Transcript Zemsky Sobor - Professor Cat

Modern European History I
HIS-106
Unit 6 - The Transformation of Eastern Europe (1648-1740)
Transformation of Eastern Europe

After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, there emerged
three new powers in Eastern Europe:



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
Prussia
Austria
Russia
With these three powers, there is an attempt to create
absolute monarchies
The Holy Roman Empire continues on its path of decline
Transformation of Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe went through a different transformation
during the 17th and 18th centuries than western Europe
had



While peasants were gaining some freedoms in the west, in the
east they lost more and more as they came under increasing
control of their landlords
This was due to the lack of commercial success in the east
versus the west so many still had to rely on peasant labor
In the east, the main social unit was the agricultural estate,
unlike the west which was the growing merchant class
Transformation of Eastern Europe

In 1648, there were three large empires in control over
most of eastern Europe

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The Holy Roman Empire
The Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania
The Ottoman Empire
However, by this point they were already weakening

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This was due to inefficient governments with no central
authority
Undermining the situation were very diverse populations
They will not be able to compete with the other rising nations
emerging after the Thirty Years’ War

Holy Roman Empire (c. 1648)
Holy Roman Empire

After the Peace of Westphalia, the Holy Roman Empire
was not in good shape


It had almost no army or revenues and no central government
It was also out of sync with the rest of Europe

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Trade came to a standstill because of the war
No stock market was created until 1771 in Vienna
There were too many variations in coinage, weights, and measures
There were even variations to the calendar as the Catholics followed
the new one set by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 while the Protestants
did not
Voltaire remarked that it was “neither holy, Roman, nor an
empire”
Holy Roman Empire


With the Peace, the German state were given autonomy
and sovereign rights
At the time of the Peace there were around 300 different
states in the HRE


They ranged from free cities to territories held by clergy, to
margraves and dukes, and even one kingdom
However, if the “knights of the Empire” (Reichsrittern) are
included, this number goes upwards of 2,000 states


These were “independent” lands of no more than 100 acres given to
knights
They were answerable only to the Emperor
Holy Roman Empire

In post-war HRE, the focus was set on preserving
“German liberties”


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This meant protecting the individual states from control of the
Emperor or the empire itself
The French were more than willing to support the Germans in
this quests
Election of the Emperor took on meaning during this time

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There were nine electors by this point and they wanted to make sure
that the new Emperors were willing to protect their freedoms
France would promote a candidate that was not Habsburg
Even the power of the Imperial Diet was affected

Many states were fearful of giving the diet too much control because
it could lessen their own authority
Holy Roman Empire

With the exception of the free cities, most of the states
in the HRE developed a form of absolutism

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Big or small, these states developed miniature courts similar to
those of Louis XIV
A number of families sought control in a number of states
many through marriage and alliances

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The Wittelsbach family gained control over Bavaria and the Rhineland
The Guelph family took control over Hanover
The Hollenzollerns gained territory in the Rhine and Vistula valleys
The free cities retained their oligarchies
After 1700, the two states that emerged on top were
Austria and Brandenburg-Prussia

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (c. 1635)
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

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The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was created in
1569 when the Kingdom of Poland was united with the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
This led to a very diverse population

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In the west were the Polish
In the Duchy of Prussia, there were Germans
In the east there were Russians
It also had a religious diversity with many Jews enjoying
religious toleration
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The aristocracy (szlachta) held the most amount of
power in the Commonwealth

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They were mainly concerned with securing “Polish liberties”
which prevented the rise of a strong monarch
Every time a monarch was elected, he had to abide by these
liberties
Like the HRE, the Polish diet (Sejm) had little power

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This was because the szlachta were fearful of losing their
authority
If any member of the Sejm objected to any of its policies, it
would then be “exploded” (dissolved)
From 1652 to 1764, 55 diets were exploded
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Unlike western Europe, the Commonwealth had a difficult
time emerging as a modern state

The king had very little power

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The szlachta continued to hold the power

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He had no income, only a small army, and no officials
By 1750, the king’s revenues were 1/75th the value of the French
king’s revenues
They paid no taxes
They managed their own foreign policies and armies
Serfdom was expanded for the peasantry

This gave more power to the local lords
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Because it was such a weak state, it was going to be
heavily influenced by the strong powers around it

