This article will examine the rulers of Russia in chronological order. We will try to highlight the activities of the most significant princes, kings and emperors. Among them were women. For a thousand years, a lot has changed in the Russian state.
Let's walk through the most significant milestones in the history of our country.
Statehood
The great rulers of Russia played remarkable roles not only in the internal processes of statehood formation. Many of them have become prominent figures in international politics. An example of a country's entry into the world arena is the change in the titles of rulers from prince to emperor.
Novgorod princes
Next, you will be presented to some of the rulers of Russia. In the order of succession, nobility and nobility always Rurikovich always stood in the first place. Who was the founder of this kind? What is famous for the period of the rule of Novgorod princes?
As stated in The Tale of Bygone Years, Slavic tribes called themselves Varangians to princes. They were Rurik with the brothers. He is identified with the king Rerik from Denmark.
The period of his reign was marked by the expansion of influence on the tribes of Novgorod, Ryazan and Murom lands. He left the heir to the infant Igor, while the Prophet Oleg became his guardian.
The latter became famous for the struggle against the Khazars, the transfer of the capital to the conquered Kiev and the campaign against Byzantium.
Olga
The first woman ruler in Russia. After the death of her husband, Igor, she had to take power into her own hands. The chroniclers later recalled her as "the dawn before dawn." She deserved such a comparison in that the first of the nobility converted to Christianity.
Like many rulers in the period from the ninth to eleventh centuries, neither the year of her birth, nor her place, nor what kind she is - is precisely known. There are several hypotheses.
The first says that it came from the Varangians, the second - that from Pskov. There is another version that Olga is the daughter of Oleg the Prophet. It is only known for certain that she was born at the end of the ninth century.
Having married Igor, she lived for several years in the wards, not caring for the board. But after his death during the next collection of tribute from the Drevlyans, Olga had to restore order herself.
First of all, she took revenge on the offenders by destroying most of the Drevlyans and subjugating this tribe. Then she took up the rise of the economy and culture in Russia, and also adopted Christianity while traveling to Constantinople.
Her son, Svyatoslav, remained a pagan and began to rule during his mother’s life. Such behavior - a change of faith - the squad and many noble Kievans perceived negatively.
But this attitude did not last long. Soon everything changed.
Vladimir Red Sun
Vladimir Svyatoslavich, he is also called the Great. What is he famous for? We in this article mention many rulers of Russia. The dates of rule span the period from the middle of the ninth century to the last emperor, executed by the Bolsheviks. But only Vladimir committed an act that affected all subsequent development of the country.
He baptized Russia in 988. It was this turn of events that contributed to the rapprochement with Byzantium and the beginning of the confrontation with Western Europe and the eastern states.
Tsars and rulers of Russia in the history of the country have done many important things. They expanded and united the territory, opposed the enemies, suppressed the uprisings, but only this prince was popularly called the "Red Sun". It is precisely for his love and understanding of simple artisans and peasants, as well as for the rise of Russia to the cultural level, the name of Vladimir has remained for centuries.
In addition, he was canonized.
Yaroslav the Wise
One of the greatest princes in the history of our country is Yaroslav Vladimirovich, the son of Vladimir the Great, who baptized Russia. He is famous for closely engaging in the enlightenment of the "dark" people, and also through the marriages of his children has established strong and friendly relations with European states.
What is known today about this great man?
There is still debate about the exact date of birth of Yaroslav. If you combine the data from several annals, then we can say with confidence that he was born between 983 and 986.
He began his reign with Rostov, where his father “put him on the table”. Further events developed like all the rulers of Russia acted. In chronological order, the accession of the sons of Vladimir, from older to younger, took place. Therefore, the next step (after the death of Novgorod prince Vysheslav, elder brother) was the move of Yaroslav to Novgorod.
These two periods are poorly covered. Of great interest are the events after his uprising against his father, the Prince of Kiev. Vladimir died without suppressing the rebellion. After his death, the struggle for the capital city of Kiev begins.
Svyatopolk was supported by Poles and Polovtsy, and Yaroslav hired the Varangians. Following the battle of 1019, Yaroslav became the Prince of Kiev.
