great dies

    After many years of incredible military development and success, Peter dies of uremia. He was 52 and an autopsy revealed his bladder was infected with gangrene. Peter had 14 children, and only 1 exceeded age 30. He was the first real Russian emperor, and he had made Russia a major power in Europe, Asia and the world. He was a reformer, tyrant and advancer of Western ideology. Russia now extends from Eastern Europe to the Bering Sea.

  • Catherine the Great is Born

    Catherine was born in Prussia, the Holy Roman Empire, not Russia. She then came back as a youth. She had two first cousins, Gustav III and Charles XIII, who were kings of Sweden and ruled over Germany. Catherine had the longest rule of any female Russian empress or ruler, and her rule revitalized Russia and cemented its status as a major power in Europe, Asia and the world.

  • Sophie receives a new name

    Princess Sophia receives the name Catherine, after she is made an official member and leader of the Orthodx Church. Later, she marries Peter III, who eventually becomes czar of Russia, but she succeeds him after only a 6-month reign.

  • Battle of Kagul

    This was a major battle in which Catherine had taken up the challenge of becoming a major infuential power in the South by the Ottoman Empire, completing what Peter the Great had started earlier on. This was a Russian victory, along with the Battle of Chesma. This was during the first Russo-Turkish war. Both ended in gains for Russian territory as Russia continued to grow.

  • Treaty of Varala

    This treaty returned all original territories to their state prior to the Russo-Swedish war of the late 18th century, instigated by King Gustav III of Sweden. Peace ensued for a good while, aided by Gustav's assassination in 1792. Catherine also acted as a diplomat with other European powers like Turkey, France, Britain, and maintained relations throughout her reign.

  • (unexact date) Treaty of Jassy

    Russia and the Ottoman Empire came to this agreement which would then yield the Yedisan region to Russia, after the Ottomans suffered another massive defeat, overall, in the second Russo-Turkish war. Her cousin, Gustav III of Sweden, looked to get rid of Russian armies in the Ottoman Empire and directly attack St. Petersburg, named after Peter the Great.

  • Alexander II is born

    Alexander was born on this date in 1818 in the Moscow Kremlin, Moscow. He went to be an imporant reformer in the freeing of the Serfs class. He experienced and dealt with several attempts on his life during his czardom and was finally assassinated in a bombing attempt in which his whole body was mutilated and wrecked, in 1881. He ruled for 26 years.

  • Alexander is married

    Alexander is married to Princess Marie of Hesse in St. Petersburg. Maria bore him six sons and two daughters. Alexander III, one of their offspring, succeeded his father after Alexander II's assassination in 1881. The children were married to royalty throughout European countries such as Denmark. Only one of the children died under 10 years, and the rest lived decently long lives.

  • Emancipation of Serfs Law

    The Serfs were officially emancipated and freed on this date, with Alexander's proposition law finally being authorized into Russian law, six years after Alexander's ascension to the role of Emperor and Autocrat of Russia.

  • (Unexact date) Alexander II sells Alaska

    In 1867, the United States of America purchased Alaska, currently Russian territory, from Russia for $7 million. ($200 million today)

  • Nicholas II is born

    Nicholas II is born on this date in 1868 in Alexander Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the last of czars in the Romanov line, and the last czar of all. He experienced and fell in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, when he was taken out of power and assassinated at the age of 50. He had ruled Russia for 22 years.

  • Vladimir Lenin's childhood

    Vladimir experienced much turmoil as a youth, with his father dying of a hemorrhage followed by his eldest brother being put to death after being convicted in a plot against the life of Czar Alexander III. This led to Vladimir becoming a politcal radical, and a communist politician to lead the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

  • Alexander II is assassinated in St. Petersburg

    The last of several attempts, Alexander II was killed in a bombing attack in St. Petersburg, in which his legs were blown off and was bleeding from virtually everywhere in his body, almost. The assassins, most likely, were against his more liberal style of rule and governing Russia. Alexander was also the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Finland.

  • Russo-Japanese War

    The Russian fleets were decimated and overtaken by Japanese forces by this date, and Nicholas II now sought to make peace with Japan instead of continuing to fight, after Japan had unexpectedly attacked Port Arthur, without a formal declaration of war.

  • (unexact date) Anti-jewish murder pogroms

    Several pogroms were passed throughout Russia in 1905 that authorized the killing of Jews, and many cases, children. Vladimir Lenin was then convinced, after seeing a photo of several dead jewish children, that this was due to czarist oppression.

  • Collapsing of the Monarchy and Russia

    World War I was taking an economic toll on Russia, an ally of the central powers in World War I. Basic farm goods were now extremely expensive due to 15 million men being taken into military service. Locomotive industries were failing, Supplies for energy, building, construction and basic needs were faltering along the deteriorating railways, and Russia was on the verge of total collapse now.

