Russian Czars: The Full List From Ivan the Terrible to Nicholas II

Contents9

• Russian czars before the Romanovs
• The Romanov czars and emperors, 1613-1917
• Ivan IV and the first coronation as tsar
• Where the word czar comes from
• Czar, tsar or emperor
• Coronation and the Kremlin
• How succession worked
• Notable Russian czars
• Verdict: the Russian czars in brief

Russian czars, or tsars, ruled Russia for 370 years. Their rule ran from Ivan the Terrible's crowning in 1547 to Nicholas II's fall in 1917. Three families held the title in turn: the Rurikids, Boris Godunov's family, and the Romanovs.

Between them came the Time of Troubles, when several claimants fought for the throne. This page lists every Russian czar in order. It marks the disputed reigns. It also explains how the title and its spelling changed.

TL;DR: Ivan IV became the first crowned tsar in 1547. The Rurikid line ended in 1598. Boris Godunov reigned until 1605. Then rival claimants fought during the Time of Troubles. The Romanovs ruled from 1613 to 1917. Peter I took the formal title emperor in 1721, but "czar" stayed in common use. Nicholas II was the last.

Russian czars before the Romanovs

The Time of Troubles

Claimants to the throne, 1605-1613.

Status: Disputed No agreed list of lawful tsars for these years.

Note: Boris Godunov died in 1605. Then a pretender took Moscow with Polish support. He claimed to be Ivan IV's son Dmitry, who had died as a child in 1591. He was killed in 1606.

Vasily Shuisky reigned until 1610, while a second "False Dmitry" held a rival court. A group of nobles then elected the Polish prince Władysław. He never came to Moscow. Britannica's list of Russian rulers shows how unsettled the succession was. This site marks the pretenders and Władysław as disputed.

Sources: Britannica, "Leaders of Muscovy, Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union"; Britannica, "Russia: Romanov Muscovy".

The Romanov czars and emperors, 1613-1917

For the reasons behind each accession, including the palace coups of the 1700s, see the Romanov dynasty hub.

Ivan IV and the first coronation as tsar

Moscow's rulers had called themselves grand princes. In January 1547 the 16-year-old Ivan IV was crowned tsar of all Russia. The title claimed a rank equal to the Byzantine emperors and the khans of the Golden Horde. Ivan conquered the Tatar khanates of Kazan in 1552 and Astrakhan in 1556.

He began Russia's push into Siberia. His later rule brought terror through the oprichnina, a private state within the state. It also brought the long Livonian War. In 1581 he killed his own son and heir, Ivan, in a fit of rage.

Where the word czar comes from

"Tsar" comes from the Latin Caesar, the family name of Julius Caesar that became an imperial title. It reached Russian through Old Church Slavonic. It had been used for the Byzantine emperors and for Tatar khans before Russian rulers took it. The same root gives the German Kaiser. For how tsar, king and emperor differ, see emperor vs king.

Czar, tsar or emperor

Peter I took the formal title Emperor of All Russia in 1721, after victory over Sweden. From then on the official title was emperor, and the state was the Russian Empire. But "tsar" stayed the everyday word for the ruler until 1917, in Russian and in other languages. His story is told on the Peter the Great page.

English uses two spellings. "Tsar" follows the Russian sound more closely. It is standard in academic writing. "Czar" follows an older spelling shaped by Polish. It survives in general use, as in the American phrase "drug czar".

Coronation and the Kremlin

Russian rulers were crowned in the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin. That stayed true even after Saint Petersburg became the capital. The church led the crowning. It presented the ruler as chosen by God.

Not every ruler was crowned. Ivan VI, removed as a baby, and Peter III, removed after six months, never were. Nicholas II was crowned in May 1896. A stampede at Khodynka Field in Moscow marred it. More than a thousand people died.

How succession worked

For most of the 1600s, the crown passed to the eldest son. Peter I's law of 1722 let the ruler name any heir. The result was a run of palace coups, decided by the guards regiments.

In 1797 Paul I issued a new law of succession. It fixed the crown to the eldest son, and put male heirs before female ones. That law governed every succession from 1801 to 1894.

Notable Russian czars

• Ivan IV created the title and the tsardom's first standing army units, the streltsy.
• Alexis I issued the law code of 1649 that bound the peasants to the land.
• Peter I founded Saint Petersburg and made Russia an empire.
• Catherine II expanded the empire to the Black Sea and into Poland-Lithuania.
• Alexander I defeated Napoleon's invasion of 1812.
• Alexander II abolished serfdom in 1861 and was assassinated in 1881.
• Nicholas II lost the throne in the revolution of 1917.

To read more, try our guide to the best books about the Romanovs. It picks eight. They run from the whole dynasty to the family's last months.

Verdict: the Russian czars in brief

The Russian czars ruled from Ivan IV's crowning in 1547 to Nicholas II's fall in 1917. The title passed from the Rurikids to the Godunovs. It went through the disputed Time of Troubles to the Romanovs.

From 1721 the formal title was emperor. This page marks two sets of reigns as disputed: the pretenders of 1605-1613 and the infant Ivan VI. For the empire these rulers governed, see the Russian Empire page.

Sources checked for this page

• Britannica, "Leaders of Muscovy, Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union"
• Britannica, "Tsar"
• Britannica, "Russia: Romanov Muscovy"
• World History Encyclopedia, "Tsar"
• Britannica, "Nicholas II: Abdication and death"

Questions people also ask

Who was the first Russian czar?

Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, who was crowned tsar of all Russia in January 1547. Earlier rulers of Moscow used the title grand prince.

Who was the last Russian czar?

Nicholas II, who abdicated on 15 March 1917 during the February Revolution and was killed with his family in July 1918.

Is it czar or tsar?

Both are English spellings of the same Russian word, tsar. 'Tsar' is the usual spelling in academic writing; 'czar' is common in general English.

How many Russian czars were there?

This page lists 25 rulers between 1547 and 1917: seven before the Romanovs, including disputed claimants, and eighteen Romanovs. Other counts differ depending on how the Time of Troubles and joint rulers are treated.

Which Russian czar freed the serfs?

Alexander II, by the Emancipation Manifesto of 1861. He was assassinated by revolutionaries in Saint Petersburg in 1881.