At this time, he continues to fight the Polovtsy (Sofia Kiev, by the way, was laid in honor of the victory over them). It also strengthens marriage with foreign countries. He had ten children - seven sons and three daughters. Elizabeth, Anastasia, and Anna married in Norway, Hungary, and France, respectively. Of the sons, only two left for other countries. Izyaslav to Poland, and Vsevolod to Greece, later his son Vladimir Monomakh was born to him.
Not all rulers of Russia and Russia can boast that they are the “uncle” of many European rulers of their time.
Dmitry Donskoy
The Battle of Kulikovo is probably the most famous event for the rule of all the rulers of Russia. It happened in 1380. It was this battle that dotted all the i's. Since that time, the Moscow state has become a significant player in the international arena. The Horde, the Principality of Lithuania, Byzantium begin to reckon with it.
What is known about Dmitry Donskoy? What influenced the formation of such a wise and successful commander? Let's see further.
The future Great Prince of Moscow and Vladimir was born in 1350 in Moscow. His guardian was Metropolitan Alexei, who greatly influenced the formation of Dmitry.
Along with the maturity of the prince and his initiation into the government of the state, the Golden Horde disintegrates. After the death of Berdibek, the struggle for power began. But Dmitry still gets a shortcut to the reign from the khan. In Russia, his candidacy is supported, in addition, Nizhny Novgorod joins Moscow in exchange for Vladimir. The latter goes to a separate management.
A difficult decision for the prince was an open disobedience to the Horde Khan. This happened when the Lithuanian-Horde union decided to put their protege in Vladimir. Dmitry gathered an army and opposed the impostor.
At the same time, the Grand Duke is engaged in the consolidation of lands around Moscow. As the history of Russia shows, the rulers of this period basically united the territories of disparate principalities into a single state.
Disobedience to the Horde Khan aroused the wrath of the latter. Mamai collects troops and goes to Russia. Along the way, he is robbing the Principality of Ryazan. The plans of the khan included a joint attack on Moscow with the participation of Lithuanians, Genoese mercenaries and Ryazans. But Dmitry Donskoy foresaw a similar turn of events and, abandoning the offer to pay tribute to the Horde, went out with the army across Mamayu. The main goal was to meet in battle with the khan without his allies.
The battle took place on an area of ten square kilometers, on the Kulikovo field (today it is the territory of the Tula region). As a result, almost a Pyrrhic victory was won. The prince did not continue the pursuit of the broken khan in view of the enormous losses. Nevertheless, Mamaia met Tokhtamysh on his way to the Crimea and inflicted a final defeat on him.
Having become a full-fledged khan, Tokhtamysh goes to Moscow, captures it, but Dmitry agrees to preserve the Russian lands for his family in return for a tribute. Subsequently, he begins to establish ties with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to confront the Horde Khan.
Thus, if we list the names of the rulers of Russia, Dmitry Donskoy will be among the most famous. He was able not only to continue the unification of lands after Ivan Kalita, but also inflicted a critical defeat on the Golden Horde, built white-stone Moscow and strengthened dynastic ties with Eastern Europe.
Ivan groznyj
Like the subsequent ruler, which we will talk about later, Ivan the Terrible became a remarkable figure in history. Officially, he was the last "Grand Duke" and the first "king of all Russia."
And his pedigree is simply amazing. It merged the clan of Rurik, Mamaia (the founder of the Glinsky) and Paleolog (dynasty of Byzantine emperors). Not many rulers of Russia can boast of this. In chronological order, the activities of Ivan IV the Terrible we will consider further.
Formally, he became the Grand Duke at the age of three, but was anointed to the kingdom at sixteen. In his ascension to the throne, the interests of many merged. Firstly, he himself wanted to rule. Secondly, Metropolitan Macarius sought to strengthen Orthodoxy, which shook a little during that period. Thirdly, Byzantium needed an ally and one who, as expected, would listen to the emperor.
In fact, Ivan proved to be an independent, imperious and skillful king and commander. As the history of Russia shows, rulers strengthen the state or wallow in internal intrigues and destroy much of what was created earlier. The same Grand Duke combined both of these qualities.
