Great rulers of Russia in chronological order

In this article, the rulers of Russia will be examined 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 go through the most significant milestones in the history of our Motherland.

Formation of statehood

Great rulers of Russia played notable roles not only in the internal processes of state formation. Many of them became prominent figures in international politics. An example of a country's exit to the world arena is the change in the titles of rulers from prince to emperor.

Novgorod princes

Then you will be introduced to some of the rulers of Russia. In the order of succession to the throne, nobility and nobility, the Rurikovichs always took the first place. Who was the founder of this family? What is famous for the period of the reign of Novgorod princes?

As stated in The Tale of Bygone Years, the Slavic tribes called for the princes of the Varangians. They were Rurik and his brothers. He is identified with King Rerik from Denmark.

The period of his reign was marked by the expansion of influence on the tribes of the Novgorod, Ryazan and Murom lands. He left the heir to the young Igor, the guardian with him became Prophetic Oleg.

The latter was famous for its struggle against the Khazars, the transfer of the capital to the conquered Kiev and the campaign against Byzantium.

Olga

The first female ruler in Russia. After the death of her husband, Igor, she had to take power into her own hands. The chroniclers later recalled it as "dawn before dawn." Such a comparison, she deserved by the fact that the first of the nobility converted to Christianity.

Like many rulers in the period from the ninth to the eleventh centuries, neither the year of its birth nor the place, nor what kind it is, is precisely not known. There are several hypotheses.

The first says that it originated from the Varangians, the second - that of Pskov. There is another version that Olga is the daughter of Oleg Veshchego. It is only known that she was born at the end of the ninth century.

After marrying Igor, she lived for several years in the wards, not caring about the government. But after his death during the next collection of tribute from the Drevlyans, Olga had to put things in order herself.

First of all, she avenged the abusers, destroying most of the Drevlyane and conquering this tribe. Further, she began to raise the economy and culture in Russia, and also adopted Christianity while traveling to Constantinople.

Her son, Svyatoslav, remained a pagan and began to rule even during the life of his mother. This behavior - the change of faith - the squad and many noble Kyivans took a negative view.

But this attitude did not last long. Soon everything changed.

Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko

Vladimir Svyatoslavich, he is also called the Great. What is he famous for? We in this article mention many rulers of Russia. Dates of government seize the period from the middle of the ninth century to the last emperor, shot by the Bolsheviks. But only Vladimir committed an act that affected all subsequent development of the country.

He baptized Rus in 988. It was this turn of events that promoted the rapprochement with Byzantium and the beginning of confrontation with Western Europe and the Eastern states.

The tsars and rulers of Russia have done many important things in the history of the country. They expanded and united the territory, resisted the enemies, suppressed uprisings, but only this prince in the people was nicknamed the "Red Sun". It was for his love and understanding of ordinary artisans and peasants, as well as for the rise of Russia to the cultural level, that Vladimir's name remained in the centuries.

In addition, he was ranked among the saints.

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 Rus. He is famous for his close engagement in enlightening the "dark" people, and through the marriages of his children he established strong and friendly relations with European states.

What is known about this great man today?

Till now there are disputes concerning the exact date of birth of Yaroslav. If we combine data from several chronicles, then we can say with certainty that he was born between 983 and 986 years.

He began his reign with Rostov, where he was "planted on the table," his father. Then the events developed like all the rulers of Russia did. In the chronological order, the sons of Vladimir, from the elders to the younger ones, were enthroned. Therefore, the next stage (after the death of Prince Vysheslav of Novgorod, his elder brother) was the relocation of Yaroslav to Novgorod.

These two periods are fairly sparse. Of greater interest are events after his uprising against his father, the prince of Kiev. Vladimir died, and without suppressing the mutiny. After his death, the struggle for the capital city of Kiev begins.

Svyatopolk was supported by Poles and Polovtsians, and Yaroslav hired Varangians. As a result of the battle of 1019, Yaroslav became a prince of Kiev.

At this time he continues to fight the Polovtsians (Sophia of Kiev, by the way, laid in honor of the victory over them). And it also strengthens relations with foreign countries through marriages. 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.

Not all rulers of Russia and Russia can boast of being the "uncle" of many European rulers of their time.

Dmitry Donskoy

The Kulikovo battle is probably the most famous event for the reign of all the rulers of Russia. It occurred in the year 1380. It was this battle that placed all the points above the "i". Since that time, the Moscow State has become a significant player in the international arena. The Horde, the Lithuanian Principality, Byzantium begin to reckon with it.

What is known about Dmitri Donskoi? What influenced the formation of such a wise and successful commander? Let's look further.

The future Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir was born in 1350 in Moscow. His trustee was Metropolitan Alexei, who greatly influenced the formation of Dmitry.

