List of Russian rulers

Monarchy of Russia
Former Monarchy
Imperial
Imperial Coat of arms
Nicholas II
First monarch	Rurik (as Grand Prince)
Last monarch	Nicholas II (as Emperor)
Style	His/Her Imperial Majesty
Official residence	Moscow Kremlin
Monarchy started	c.860
Monarchy ended	15 March 1917
Current pretender	Disputed Nicholas Romanov (Nikolaevichi branch)[citation needed] Maria Vladimirovna (Vladimirovichi branch)

The vast territory known today as Russia covers an area that has been known historically by various names, including Rus', Kievan Rus', the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, and the sovereigns of these many nations and throughout their histories have used likewise as wide a range of titles in their positions as chief magistrates of a country. Some of the earliest titles include Kniaz and Velikiy Kniaz, which mean "Prince" and "Great Prince" respectively but are often rendered as "Duke" and "Grand Duke" in Western literature; then the title of Tsar, meaning "Caesar", which was disputed to be the equal of either a king or emperor; finally culminating in the title of Emperor. The full title of the Russian Emperors, according to Article 59 of the 1906 Russian Constitution, was given as:

Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Chersonesos Taurica, Tsar of Georgia, Lord of Pskov, and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Finland, Prince of Estland, Livland, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Belostok, Karelia, Tver, Yugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgaria and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhni Novgorod, Sovereign of Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislavl, and all northern territories; Sovereign of Iveria, Kartalinia, and the Kabardinian lands and Armenian territories – hereditary Lord and Ruler of the Circassians and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Oldenburg, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth.

The Patriarchs of Moscow, who are the head of Russian Orthodox Church, also have acted as the leaders of Russia from time to time, usually in periods of political upheaval as during the Polish occupation and interregnum of 1610–1613.

Princes of Novgorod

Monarch	Portrait	Born-Died	Relationship with Predecessor(s)	Ruled from	Ruled until
Rurik		?-879	none	862	879
Oleg of Novgorod (regent)		?-912	Relative of Rurik and regent of Rurik's son, Prince Igor of Kiev	879	882

Grand Princes of Kiev

Monarch	Portrait	Born-Died	Relationship with Predecessor(s)	Ruled from	Ruled until
Askold and Dir (non-Rurikids)		?-882	none	842 or 862	882
Oleg of Novgorod (regent)		?-912	Relative of Rurik and regent of Rurik's son, Prince Igor of Kiev	882	912
Igor I		?-945	Son of Rurik	879 (in Novgorod, as a heir of Rurik); 913	945
Saint Olga of Kiev (regent)		?-969	Igor I's wife and regent of Sviatoslav I of Kiev	945	962
Sviatoslav I the Great		942–972	Son of Igor I and Olga of Kiev	962–972	972
Yaropolk I		958 (960?)–980	Son of Sviatoslav I	972	980
Saint Vladimir I the Great		958–1015	Younger son of Son of Sviatoslav I, Younger brother of Yaropolk I	980	1015
Sviatopolk I the Accursed		980–1019	Son of Vladimir I	1015	1019
Yaroslav I the Wise		978–1054	Younger son of Vladimir I, Younger brother of Sviatopolk I	1019	1054
Iziaslav I		1024–1078	First son of Yaroslav I	1054	1068
Vseslav of Polotsk		1039–1101	Usurped the Kievan Throne	1068	1069
Iziaslav I		1024–1078	First son of Yaroslav I	1069	1073
Sviatoslav II		1027–1076	Third son of Yaroslav I	1073	1076
Iziaslav I		1024–1078	First son of Yaroslav I	1076	1078
Vsevolod I		1030–1093	Forth son of Yaroslav I	1078	1093
Sviatopolk II		1050–1113	Son of Iziaslav I	1093	1113
Vladimir II Monomakh		1053–1125	Son of Vsevolod I	1113	1125
Mstislav the Great		1076–1132	Son of Vladimir II	1125	1132
Yaropolk II		1082–1139	Son of Vladimir II, Younger brother of Mstislav	1132	1139
Vsevolod II		?-1146	Grandson of Sviatoslav II	1139	1146
Iziaslav II Panteleimon		1097–1154	Older son of Mstislav	1146	1149
Yuri I Dolgorukiy		1099–1157	Younger brother of Mstislav	1146	1149
Iziaslav II Panteleimon		1097–1154	Older son of Mstislav	1151	1154
Rostislav I		1110–1167	Second son of Mstislav	1154	1154
Iziaslav III		?-1162	Grandson of Sviatoslav II	1154	1155
Yuri I Dolgorukiy		1099–1157	Younger brother of Mstislav	1155	1157
Iziaslav III		?-1162	Grandson of Sviatoslav II	1157	1159
Rostislav I		1110–1167	Second son of Mstislav	1159	1161
Iziaslav III		?-1162	Grandson of Sviatoslav II	1161	1161
Rostislav I		1110–1167	Second son of Mstislav	1161	1167
Vladimir III		1132–1173	Younger son of Mstislav	1167	1167
Mstislav II		1125–1170	Son of Iziaslav III	1167	1169