At the beginning of his career, he made trips to almost all neighbors. Livonian Order and Crimean Khanate, Sweden, Kazan and Astrakhan. Some campaigns were successful, most not. The main problem was the conflict with European states.
At the first stage, everything went perfectly: the order was defeated, the Crimean Khan was defeated. However, the period of the oprichnina, which will be discussed later, has crossed out everything. The king’s reorientation to internal problems gave respite to foreign opponents.
As a result, after a long ten-year war, Russia lost all the conquered lands in the west, and also gave away part of the volosts, thereby blocking access to the sea. Contrary to the will of the tsar, the brothers Stroganov and Ermak captured significant territories of Siberia, which significantly helped the state.
Let's talk about oprichnina now. This was the tsar’s political move, during which he wanted to create absolute autocracy by eliminating all dissatisfied boyars. Over the years, the oprichnins were executed and tortured by many eminent families.
At the head of the guardsmen was Malyuta Skuratov, and the dog’s head and pomelo tied to the horse’s saddle became the distinguishing mark of this army.
The problem of this period is that it did not reach the goals of its oprichnina, but sowed only "great confusion and quarrel among the people." It got to the point that Ivan the Terrible had to plant a khan on the Moscow throne for a year to get out of the situation. During the year of the reign of the newly-minted “Grand Duke”, the tsar got rid of many high-ranking guardsmen and showed the people that there are worse rulers.
During the reign of all the rulers of Russia there was no such internal terror that Ivan the Terrible committed. Such a policy contributed to undermining the power of the state and the subsequent surrender of all land in the west.
Thus, the reign of Ivan began with a victorious take-off, but he could not cope with the "free-thinking of the boyars" and was mired in clarifying the relationship. That is what he led the country to decline.
Peter I
Starting with Peter Alekseevich, the great rulers of Russia are called emperors. He himself, in fact, was the last to bear the title of king.
In general, researchers' assessments regarding its activities are fundamentally different. Some consider him the greatest of the reformers, others speak directly opposite and sharply criticize state policy during the years of his reign.
Let's see what caused such mixed reviews.
Pyotr Alekseevich was the fourteenth child of his father, Alexei Mikhailovich. The difficulty in his case was that the mother was Natalya Naryshkina, the second wife of the king. That is, the throne could pass to him only in the very last turn.
In childhood, Peter received a poor education, because as a result of misunderstandings among the clergy he was brought up by ordinary clerks. However, he subsequently easily made up gaps in theoretical knowledge with practice, although he wrote all his life with errors.
His path to rule began after the Streletsky riot, which led to an interesting turn in the history of Russia. At the insistence of the archers, two kings were simultaneously seated on the throne. The first was the elder brother Ivan, from Sofya Alekseevna, the second was Peter. Today you can see their double throne in the Armory.
After Sofia assumed the role of a guardian, Natalya Naryshkina and her son were sent to the village of Preobrazhenskoye, where Peter spent his youth.
It was here that the formation of the future emperor in the role of a great commander and scientist. He brings the game of soldiers to the real world and creates Amusing regiments.
Peter gradually becomes a threat to Queen Sophia. She makes an attempt to liquidate him, but as a result of the army obeying the young prince, the ruler was overthrown and exiled to the monastery.
The first thing Peter after he came to power was the capture of Azov. Now a passage was opened to the Azov and Black Seas.
But Russia could not yet compete with such naval opponents as, for example, the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the king sends the noble youth to Europe "to study", and soon he goes himself.
Peter is the first ruler of Russia to step towards progress. It is not for nothing that they say that he “cut a window to Europe” for the year during which he traveled to the Baltic states, the Netherlands, Austria, and England. The purpose of the embassy was to find allies in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire.
But in addition to diplomatic missions, Peter also mastered shipbuilding, visited a foundry, got acquainted with the activities of the English parliament.
The result of this mission was not a war with the Ottoman Empire, as it might seem, but a complete reorientation of the policy of the Russian state. Now the king's interests were in the Baltic states.
Returning home, the king carried out a number of reforms, such as shaving the beards of the boyars "in a European manner." In addition, he postponed the celebration of the New Year on January 1.