Simultaneously with the maturity of the prince and his dedication to rule by the state, the Golden Horde disintegrates. After Berdibek's death, a struggle for power began. But Dmitry still receives a shortcut to the board of the khan. In Russia, his candidacy is supported, in addition, Moscow joins Nizhny Novgorod in exchange for Vladimir. The latter passes to a separate control.

A difficult decision for the prince was open disobedience to the Horde khan. This happened when the Lithuanian-Horde Union decided to put its protege in Vladimir. Dmitry assembled the army and opposed the impostor.

Simultaneously, the Grand Duke is engaged in the consolidation of land around Moscow. As the history of Russia shows, the rulers of this period basically united the territories of the disparate principalities into a single state.

Non-compliance with the Horde khan caused the wrath of the latter. Mamai gathers troops and goes to Russia. Along the way, he robs the Ryazan princedom. The Khan's plans included a joint attack on Moscow with the participation of Lithuanians, Genoese mercenaries and Ryazanites. But Dmitri Donskoi foresaw such a turn of events and, refusing to offer to pay tribute to the Horde, left the army against Mamai. 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, a "Pyrrhic victory" was won. The prince did not continue the persecution of the defeated khan in view of the huge losses. Nevertheless, Mamai met Tokhtamys on the way to the Crimea and defeated him completely.

Becoming a full khan, Tokhtamysh goes to Moscow, seizes it, but Dmitry agrees to preserve the Russian lands for his kind in return for tribute. Subsequently, he begins to establish ties with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to oppose the Horde khan.

Thus, if you 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 the lands after Ivan Kalita, but also defeated the Golden Horde, built a white-stone Moscow and strengthened dynastic ties with Eastern Europe.

Ivan the Terrible

Like the next 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 amazing. It merged the genus of Rurik, Mamai (the founder of the Glinsky) and Palaeologus (dynasty of the Byzantine emperors). Not many rulers of Russia boast of this. In the chronological order of the activities of Ivan IV the Terrible we will consider further.

Formally, the Grand Duke, he became three years old, but the kingdom was anointed at the age of sixteen. In his ascent to the throne the interests of many have merged. First, he wanted to rule himself. Secondly, Metropolitan Macarius strove to strengthen Orthodoxy, which was slightly shaken during that period. Thirdly, Byzantium needed an ally and one who, as was supposed, would listen to the opinion of the emperor.

In fact, Ivan showed himself to be an independent, imperious and able king and commander. As the history of Russia shows, rulers strengthen the state or sink in internal intrigues and ruin much of what was created earlier. In the same Grand Duke, these two qualities have come together.

At the beginning of his career, he made trips to almost all neighbors. Livonian Order and the Crimean Khanate, Sweden, Kazan and Astrakhan. Some campaigns were successful, most - no. 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, all crossed out. The reorientation of the tsar to internal problems gave respite to foreign opponents.

As a result, after a long decade of war, Russia lost all the conquered lands in the west, and also gave part of the volosts, thus blocking the way out to the sea. Contrary to the will of the Tsar, the Stroganovs and Ermak brothers seized significant areas of Siberia, which significantly helped the state.

Let's now talk about oprichnina. This was the political course of the tsar, in the course of which he wanted to create an absolute autocracy by liquidating all the dissatisfied boyars. During the years of oprichnina, many eminent families were executed and tortured.

Malyuta Skuratov stood at the head of the oprichniki, and the distinctive sign of this army was the head of a dog and a pomel, tied to the saddle of a horse.

The problem of this period is that the goals of his oprichnina did not reach, but only sowed "confusion and a great quarrel among the people." It came to the point that Ivan the Terrible had to put a khan on the throne of Moscow for a year to get out of the situation. During the year of the reign of the newly appeared "Grand Duke", the tsar got rid of many high-ranking oprichniki and showed the people that there are rulers worse than him.

During the years of the reign of all the rulers of Russia, there was no such internal terror that Ivan the Terrible did. Such a policy contributed to undermining the power of the state and the subsequent surrender of all lands to the west.

Thus, the reign of Ivan began a victorious rise, but he could not cope with the "freethinking of the boyars" and mired in clarifying the relationship. This is what drove the country to decline.

Peter I

Since Peter Alekseevich, the great rulers of Russia are called emperors. He himself, in fact, became the last who wore the title of king.

In general, the assessments of researchers on his activities are radically different. Some consider him to be the greatest reformer, while others speak outright and sharply criticize the state policy during his reign.

Let's see what caused such mixed reviews.

Peter Alekseevich was the fourteenth child of his father, Alexei Mikhailovich. The difficulty in his case was that Natalya Naryshkina, the second wife of the tsar , was the mother. That is, he could only go to the throne to the last.