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This included Prussia, Austria, and Russia
In the late 17th century, there were talks about
dismantling the Commonwealth
This will not occur until 1795 but that did not stop the
slow disintegration
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In 1660, East Prussia became independent from the
Commonwealth
In 1667, Russia took the cities of Smolensk and Kiev
In 1768, the Commonwealth became a protectorate of Russia

Ottoman Empire (c. 1683)
Ottoman Empire


The holdings of the Ottoman Turks in Europe were very
small compared with the rest of its empire
By 1650, they were in control of the entire Balkans up
through Hungary and modern day Romania

Most of their success came through military conquest
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In 1529, they even got as far as Vienna and attacked the city under the
leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent
Their navy dominated the Mediterranean as well
However, by this point, their armies were weaker than the rest
of Europe because they were not as advanced in terms of
firepower
Ottoman Empire

The empire was incredibly diverse

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Unlike other empires, the Turks did not push for assimilation
There were not only a variety of cultures and languages, there
was a variety of religions as well
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Groups like the Greek Orthodox and even Jews enjoyed some
religious freedom
The Turks did not force conversions to Islam
Many of the subjugated people enjoyed autonomy

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Even when it came to implementing Muslim law, it was only
applied to Muslims
The only requirement was the payment of tribute to the sultan
Ottoman Empire

Starting with France, many European nations began to
sign treaties with the Turks allowing them certain
privileges

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For example, any Frenchmen in the Empire could only be tried
by French judges
All Frenchmen were allowed freedom to practice Catholicism
During the 17th century, conditions in the Empire were
very oppressive

This was mainly due to corrupt officials and growing power of
the provincial governors (pashas)
Ottoman Empire

The border territories were the weakest points of the
Empire
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However, beginning in 1656, the Empire entered the
Köprülü era

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As they were the furthest from Constantinople, their loyalties
wavered
This included a series of very strong rulers from the Köprülü
family
Once again, the Ottomans became a serious threat to
Eastern Europe
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However, this time it was going to be Austria, not the HRE,
who will defeat them

Ferdinand III

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Archduke of Austria
(1621-1657)
King of Hungary
(1625-1657)
Holy Roman Emperor
(1637-1657)
Rise of Austria


The ruling family of Austria came from the house of
Habsburg
The territory owned by the Habsburgs included:
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Upper and Lower Austria
Kingdom of Bohemia
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Including Moravia and Silesia
Kingdom of Hungary
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This included Transylvania and Croatia as well
However since 1526, most of the kingdom had been occupied by the
Turks
Rise of Austria

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Prior to the Thirty Years’ War, it enjoyed support from
both the wealth of the family and its ties to Spain
After the war, the wealth was gone and Spain was greatly
weakened
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Then in 1700, all ties to Spain were severed when the House of
Bourbon took control of the country
The Habsburgs still were able to gain some power over
the HRE as they continued to be elected as emperors
This helped to build Austria into an empire

Battle of Vienna (1683)
War of the Holy League (1683–1698)

In 1683, the Turks laid siege to the city of Vienna

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Under the leadership of Pope Innocent XI, the Holy
League was created to defend the city

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Even though they had negotiated a truce with Austria, Louis
XIV had encouraged them to attack
For two months, the city was able to hold its own
It included troops from Venice, the HRE, Austria, Poland, and
Russia
The Turks were pushed back in a counter offensive

It was during this offensive that the Parthenon was destroyed
in 1687 as it had been used as an ammunition dump by the
Turks
War of the Holy League (1683–1698)

During this time period, Austrian forces were reorganized
under the leadership of Prince Eugene of Savoy
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In 1697, the Austrians were able to drive the Turks out of
Hungary
Peace of Korlowitz (1699)
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He based the new organization on France’s military
The Turks gave up claims to Hungary, Romania, and Croatia
As their borders to the east and south were secure, the
Austrians could turn their attention to the west

Prince Eugene
of Savoy

(1663-1736)
Expansion of Austria

The Austrians joined in the War of Spanish Succession
(1701-1714)

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Once again, under the Prince of Savoy, the Austrians were
able to make significant gains

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Both Emperor Leopold I and Archduke Charles of Austria
wanted to keep the Spanish throne in the Habsburg family
This time it was in the Spanish Netherlands
With the Treaty of Rastadt (1714), Austria received:


The Spanish Netherlands, which now became known as the
Austrian Netherlands
Milan and Naples
Expansion of Austria