Further events developed quite quickly. Victory in the Northern War with Sweden, campaigns on the Ottoman Empire, Iran, the development of Siberia. The result of these actions was the transformation of Russia from an ordinary medieval state into a huge empire.
Peter himself takes the title of the first Russian emperor. The era of kings is over. The state has entered the world stage.
No wonder they say that Peter the Great is the best ruler of Russia. He fully deserved this title with his achievements in life.
Catherine II
The next significant personality, which influenced the further growth of the country's power and popularity on the world stage, was Sofia Anhalt-Zerbst, who was called Ekaterina when she converted to Orthodoxy.
She was born in the family of a German prince. In Russia, it turned out to be a chance. The Empress, looking for a bride for her son, chose her candidacy.
Her mother was expelled from Russia as a “spy in favor of Prussia,” but this did not in the least prevent Catherine from becoming the wife of Peter III.
The future empress did not initially fit into the new family.
The sequence of the rulers of Russia could be different if not for the behavior of her husband and mother-in-law. Peter immediately moved away from Catherine, which greatly contributed to the emergence of her favorites, as well as secret relationships with the British.
As the German girl grew in popularity in the noble circles of the capital, confidence in the emperor only fell. The culmination was the decision of Peter after the death of Elizabeth. Having won a number of victories in the war with Prussia, he signs a completely unprofitable agreement. Returns the last conquered territory, and also becomes its ally against Denmark.
It was such a short-sighted policy of Peter that helped Catherine to make a coup. With the help of Anglo-French subsidies and support from the army, she became the new empress of Russia.
Women rulers of Russia usually associated their activities with culture, as well as the strengthening of existing traditions. Catherine did not depart from such a path. She, with the help of favorites from the highest military ranks, expanded the country at the expense of New Russia and the Commonwealth.
In addition, an important point was the correspondence of the empress with the French enlightenment. She greatly helped Catherine to form for herself the image of a future country with an educated population.
The minus of the period of her reign was favoritism. Often the empress went about her favorites and lovers, giving them estates, villages, wasting treasury. Such behavior has contributed to the even greater development of corruption in the country.
However, if we take the picture of the reign of Catherine the Great as a whole, then we can confidently say that she ruled the country in line with enlightened absolutism. The same as in European states.
Nicholas II
In chronicles and scientific studies, where the rulers of Russia are mentioned in order, the name of Nicholas II closes the triumphal procession of emperors. The leaders of the proletariat are already following him.
What did the descendants remember the last emperor of the Russian state?
Nicholas II fell an unenviable share. From a young age brought up in the spirit of honor and service to the Fatherland, he was forced to take the burden on his shoulders. Today, many researchers are inclined to the idea that initially he did not want to sign the manifesto and take the reins of government in his own hands.
Farsighted and not so much, generals and thinkers, enlighteners and tyrants. All were rulers of Russia. In chronological order, they look academic and dry. We will try to look at the life of the last emperor from a different angle.
Since childhood, Nicholas II was accustomed to war, although his temper was quiet, peaceful and reasonable. This interweaving of qualities contributed to the accession of a wise and responsible monarch.
During the years of rule, he managed to lead the country to an economic peak, when the Russian Empire occupied the first places in the list of the most developed states. Soft, he often succumbed to the influence of his advisers and associates. However, this did not prevent his successful campaign in the Far East, the war with Japan and his participation in the First World War.
Railroad construction, economic reforms, improving the situation of workers. This is just a small list of his contribution to the development of the country. But nothing could prevent the growing discontent of the masses. The bureaucratic apparatus rotted through and through, and the people strove to change the state of affairs.
All this resulted in the February, and after the October Revolution. In 1917 he abdicated and was put under house arrest with his family. Subsequently, the Provisional Government transfers them to Tobolsk. And in July 1918 near Yekaterinburg the entire imperial family was shot by the Bolsheviks.
There are versions according to which one or several children managed to escape, but not one of them has been confirmed.
This article presented the rulers of Russia from Rurik to the last emperor Nicholas II the Bloody. Despite such a nickname, he was nevertheless rehabilitated and canonized.
Thus, we briefly became acquainted with the brightest pages from the history of our Motherland.