In 1169 Vladimir-Suzdal troops took Kiev. This act underlined the declining importance of that city.

Grand Princes of Vladimir

Monarch	Portrait	Born-Died	Relationship with Predecessor(s)	Ruled from	Ruled until
Saint Andrei I Bogolyubsky		1110–1174	Son of Yuri I	1168	1174
Mikhail I		?-1176	Brother of Andrei I	1174	1176
Vsevolod III the Big Nest		1154–1212	Brother of Andrei I and Mikhail I	1176	1212
Yuri II		1189–1238	Son of Vsevolod III	1212	1216
Konstantin of Rostov		1186–1218	Son of Vsevolod III	1216	1218
Yuri II		1189–1238	Son of Vsevolod III	1218	1238
Yaroslav II		1191–1238	Son of Vsevolod III	1239	1246
Sviatoslav III		1196–1252	Son of Vsevolod III	1246	1248
Andrey II		1221–1264	Son of Yaroslav II	1248	1252
Saint Alexander I Nevsky		1220–1263	Son of Yaroslav II	1252	1263
Yaroslav of Tver		1230–1272	Son of Yaroslav II	1264	1271
Vasily of Kostroma		1272–1276	Son of Yaroslav II	1272	1276
Dmitry of Pereslavl		1250–1294	Son of St. Alexander	1276	1294
Andrey of Gorodets		1255–1304	Son of St. Alexander	1294	1304
Saint Michael of Tver		1271–1318	Son of Yaroslav of Tver	1304	1318
Yuri of Moscow		1281–1325	Grandson of St. Alexander	1318	1322
Dmitry I the Terrible Eyes		1299–1326	Son of St. Michael	1322	1326
Alexander of Tver		1281–1325	Son of St. Michael	1326	1327
Ivan I of Moscow Kalita		1288–1340	Grandson of St. Alexander	1328	1340

Since 1328 the title of the Grand Princes of Vladimir assigned to the Princes of Moscow.

Grand Princes of Moscow

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Ruled from	Ruled until	Death
Ivan I Kalita	no image		1288	Helena 9 children	21 November 1325	31 March 1340	31 March 1340, Moscow, Russia
Simeon the Proud	no image		7 November 1316	Anastasia of Lithuania no children Euphraxia of Smolensk no children Maria of Tver 4 sons (died young)	31 March 1340	27 April 1353	27 April 1353, Moscow, Russia
Ivan II the Handsome	no image		30 March 1326	Fedosia Dmitrievna of Bryansk no children Alexandra Ivanovna Velyaminova 4 children	27 April 1353	13 November 1359	13 November 1359, Moscow, Russia
Saint Dmitry I Donskoy	no image		12 October 1350	Eudoxia Dmitrievna of Nizhny Novgorod 12 children	13 November 1359	19 May 1389	19 May 1389, Moscow, Russia
Vasily I	no image		30 December 1371	Sophia of Lithuania 9 children	19 May 1389	27 February 1425	27 February 1425, Moscow, Russia
Vasily II the Blind	no image		10 March 1415	Maria Yaroslavna of Borovsk 3 children	27 February 1425	27 March 1462	27 March 1462, Moscow, Russia
Ivan III the Great			22 January 1440	Maria Borisovna of Tver one son Sophia Palaiologina 8 children	5 April 1462	6 November 1505	6 November 1505, Moscow, Russia
Vasily III			25 March 1479	Solomonia Yuryevna Saburova no children Elana Vasilyevna Glinskaya 2 sons	6 November 1505	13 December 1533	13 December 1533, Moscow, Russia
Ivan IV the Terrible			25 August 1530	unmarried as Prince	13 December 1533	26 January 1547	28 March 1584