  • Vladimir Lenin comes to power in Russia

    Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revoultion, assumes the Chairman of People's Comissars role, and essentially begins a completely new era in Russian history: the Soviet era. He was in office for about 7 years, before dying of neurosyphilis in 1924. He was succeeded by Joseph Stalin, one of his colleagues.

  • Lenin is nearly assassinated

    So many assassination attempts occurred with various rulers in more recent Russian history, but Lenin dodged a bullet, literally, when his colleague Fritz Platten put Lenin's head down on his desk, and Platten's hand was grazed by the bullet.

  • Nicholas II and his family is murdered

    A firing squad was readied after Nicholas II and his family were told to dress and awaken in the early morning hours of July 1917, and Nicholas and his wife, and 4 daughters were all eventually shot dead. Previously, George V of England, Nicholas' first cousin, had refused to take Nicholas in, in fear of a British uprising against it. Then, the Soviet Union came into being.

  • Another attempt on Lenin's life

    Another Socialist Revolutionary approached Lenin after a speech and she shot three times at Lenin. The first bullet struck his arm, the second bullet went into his neck, and the third missed him. His recovery process following the wounds that felled Lenin was gradual. In response to this, Lenin and Joseph Stalin ordered the punishment upon "those repsonsible." 800 Czarist ministers and white guards were then executed.

  • Lenin dies

    In Gorki, Russia, Lenin died of a stroke. Some other scientists say he died from neurosyphilis. Lenin, however, was regarded as the Father of the Soviet Union, and is viewed as a revolutionary focused on bringing a communist government to combat the former czarist oppressions of early 20th century.

  • Joseph Stalin becomes leader of the Soviet-Russians

    Stalin, born in 1878, succeeds V.L. Lenin as the Chairman of the Soviet Union. He brought the Soviet Union into a state of great power, but at a terrible cost to his citizens. The Great Purges were a big negative of his rule, in which hundreds of thousands of people were executed and some government-men were executed due to convictions of plots to overthrow the Soviet regime.

  • Stalin signs non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany

    Stalin, to the surprise of many, signed a non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. This move came back to bite Stalin, though, as the Nazis then violated the pact and began the beyond-bloody battle of Stalingrad, in which millions of lives were lost in the bloody and frozen gunfire. It was a Soviet victory, and from there the Nazis retreated.

  • Soviets launch counteroffensive against Germany

    The Soviet Union, after being driven back 1050 miles from its original border, regained some ground by defending Moscow and their borders. By now, 4.3 million casualities were listed for the Soviets. But, the sheer size of the Soviets would turn the tides of the Eastern Front War, and in the end, an Allied victory over Germany happened.

  • Stalin dies

    After leading the Soviet Union to become an industrial power while strengthening its culture and relations with China, Korea and even the United States (prior to the Cold War), Stalin died four days after suffering a paralyzing stroke. He was 74. He is responsible for the deaths of 30-60 million people (military, civilian, adminstrative), but was a crucial Ally in World War II, and was a major figurehead throughout all of human history.

  • The Political Conference of 1956

    Khrushchev emerges as the victorious clamier of the leadership of the Soviet Union and denounces Joseph Stalin's repressive rule, his purges, exterminations, and ways of ruling the Soviet Union. Khrushchev would see a really tense moment in human history, though, and was dangerously close to nuclear war.

  • Khrushchev becomes Chairman of Soviet Union

    NIkita Khrushchev, born in 1894, served as the leader of the Soviet Russia from 1958 to 1964. He was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis, an event that very well could have set off a World War III. Khrushchev was disapproving of the reign of Joseph Stalin, and even publicly denounced his legacy at a politcal conference, once. He was determined to lead the USSR peacefully.

  • Cuban Missile Crisis Culmination

    John F. Kennedy, President of the USA, had discovered U-2 planes with loaded stock of missiles of decent range in Cuba, creating a severe threat to the U.S.A. homeland. Then, Kennedy announced a blockade of Cuba, and Khrushchev and his advisors did not want to invade Cuba and take a head-on shot at the USA. That would prove deadly.

  • Superpower relations begin to heal

    After the crisis, JFK made a speech at American University recognizing the importance of the USSR, and the losses it experienced in World War II, and how the USA and the USSR should pursue peaceful relations and endeavors with one another. Khrushchev called this the best speech he had seen since FDR's presidency.

  • Khrushchev dies

    NIkita Khrushchev died of heart disease on Sept. 11, 1971. He will be remembered as a great Russian peacekeeper during the Cold War's most tense moments, but he was never a really succesful leader in terms of economic and agricultural production or reform. He did help in avoiding nuclear war, though, which could have annhilated the human race. Khrushchev was a key player in 20th century peacekeeping.

  • Gorbachev announces reform possibilities

    Gorbachev addressed the whole Soviet Union in May 1985 that the social and economic reforms needed to fix this nation would be impossible without changing the nature of the Communist government. This would begin with the anti-alcohol campaign. This was successful, as alcholic beverage prices were raised. But, the Communist government would continue to falter, and eventually disassemble.

