"The Russian Empire" is the official name of the Russian state, which existed for a relatively short time - only 174 years that fit in the time interval between 1547 and 1721. During this period, the country was ruled by kings. Not princes, not emperors, namely Russian tsars. Each reign became a certain stage in the historical development of Russia. The list of reigns as separate events in their temporal sequence is presented in the table "Russian Tsars. Chronology of reigns (1547 - 1721)."
Russian tsars. Chronology of reigns (1547 - 1721)| Name, Dynasty | Years of rule |
| John IV the Terrible (Rurik dynasty) | 1533 - 1584 King since 1547 |
| Fedor Ioannovich (Rurik dynasty) | 1584 - 1598 |
| Boris Fedorovich Godunov (non-dynastic king) | 1598 - 1605 |
| False Dmitry I (non-dynastic king) | 1605 - 1606 |
| Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky (non-dynastic king) | 1606 - 1610 |
| Mikhail Fedorovich (Romanov dynasty) | 1613 - 1645 |
| Alexey Mikhailovich (Romanov dynasty) | 1645 - 1676 |
| Sophia (ruler, Romanov dynasty) | 1682 - 1689 |
| John V Alekseevich (Romanov dynasty) | 1682 - 1696 |
| Peter I the Great (Romanov dynasty) | 1682 - 1725 Emperor since 1721 |
The adoption of the title of king by John IV was caused by the need to weaken the autocracy of the boyars.
The wedding on the kingdom, which took place on January 16, 1547, included church blessing and the laying of royal regalia on the receiving dignity. Regalia, signs of imperial dignity included the cross of the Life-giving Tree, barmas - a kind of necklace made of large plaques, Monomakh's cap. From now on, the Moscow
Grand Dukes in all official papers began to be called tsars, and all Russian tsars were obliged to observe the rite of passage to the kingdom in Russia, which was carried out "according to the ancient Tsaregrad position."
For the most part, Russian tsars were representatives of two dynastic lines: the Rurikovich (before 1598) and the Romanovs (since 1613). A relatively short period from the end of the XVI century. until 1613 the so-called non-dynastic kings occupied the Russian throne: Boris Godunov, False Dmitry, Vasily Shuisky. To convince the people of their right to reign, each of them tried to give the ceremony of wedding to the kingdom a special solemnity, supplementing the wedding rite with new actions. So, besides the usual regalia, Boris Godunov was given a power - a golden ball with a cross confirming the triumph of Christianity over the world.
The history of the new dynasty of Russian tsars, and subsequently all-Russian emperors, began in 1613 with the accession of
Mikhail Fedorovich , the representative of the Russian boyar clan of the Romanovs. The next king was Alexei Mikhailovich. Then followed the 6-year period of the reign of his son - Fedor Alekseevich, who was not distinguished by good health. After the death of
Fedor Alekseevich in 1862, a unique joint coronation of John and Peter took place, which were also the sons of Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1721,
Peter I was destined to accept the title of the first All-Russian Emperor.
After 1721, the Russian tsars remained such in the popular mind (“tsar-father”, “tsarina-mother”), but in all official documents they were emperors (empresses). At the moment when the last Russian Tsar - Peter I - took the imperial title, the history of the Russian (Russian) kingdom was completed.