Tsars of Russia

Dates are listed in the Old Style, which continued to be used in Russia.

House of Rurik

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Tsar from	Tsar until	Death
Ivan IV the Terrible			25 August 1530, Kolomenskoye, Russia	Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva 6 children Maria Temryukovna one son (died young) Marfa Vasilevna Sobakina Anna Alexeievna Koltovskaya Anna Vasilchikova Vasilisa Melentyeva Maria Dolgorukaya Maria Feodorovna Nagaya	26 January 1547	28 March 1584	28 March 1584, Moscow, Russia
Feodor I			31 May 1557, Moscow, Russia	Irina Feodorovna Godunova one daughter	28 March 1584	17 January 1598	17 January 1598, Moscow, Russia

House of Godunov

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Tsar from	Tsar until	Death
Boris I			c.1551, Vyazma, Russia	Maria Grigorievna Skuratova-Belskaya 2 children	21 February 1598	13 April 1605	13 April 1605, Moscow, Russia
Feodor II			1589, Moscow, Russia	unmarried, no children	13 April 1605	1 June 1605	1 June 1605, Moscow, Russia

pseudo-Rurikovich usurpers

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Tsar from	Tsar until	Death
False Dmitry I (Grigory Bogdanovich Otrepyev)			c. 1581	Marina Mniszech no children	1 June 1605	17 May 1606	17 May 1606, Moscow, Russia
False Dmitry II			c. 1582	Marina Mniszech one son (posthumous)	10 July 1607	11 December 1610	11 December 1610, Kaluga, Russia
False Dmitry III			unknown	unknown	28 March 1611	18 May 1612	July 1612

House of Shuysky

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Tsar from	Tsar until	Death
Vasiliy IV			22 September 1552, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia	unmarried, no children (officially)	19 May 1606	27 July 1610	12 September 1612, Gostynin, Poland

House of Vasa

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Tsar from	Tsar until	Death
Vladislaus			9 June 1595, Łobzów, Poland	Cecilia Renata of Austria no children Marie Louise Gonzaga no children	6 September 1610	November 1612 (deposed) 14 June 1634 (resigned his claim)	20 May 1648, Merkinė, Lithuania

House of Romanov

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Tsar from	Tsar until	Death
Michael I			12 July 1596 Moscow, Russia	Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova 1624 one stillborn child Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva 5 February 1626 ten children	26 July 1613	14 July 1645	12 July 1645, Moscow, Russia
Alexis I the Quietest			9 May 1629 Moscow, Russia	Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya 17 January 1648 13 children Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina 1 February 1671 3 children	14 July 1645	29 January 1676	29 January 1676, Moscow, Russia
Feodor III			9 June 1661 Moscow, Russia	Agaphia Simeonovna Grushevskaya 28 July 1680 one son Marfa Matveievna Apraksina 24 February 1682 no children	29 January 1676	7 May 1682	7 May 1682, Moscow, Russia
Sophia (regent)			17 September 1657 Moscow, Russia	unmarried, no children	17 May 1682	27 August 1689	3 July 1704, Moscow, Russia
Ivan V jointly with Peter I			6 September 1666 Moscow, Russia	Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova 1684 5 daughters	2 June 1682	8 February 1696	8 February 1696, Moscow, Russia
Peter I the Great jointly with Ivan V 1682–1696			9 June 1672 Moscow, Tsardom of Russia	Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina 1689 3 children Marta Helena Skowrońska 1707 9 children	2 June 1682	2 November 1721	8 February 1725, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire

Emperors of Russia

(Also Grand Princes of Finland from 1809 until 1917; and Kings of Poland from 1815 until 1916)

Monarch	Coat of arms	Portrait	Birth	Marriage	Emperor from	Emperor until	Death
Peter I the Great			9 June 1672 Moscow, Tsardom of Russia	Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina 1689 3 children Marta Helena Skowrońska 1707 9 children	2 November 1721	8 February 1725	8 February 1725, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Catherine I			15 April 1684 Ringen (Rõngu), Duchy of Livonia, Sweden	Peter I of Russia 1707 9 children	8 February 1725	17 May 1727	17 May 1727, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Peter II			23 October 1715 St. Petersburg, Tsardom of Russia	unmarried	18 May 1727	30 January 1730	30 January 1730, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Anna			7 February 1693 Moscow, Tsardom of Russia	Frederick Wilhelm, Duke of Courland November 1710 no children	13 February 1730	28 October 1740	28 October 1740, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Ivan VI (disputed)			23 August 1740 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire	unmarried	28 October 1740	6 December 1741	16 July 1764 (murdered) Shlisselburg, Russian Empire
Elizabeth			29 December 1709 Kolomenskoye, Tsardom of Russia	Alexey Razumovsky 1742 no children	6 December 1741	5 January 1762	5 January 1762, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Peter III			21 February 1728 Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein	Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst 16 August 1745 one son	9 July 1762	17 July 1762	17 July 1762 (murdered), Ropsha, Russian Empire
Catherine II the Great			2 May 1729 Stettin, Kingdom of Prussia	Peter III of Russia 16 August 1745 one son	9 July 1762	6 November 1796	6 November 1796, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Paul I			1 October 1754 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire	Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt 29 September 1773 one stillborn daughter Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg 26 September 1776 ten children	17 November 1796	11 March 1801	11 March 1801 (assassinated), St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Alexander I the Blessed			23 December 1777 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire	Princess Louise of Baden 28 September 1793 2 daughters	24 March 1801	1 December 1825	1 December 1825, Taganrog, Russian Empire
Constantine I (disputed)			27 April 1779 Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire	Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld 26 February no children	1 December 1825	26 December 1825	27 June 1831 Vitebsk, Russian Empire
Nicholas I			6 July 1796 Gatchina, Russian Empire	Princess Charlotte of Prussia 13 July 1817 7 children	26 December 1825	2 March 1855	2 March 1855, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Alexander II the Liberator			29 April 1818 Moscow, Russian Empire	Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine 16 April 1841 8 children	2 March 1855	13 March 1881	13 March 1881 (assassinated), St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Alexander III the Peace-Maker			10 March 1845 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire	Princess Dagmar of Denmark 9 November 1866 6 children	13 March 1881	1 November 1894	1 November 1894 Livadiya, Russian Empire
Saint Nicholas II			6 May 1868 Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire	Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine 26 November 1894 5 children	1 November 1894	15 March 1917	17 July 1918 (executed) Yekaterinburg, Russian SFSR
Michael II (disputed)			22 November 1878 Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire	Natalia Brassova 15 October 1911 one son (born before his parents' marriage)	15 March 1917	16 March 1917	12 June 1918 (murdered) Perm, Russian SFSR

See List of leaders of Russia for the continuation of leadership.

Pretenders to the Russian throne since 1917

• Nicholas II (1917–1918)
• Vacant (1918–1924)
• Cyril Vladimirovich, Grand Duke of Russia (1924–1938) of the Alexandrovichi Branch
• Vladimir Cyrillovich, Grand Duke of Russia (1938–1992)
• Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia (1992–Present) of the Vladimirovichi branch
  • Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, heir apparent and son of Maria Vladimirovna, of the Vladimirovichi branch.
• Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia (1992–Present) of the Nikolaevichi branch
  • Prince Dimitri Romanovich of Russia, heir apparent and brother of Nicholas Romanov

See Line of succession to the Russian throne

External links

• Godunov to Nicholas II by Saul Zaklad
• (Russian) Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal
• Timeline of Russian Emperors and Empresses
• History of Russian imperial titles. Bibliography