  • (c. Feb 13) Gorbachev looks to end the War of Afghanistan

    Gorbachev announced the full withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, after warring with Afghanistan and al-Qaeda since 1979. Osama Bin Laden was one of the leading combatants of a group of Afghans that were trying to overthrow the Pro-Soviet government.

  • Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the USSR's new man

    Gorbachev is the only USSR head of state to be born during the Communist rule, and was the ruler until the USSR's dissolution in 1991. He tried to work with Ronald Reagan to look for ways to end the Cold War, but these beliefs led to the decline of the Soviet Communist Party, and its collapse in 1991.

  • Boris Yeltsin is elected President

    The crisis of the USSR has culminated in the dissolution of the Communist nation, and the economy is decimated and reshaped, as basic supply stocks of food need to be bolstered. Infastructure is also of concern, and the Russian Federation is established. Mikhail Gorbachev's beliefs could now be put to better use, as he was in favor of more democratic ideals and ways of governing. Yeltsin was elected with 57.3% of the vote.

  • Boris Yeltsin Assumes the Presidency

    Boris Yeltsin, a reformer and a leader of the beginning of the new Russian Federation, assumes the Presidency at the age of 60, on Christmas 1991. The Russian Federation was the succession state of the USSR, after Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from office in June of 1991.

  • Chechnya is invaded by Russia

    The Chechen Republic, a nuisance to Russia for a long while, is invaded by the Russian military, upon direction of doing so by Boris Yeltsin. In 1996, after much fighting, Russian troops were withdrawn from Chechnya after the cunning guerilla Chechen tactics and the overwhelming strength of the Russian military neutralized each other.

  • Boris Yeltsin is reelected

    After facing some political opposition from the revived Communist Party, Yeltsin won the popular election with 53.8% of the registrated voters, around 13% more than his Communist counterpart, Gennady Zyuganov.

  • Second Chechen Republic War begins

    After a series of bombings that killed several hundred Russian citizens, another offensive was launched against the Chechen Republic by the Russian Federation.

  • Vladimir Putin becomes the President

    Vladimir Putin, who served 8 years as President and another 4 as the current Russian Prime Minister, was inaugurated on this date. During his presidency, the economy dramatically restrengthened and profits were increased and national debt was fractionalized.

  • Dmitri Medvedev is the Active President of Russia

    Medvedev won the election of 2008 with over 70% of the popular vote. He is regarded as more liberal than Vladimir Putin, his predecessor. And, he is fixed on further modernizing Russia in the fields of education, medicine and economic policy reforms. Medvedev has a looking-ahead approach to energy, as well. He also stressed decreasing Russian dependence on oil and natural gas. Sound familiar? He also looked to heal relations with the U.S.A. after the war in Georgia.

  • Putin becomes new Prime Minister: Medvedev comes in

    Vladimir Putin steps down from the Presidency after two four-year terms, and he is suceeded by Dmitri Medvedev. Putin himself is currently active as the Prime Minister and is a leader of the United Russian political party. Medvedev assumes the Presidency.

  • Gorbachev establishes a Democratic Party

    Gorbachev and billionaire Alexander Lebedev announced that they were going to form the Union of Social Democrats, a new party in the Russian Federation that we know today. This is a sure sign of good political change, and, hopefully, a democracy will continue to exist and grow.

  • Medvedev announces his reelection

    Medvedev announces his determination to run for President again in the 2012 race, and he will likely be running against his current prime minister and predecessor, Vladimir Putin. The political stage has been set, but the odds for Medvedev look good as Putin has repeatedly been denying recent accusations of election fraud in the 2000 and 2004 elections, which could come back to bite Putin, I believe.

  • Vladimir the Great's Reign Begins

    Around 958 AD, Vladimir the Great (eventual Grand Prince of Kiev) is born. He was the Prince of Novgorod for a time, and he took the title of Grand Prince of Kiev in 980, and he ruled until the day he died in 1015.

  • Vladimir goes to Norway

    In a freakish war occurring after the death of his father, Yaropolk murdered Vladimir's brother Oleg in an attempt to seize total power of Rus. Vladimir the Great flees to Norway to his kinsman, Haakon Sigurdsson, the current ruler of Norway at the time. Vladimir then gained as many Norweigan troops as he could to regain Novgorod, which he had previously lost to his half-brother, Yaropolk.

  • Prince Vladimir is born

    Around this year, (not on this exact date, because it is unknown), Vladimir, son of the current Grand Prince of Kiev, is born.

  • Vladimir defeats Yaropolk

    The dispute over who owns Kiev ends as Vladimir and his forces storm through Kiev, and Yaropolk is slain by Vladimir. So, Vladimir now rules Novgorod and Kiev, and is now high ruler of Kievan Rus.

  • Change of Religion

    Vladimir, after several years of pagan rule, accepts Christianity (Byzantine Orthodoxy) as his religion, and upholds this religion until his death.