In childhood, Peter received a weak education, as a result of misunderstandings among the clergy he was brought up by ordinary clerks. However, he easily made up the gaps in theoretical knowledge after practice, although he wrote his whole life with mistakes.

His path to rule began after the Streltsi rebellion, which led to an interesting turn in the history of Russia. At the insistence of the Streltsi, two tsars were simultaneously placed on the throne. The first was Ivan's elder brother, from Sofya Alekseyevna, the second was Peter. Today you can see in the Armory their dual throne.

After Sofia took over the role of guardian, Natalia Naryshkin and her son were sent to the village of Preobrazhenskoye, where Peter spent his youth.

It was here that the future emperor became a great commander and scientist. He transfers the game into soldiers in the real world and creates Funny shelves.

Gradually, Peter becomes a threat to Queen Sofia. She makes an attempt to liquidate him, but as a result of the army submitting to the young tsarevich, the ruler was deposed and sent to a monastery.

The first thing Peter after he came to power, was the capture of Azov. Now the passage to the Azov and Black Seas was opened.

But Russia could not compete with such maritime enemies, as, for example, the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the tsar sends noble youth to Europe "for training", and soon he goes himself.

Peter - the first ruler of Russia, who stepped forward to meet progress. No wonder they say that he "cut through a window to Europe" for the year, during which he visited the Baltic states, the Netherlands, Austria and England. The aim 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 the foundry, got acquainted with the activities of the British 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 interests of the tsar were in the Baltics.

Returning home, the king carried out a series of reforms, such as shaving his beards for boyars "in the European manner." In addition, he endured the celebration of the New Year on the first of January.

Then the events developed quickly enough. Victory in the Northern War with Sweden, marches on the Ottoman Empire, Iran, the development of Siberia. The result of these actions was the transformation of Russia from the 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 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 person who influenced the further growth of the country's power and popularity in the world arena was Sofia Anhalt-Zerbstskaya, when she moved to Orthodoxy, named by Ekaterina.

She was born in the family of a German prince. In Russia it turned out to be the will of chance. The Empress, looking for her bride to 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 initially did not quite fit into the new family.

The succession of the rulers of Russia could have been different, but for the behavior of her husband and mother-in-law. Peter immediately distanced himself from Catherine, which greatly contributed to the appearance of her favorites, as well as secret relations with the British.

As the popularity of the German girl in the aristocratic circles of the capital grew, confidence in the emperor only fell. The culmination was the decision of Peter after the death of Elizabeth. After winning 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 this short-sighted policy of Peter that helped Catherine make a coup. With the help of Anglo-French subsidies and support for 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 abandon such a path. She, with the help of leaders from the highest military ranks, expanded the territory of the country at the expense of Novorossia and Rzeczpospolita.

In addition, the important moment was the correspondence of the Empress with the French enlighteners. It greatly helped Catherine form for himself the image of a future country with an educated population.

Minus the period of her rule was favoritism. Often the empress went about her favorites and lovers, gave them estates, villages, squandering the treasury. Such behavior contributed to an 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 say with confidence that she ruled the country in the vein of enlightened absolutism. The same as in European countries.

Nicholas II

In the chronicles and scientific studies, where the rulers of Russia are mentioned in order, the name of Nicholas II closes the triumphant procession of the emperors. Behind him, the chiefs of the proletariat are basically going.

What did the last emperor of the Russian state remember the descendants?

Nicholas II fell unenviable. From a young age brought up in the spirit of honor and service to the Fatherland, he was forced to take a heavy load on his shoulders. Today many researchers are inclined to think that initially he did not want to sign the manifesto and take the reins of government in their own hands.

Far-sighted and not very, commanders 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.

From childhood, Nicholas II was accustomed to war, although his temper was quiet, peaceful and judicious. Such a combination of qualities contributed to the accession of a wise and responsible monarch.

During the years of government, he managed to lead the country to an economic peak, when the Russian empire took first place in the list of the most developed countries. 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 participation in the First World War.

The construction of railways, economic reforms, the improvement of the situation of workers. This is only 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 was rotting through and through, and the people were eager to change the state of affairs.

All this resulted in the February Revolution, and after the October Revolution. In 1917, he abdicated from the throne and he and his family were put under house arrest. Subsequently, the Provisional Government sends them to Tobolsk. And in July 1918, under Yekaterinburg, the entire imperial family was shot by the Bolsheviks.

There are versions in which one or several children managed to escape, but none of them is confirmed.

In this article were presented the rulers of Russia from Rurik to the last emperor Nicholas II of Blood. Despite such a nickname, he was still rehabilitated and ranked as a saint.

Thus, we have briefly acquainted ourselves with the brightest pages from the history of our Motherland.