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Once the west was settled, they could return to the
dispute to the east
The Ottomans were unhappy with the terms of the Peace
of Korlowitz (1699) so they declared war against Austria
in 1718

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This began the Austro-Turkish War (1716-1718)
Savoy led another attack against the Ottoman Turks

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This time he was able to capture Belgrade and Wallachia
They were able to keep Belgrade with the Treaty of
Passarowitz (1718)
Expansion of Austria

Hostilities broke out again in 1737

This time Austria allied with Russia in their war against the
Turks
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This was part of the Russo-Turkish War (1735-1737)
The Austrians were not so successful this time
After a number of defeats, the Austrians signed the Peace
of Belgrade (1739)
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Northern Serbia (along with Belgrade) as well as Wallachia
were ceded to the Ottomans
New borders were set along the Sava and Danube rivers

These borders remained unchanged until after World War I

Austrian Empire (c. 1740)
Austrian Monarchy


Within 100 years after their defeat during the Thirty
Years’ War, the Austria monarchy had strengthened its
position within Europe
However, unlike the other major European powers,
absolutism did not develop in Austria

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This was mainly due to the status of the landed class and the
diversity of the empire
As Austria remained mostly rural, the landed class
enjoyed many privileges

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Serfdom was still the norm
This gave the landed class power over the peasants, taxation,
and local laws
Austrian Monarchy

Diversity also affected the perception of the rulers
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In Austria proper, they were known as Archdukes
In Bohemia, they were known as the Kings of Bohemia
In Hungary, the Magyars saw them as the Apostolic King of
Hungary
In these cases, the territories retained their own laws and
forms of government
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There was no sense of Austrian nationalism
The only thing holding together this empire was one person
inheriting all the titles and lands
Austrian Monarchy

In 1713, Charles VI issued the Pragmatic Sanction

This was designed to guarantee that the entire Austrian Empire
would remain intact
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All of the diets throughout the Empire agreed to the terms
He managed to get a number of European powers to agree to
it
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This was especially significant because he did not have a male heir
He wanted to make sure the Empire pass down to his daughter, Maria
Theresa, without incident
This was to prevent countries like Prussia from taking advantage of a
potentially “weak” monarch
In 1740, Charles died supposedly from eating a meal
containing death cap mushrooms
Brandenburg-Prussia
Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia

With the demise of the Holy Roman Empire after the
Peace of Westphalia, there was now opportunity for many
of the German provinces to develop into great countries
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With a power vacuum created, all it would take was a country
with a strong military
German influence spread east of the Elbe River and in
through Poland
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This had been a move by the Holy Roman Empire to create
“buffer” states between itself and any possible invaders from
the east
Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia

The Duchy of Prussia was one of these prominent
German states inside of Poland
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In 1618, the Elector of Brandenburg inherited the duchy
It was now in the hands of the Hollenzollern family
With the Peace of Westphalia, Brandenburg received
Eastern Pomerania
It was at this point that the Hollenzollerns decided to
unite Brandenburg with Prussia
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However, in between these territories was Swedish controlled
Pomerania and part of the Kingdom of Poland
This included the important port center of Danzig

Great Elector
Frederick William I
(1640-1688)
Great Elector Frederick William I

Frederick William took the position of Great Elector in
1640
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At this time Brandenburg-Prussia was in poor condition as it
had been devastated by the Thirty Years’ War
He had three goals that he wanted to achieve during his
reign:

Protect his lands and the country by building up a strong army
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As his lands held no natural barriers, this was a key component to his
rebuilding
This is what he was most successful at doing
Build up the agriculture and commerce of Brandenburg
Recapture all territories lost over the previous wars
Great Elector Frederick William I

Frederick William was involved in three major wars

First Northern War (1655-1660)
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Franco-Dutch War ((1672-1678))
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He was forced to return his gains in Pomerania
Scanian War (1674-1679)
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His troops were successful at beating Polish forces at the Battle of
Warsaw (1656)
He gained full sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia
Again, he was forced to give back all territory gained
What all these battles did do was develop the Prussian
armies experiences to make it a force worth reckoning
with
Great Elector Frederick William I

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Frederick William also had to consolidate his power in all
of his territories
The nobility (junkers)still claimed they had special rights
and privileges

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They believed they should control their own finances,
administrations, judicial systems, armies, and foreign affairs
In reducing the power of the nobility, Frederick William
made a deal with them
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They gave up their political power in their provincial EstatesGeneral
In return, they would have almost unlimited power over their
peasants and would be exempt from taxation

Great Elector
Frederick III


AKA King Frederick I
(1688-1713)
Great Elector Frederick III


Frederick had been frail in health and was said to be
physically deformed
Unlike his father, he was not concerned with running the
government

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He placed this duty in the hands of his ministers, who were not
the most honest of people
He spent most of his time trying to imitate the court of
Louis XIV

He even spent a great deal of time developing a similar sort of
etiquette to rival Louis’ court
Great Elector Frederick III

Frederick really wanted to have the title of “king”

However, Brandenburg was inside the Holy Roman Empire

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Also, Prussia was technically part of Poland

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If he took the title “king” it would be seen as a threat to Poland
Emperor Leopold I needed Frederick’s military support in
the War of Spanish succession

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According to the law, the Kingdom of Bohemia was the only kingdom
allowed inside the Holy Roman Empire
As part of their compromise, Frederick received the title of
King in Prussia which was used until 1772
In the Great Northern War (1700-1721), he was able to
conquer the territory of western Pomerania

King Frederick William I

(1713-1740)
King Frederick William I (1713-1740)

Frederick William was also known as the “Potsdam
Fürher”


When he took the throne he said “I am going to place
Prussian sovereignty on a rock of bronze”

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
He was a strict ruler with an iron hand
He believed he was going to carry absolutism to its logical
conclusion
He believed in divine right but said “salvation belongs to the
Lord and everything else is my affair”
One of the things he wished for Prussia was
independence from foreign subsidies

To achieve this, he needed to make himself along with the
country economical
King Frederick William I (1713-1740)

First thing Frederick William did was to reform the
household accounts

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
He fired all the court lackeys and pages
He sold the crown jewels to pay off the country’s debts
He gave his wife Sophia Dorathea a yearly allowance of
$80,000 to her and their ten children for living expenses
Everything that he demanded of himself, he demanded of
his subjects

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If his officials were not at their offices by 5am they were fined
for being late
He promoted good health and insisted that the army be lined
up and bled every year for “good health” and he was in front of
that line each time
King Frederick William I (1713-1740)


He also continued the centralization of the Prussian state
He created the General Directory which was the central
authority of all his territories

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All territories were subordinate to the Directory
He encouraged the development of commerce and
industry

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
He placed on tariffs on foreign goods
He prohibited the exportation of raw materials
He created new industries to make Prussia more independent
King Frederick William I (1713-1740)

He also spent a lot of money developing his army

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When he took the throne Prussia only had 38,000 and were
paid for mostly with foreign subsidies
By the time of his death the army totaled about 83,000 (out of
a population of 2,200,000)
He also had collected a huge war chest of more than 8,000,000
taler
By 1740, Prussia was the third biggest military power
behind Russia and France
King Frederick William I (1713-1740)

One of his idiosyncrasies was the Potsdam Giants, his
elite regiment




Only he could punish his guard and to him, they could do no
wrong
There was a minimum requirement of being at least six feet tall
Anybody who was of this height had to live in fear of being
kidnapped and force to join the Giants
Many kings gave him gifts of tall men to get on Frederick
William’s good side
Absolutism in Russia
Rise of Russia

Russia lagged behind the rest of Europe in its
development

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
As it embraced the Greek Orthodox Church, it was under the
influence of Constantinople rather than Rome
Then beginning in the 13th century, Russia was occupied by the
Mongols for roughly 250 years
One thing that did have a negative impact on the
development of Russia was its lack of a warm water port


This prevented Russia from trading with the rest of Europe
In turn, it was not able to enjoy all the developments that were
taking place on the rest of the continent
Rise of Russia

Russia began as a small principality that was centered
around the city of Moscow



In 1340, Ivan I was able to secure the title of Grand Duke
Russia at this point became the Grand Duchy of Moscow (aka
Muscovy)
In 1480, Grand Duke Ivan III (“the Great”) was able to
push the Mongols out of Muscovy

It was under the leadership of Ivan III that Russia began its
expansion not only in size but in power as well
Rise of Russia

Russia did not develop into a modern state like many of
the other countries of Europe



It remained largely rural with serfdom still predominant
There was practically no middle class
As Russia expanded, its population became more diverse


The core of its population were the Great Russians (or
Muscovites)
Other groups included groups like the Tartars, the Cossacks,
the Little Russians, and the White Russians

Michael I

(1613-1645)
Romanov Dynasty

The Romanov Dynasty was founded in 1613

The Zemsky Sobor elected Michael Romanov as the new tsar



The first few rulers of the dynasty were rather weak




He was only 17 years old when he ascended to the throne
This begins the Romanov Dynasty that lasts until 1917
Michael I (1613-1645)
Alexis I (1645-1676)
Fyodor III (1676-1682)
When Fyodor III died, there were issues as to who would
rule next

Alexis I had two wives, so the two families believed that their
sons should be next in line for the throne
Romanov Dynasty

Alexis’ first wife Maria Miloslavskaya, had two sons,
Fyodor and Ivan



Alexis’ second wife, Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, had
one son Peter


Fyodor was the tsar who just died
Ivan was both mentally and physically handicapped
Peter was very strong both physically and mentally but he was
only 10 years old
The Boyar Duma selected Peter to be the new tsar


This decision was brought to a public vote and was approved
It was also decided that his mother would be regent
Romanov Dynasty

Ivan’s sister, Sophia, led a rebellion to place her brother
on the throne



It was decided that Ivan and Peter would co-rule


Sophia was supported by the Strelsty while Peter was
supported by the Boyars
The Streltsy Uprisings lasted throughout April and May 1682
Sophia would act as regent
In 1689, Peter turned 17 years old



The nobility requested that Sophia step down and allow Peter
to rule on his own
She refused
That fall, he seized the government from Sophia and sent her
to a convent

Peter I
(1689-1725)
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

One of Peter’s main aims as tsar was to modernize Russia


The first thing he needed was a warm water port



He wanted Russia to be on equal footing with Europe
Sweden was in control of the nearest access to the Baltic Sea
The other option was the Black Sea but that meant fighting the
Ottoman Turks for control
Peter attempted to take the fort at Azov in the summer
of 1695 from the Turks

That failed horribly as he had no navy
Peter the Great (1689-1725)


Peter turned his attention to building a navy to help
capture the city
By the time of the second campaign against Azov a year
later, he had a fleet of over thirty ships


In July 1696, the Russians had taken the city
Peter knew Russia could not gain full access to the Black
Sea without a full navy

In October 1696, plans were put in motion to build the first
Russian navy
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

Peter also know that he could not take on the Ottoman
Empire alone



Therefore, he turned to other European countries for help
He sent the “Great Embassy” to Europe to seek aid in 1697
Peter’s role in the Embassy was not as “tsar” but as a
plain member of the Embassy


He was hoping he could get a better view into the customs
and traditions of western Europe
If he went as tsar, he would be treated differently than if he was
a regular guy
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

While the Embassy failed at securing any aid, Peter was
able to travel throughout Europe


In June 1698, the Streltsy revolted



He learned a lot about ship building and running a navy from
both the Dutch and the English
This was either in reaction to Peter’s attempts at widespread
reforms or to the horrid military conditions
Their goal was to place Sophia back into power
When Peter made it back to Moscow in August, the
revolt had been put down but he was not satisfied

Only 57 had been executed and the rest ordered into exile
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

Peter ordered another investigation and handled things
his way


He ordered that entire Streltsy be destroyed
From September 1698 to February of 1699, the Streltsy
were dealt with




Roughly 1,200 Streltsy were executed
Most of those bodies were left either gibbeted outside the
Kremlin or unburied where they were executed
An additional 600 were tortured and exiled
Even the families of the Streltsy were forced out of Moscow
Peter the Great (1689-1725)
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Once the Streltsy Revolt was put down, Peter was able to
focus on modernizing Russia
He continued to reorganize the military
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Peasants were conscripted for 25-year stints of service
The goal was to create a standing army of over 200,000 men
He continued to expand and improve Russia’s navy using the
information he learned in his travels
He made educational reforms
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He built elementary, military, and vocational schools
He also simplified the Russian alphabet by removing eight
letters and changing the forms of others
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

He made a few governmental reforms
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He replaced the Duma (the old national assembly) with ten
Departments of State which presided over various functions of
the government
He divided up the Russian empire into provinces and set up
governors and councils to run each province
Both nobility and non-nobility were able to hold positions in
the government and gain rank through achievement
The Russian Church also was reformed
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One of the key elements was correcting any mistranslations of
the Bible
He also terminated the position of Patriarch and placed himself
as the head of the church
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

Peter made numerous economic reforms
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He introduced mercantilism to Russia
He had new industries created and expanded old ones
He also investigated ways to collect raw materials from
untouched sources inside of Russia
Taxes were changed to be based on individuals rather than
households
He would conscript peasants to work in factories to help
boost commerce
His changes did end feudalism in some areas
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In areas owned by the tsar, the peasants were considered state
peasants and owned by the tsar rather than the traditional
landlord
Peter the Great (1689-1725)
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Peter’s biggest impact was his cultural reforms
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He required that the nobility educate all of their sons
He put together a Russian book of etiquette and forced the
nobility to follow proper “western” manners
He forced Russian men to shave their beards to look more like
Europeans
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He had tailors design clothes that looked more European
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Those who refused were taxed
Those to refused to wear the more fashionable short sleeves would
have their sleeves cut
He changed the calendar to start at January 1 instead of
September 1
Peter the Great (1689-1725)
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In terms of foreign policy, Peter was determined to get a
viable warm water port
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He turned his attentions back to the Baltic Sea
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Even though Peter captured the Azov, he knew it would be
difficult to keep it
At the time, this land was under the control of Charles XII of
Sweden
In 1700, Russian troops fought against Swedish ones at
the Battle of Narva
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Even though the Russians outnumbered them 40,000 to 8,000,
the Swedes had the better army and won
This began the Great Northern War (1700-1721)
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

Peter realized the need to build up his army after the
defeat
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In the meantime, Charles turned his attentions to Poland
rather than Russia
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He recruited officers and technicians from all over Europe to
help meet this goal
This allowed Peter to capture the Gulf of Finland in 1703
He set up the city of St. Petersburg as a new capital city
Once the Polish king, August II, abdicated in 1706, Charles
returned his attention to Russia
Peter the Great (1689-1725)
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In 1708, Charles invaded Russia and attempted to capture
Moscow
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However, the Russians fled inland and destroyed everything in
their wake (“scorched-earth” policy)
When winter set in, Charles’ army took a hard hit
The war continued on until the Peace of Nystadt in 1721
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It gave Estonia, Livonia, and Karelia to Russia
Now Peter had his warm weather ports
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

Peter’s changes to Russia came at a cost:
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Taxes were increased over 500% to pay for the military
Many of the nobility resented Peter because he forced them to
work for their positions and rank
His son, Alexei, fled Russia in 1716
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Supposedly he did not want to be heir to the throne and
wanted to be a monk instead
When Alexei returned to Russia he was tortured and
sentenced to death
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The charge was conspiring rebelling against the tsar
He “confessed” after being tortured that he wished his father dead
He died on June 26, 1718
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

Beginning in 1723, Peter became ill with bladder problems
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In 1724, Peter named his wife, Catherine, to be co-ruler
and heir to the throne
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Supposedly over four pounds of urine was removed surgically
due to a blockage
All of his sons were dead by this point
He also believed that passing down the throne from father to
son was outdated
Peter died on January 28, 1725

It was discovered during an autopsy that he developed
gangrene in his bladder
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Catherine I
(1725-1727)
Romanovs through 1741
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Catherine I (1725-1727)
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Peter’s wife Catherine assumed the throne after his death
She was the first female ruler of the Russian empire
Her beginnings were quite humble and her heritage is largely
unknown
Peter II (1727-1730)
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He was the grandson of Peter the Great and Alexei’s only son
He was dominated by ruthless advisors over the course of his
short reign
He died in 1730 of smallpox at the age of 15
Romanovs through 1741
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Anna Ivanovna (1730-1740)
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She was the daughter of Peter the Great’s stepbrother, Ivan IV
Over the course of her reign, she shunned the Boyars
She also brought back the secret police to terrorize anybody
who did not agree with her policies
She designated her nephew, Ivan, to be her successor
He died of kidney disease at the age of 47
Ivan VI (1740-1741)
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He was two months old when he ascended to the throne
However, he never ruled

On December 6, 1741, a coup took place removing him from the
throne and replacing him with Peter I’s daughter, Elizabeth
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Follies during at the court of Anna