Ordering the Czars and Czarinas of Russia Quiz

Ivan IV (reigned 1547-1584), known in the West as "Ivan the Terrible", was the first Russian ruler to be crowned as the Tsar, or Czar. Under Ivan's rule, Russian law codes were revised and a standing army was created, which was needed as Russia was almost constantly at war during his reign. Ivan also reached out diplomatically to Western Europe, and began the conquest of Siberia.

Boris Godunov was an archer in the service of Ivan IV, who eventually became a member of the secret police, or oprichniki. In 1580, his sister Irina married Ivan's heir, Feodor, and Boris was made a boyar, or nobleman. Boris was Regent when Feodor became Tsar in 1584. Feodor was considered too weak both in mind and body to rule, so Godunov held the real power.

When Feodor died childless in 1598, Godunov was elected Tsar, reigning until 1605.

Michael Romanov was a Russian nobleman and cousin of Feodor I, the son of Ivan the Terrible. Michael was elected Tsar in 1613 by a council of nobles, ending the Time of Troubles, a period of political unrest, famine, and war that began with Feodor's death without an heir in 1598.

Peter I (reigned 1682-1725) was the third son of Alexis I, the second Tsar of the Romanov dynasty. He was co-ruler with his older half-brother Ivan V from 1682-1696, and became sole ruler upon Ivan's death. Peter opened Russia to the West, studying abroad and building his new capital of St. Petersburg closer to Russia's western border. Peter's reign, while beneficial for Russia in many ways, was also marked by constant wars and autocratic rule. Peter renamed the country the Russian Empire.

Elizabeth (reigned 1741-1762) was the second oldest daughter of Peter the Great. She seized the throne from the child emperor Ivan VI in 1741 with military support. Elizabeth continued the policies of her father, improving Russia's roads and assisting in the construction of the University of Moscow. Like her father, she also fought major wars during her reign.

Catherine II (reigned 1762-1796) was born Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica in the Prussian province of Pomerania in 1729. She married the Russian heir Peter III in 1745, and adopted her new land wholeheartedly. Peter was reportedly cruel and possibly mentally unbalanced, and Catherine overthrew him with the support of the military three months after his reign began in 1762. Catherine expanded Russian power and territory and maintained a lavish court, wishing to appear as an enlightened ruler.

Alexander I (reigned 1801-1825) was the grandson of Catherine the Great. He assumed the throne upon his father's (Paul I) assassination in 1801. During Alexander's reign, Russia's foreign policy went from war, to peace, to a short term alliance, and back to war with Napoleonic France, who Alexander defeated in 1812.

In the early part of his reign, Alexander made some reforms in the educational system, but he was at heart an autocrat of the old school.

Nicholas I was the third son of Paul I, and assumed the throne upon the death of his brother Alexander I in 1825. Nicholas ruled Russia with a firm hand and crushed any dissent. Though he assisted Greece in gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829, Nicholas helped Austria defeat the Hungarian revolution of 1848. Elsewhere, he expanded Russian territory at the expense of Persia and the Ottomans. Nicholas entered into the Crimean War in 1853, dying in 1855 before that conflict ended badly for Russia.

Alexander II (reigned 1855-1881) was the eldest son of Tsar Nicholas I. He began his reign while Russia was fighting the Crimean War. Alexander signed an unfavorable treaty to end that conflict, then proceeded to free the serfs (1861), reform the Army and the courts, and encourage industrialization in the country.

While Alexander did accomplish a great deal of change in Russia, he remained an autocrat. Alexander was assassinated by socialists on March 13, 1881.

Nicholas II (reigned 1894-1917) was the last Tsar of Russia. He assumed the throne on the death of his father, Tsar Alexander III. Nicholas was not suited by temperament to rule the country. He was shy and did not like governing, preferring to spend time with his family. Nicholas' reign was marred by a disastrous war with Japan in 1904-1905 and dissent and unrest at home, which forced him to allow a legislature.

The outbreak of World War I led to Russia's defeat and the Tsar's abdication in 1917. Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their five children were executed by the Bolshevik government in July 1918, in a house in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals.