Ivan V Alekseyevich (russian: Иван V Алексеевич; – ) was
Tsar of Russia
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mos ...
between 1682 and 1696,
jointly ruling with his younger half-brother
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
. Ivan was the youngest son of
Alexis I of Russia
Aleksey Mikhaylovich ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars ...
by his first wife,
Maria Miloslavskaya
Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (, 1 April 1624 – 18 August 1669) was a Russian tsaritsa as the first spouse of tsar Alexis of Russia. She was the mother of tsar Feodor III of Russia, tsar Ivan V of Russia, and the princess regent Sophia Alekse ...
, while Peter was the only son of Alexis by his second wife,
Natalya Naryshkina
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (russian: Ната́лья Кири́лловна Нары́шкина; 1 September 1651 – 4 February 1694) was the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671–1676 as the second spouse of Tsar Alexis I of Russia, and reg ...
. Ivan's reign was solely titular because he had serious physical and mental issues.
Early life and accession
Ivan V was born in 1666 in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, the youngest son of Tsar Alexis and Maria Miloslavskaya. Only two of his older brothers survived childhood; his eldest brother,
Alexei, died aged 15 in 1670, therefore his second brother,
Feodor, became tsar upon the death of their father. When Feodor died in 1682 without leaving an heir, Ivan, who was thought to be "infirm in body and mind", was passed over in favor of his younger half-brother, Peter.
The church and the Naryshkins (family of Peter's mother,
Natalya Naryshkina
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (russian: Ната́лья Кири́лловна Нары́шкина; 1 September 1651 – 4 February 1694) was the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671–1676 as the second spouse of Tsar Alexis I of Russia, and reg ...
) supported Peter's ascension to the throne, however, the family of Ivan V's mother (the Miloslavski) and Ivan's older sister,
Sofia Alekseyevna
Sophia Alekseyevna ( rus, Со́фья Алексе́евна, p=ˈsofʲjə ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvnə; ) was a Russian princess who ruled as regent of Russia from 1682 to 1689. She allied herself with a singularly capable courtier and politician, Pri ...
, in particular, disputed the move. Rumors spread around Moscow that Feodor III had been poisoned and Ivan strangled by
boyars
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars wer ...
so that the 10-year-old Peter could become Tsar. These rumours fomented the
Moscow Uprising of 1682
The Moscow uprising of 1682, also known as the Streltsy uprising of 1682 (russian: Стрелецкий бунт), was an uprising of the Moscow Streltsy regiments that resulted in supreme power devolving on Sophia Alekseyevna (the daughter of th ...
, and the ''
streltsy'' stormed the
Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
. These disturbances subsided only after Ivan appeared in person in the city, and proved to everyone that he was alive and well.
The ''streltsy'' demanded that Ivan be named tsar, and a compromise was found by declaring Ivan and Peter as co-rulers, with a
regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
government until the boys came of age. Sofia Alekseyevna, who had been influential at court during her brother Feodor's reign, was named regent.
Tsar and co-ruler
On 25 June 1682, less than two months after the death of Feodor III, Ivan and Peter were crowned in the
Cathedral of the Dormition
The Cathedral of the Dormition (russian: Успенский собор , translit = Uspensky sobor), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. ...
as co-Tsars. A
special throne with two seats was commissioned for the occasion (now on display in the
Kremlin Armoury
The Kremlin Armoury,Officially called the "Armou/ory Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armou/ory Palace", the "Moscow Armou/ory", the "Armou/ory Museum", and the "Moscow Armou/ory Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. (r ...
). While Ivan was 16 years old at this time, his co-ruler
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
was only 10. Ivan was considered the "senior tsar", but actual power was wielded by
Sophia Alekseyevna
Sophia Alekseyevna ( rus, Со́фья Алексе́евна, p=ˈsofʲjə ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvnə; ) was a Russian princess who ruled as regent of Russia from 1682 to 1689. She allied herself with a singularly capable courtier and politician, Pri ...
, Ivan's sister and Peter's half-sister, for the next seven years.
![Ivan_V_by_anonim_(GIM)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Ivan_V_by_anonim_%28GIM%29.jpg)
Sophia was always considerate of Ivan, although she is never known to have consulted him on any important matter. She was anxious that every outward sign of respect and deference be paid to Ivan, which was a subtle way of undermining the influence of Peter's faction in court. Thus, every wish or opinion expressed by Ivan was deferred to, and his general prestige in court remained intact during the years of Sophia's regency. As Peter grew up, he and his faction, led by his mother's Naryshkin family, contended with Regent Sophia for influence and power. Indeed, Sophia is blamed for the murders of Peter's uncles on his mother's side of the family. Due to this and other situations, tension arose between the factions of the co-tsars.
In 1689, Peter was 17, and intent upon declaring his majority and demanding power. To pre-empt this, Sophia attempted to raise a riot in the city, spreading the rumour that the Naryshkins had destroyed Ivan's crown and were poised to set his room on fire. This was untrue, and when riots began, Ivan's tutor, Prince
Prozorovsky
Princes Prozorovsky (russian: Прозоровскиe) were a Russian noble family of Rurikid stock descending from medieval rulers of Yaroslavl and Mologa. Their name is derived from the village of Prozorovo near Mologa, which used to be their on ...
, persuaded him to publicly declare his faith in his brother Peter and make it known that he was unharmed and in no danger for life or liberty. Ivan did this, and also supported Peter's contention that the time had come for terminating the regency. Peter was declared to be of age and Sophia's regency was terminated. Ivan being both incapable and disinterested, Peter came into his own and functioned as though he were the sole tsar. The eventual result was that, over time, the outward signs of deference and power which Ivan had enjoyed during the regency slowly withered away and he became a non-entity in the Russian court. For the last decade of his life, Ivan was completely overshadowed by the more energetic Peter I. He spent his days with his wife,
Praskovia Saltykova
Praskovia Fyodorovna Saltykova (russian: Прасковья Фёдоровна Салтыкова; 12 October 1664 – 13 October 1723) was the tsaritsa of Russia as the only wife of joint-Tsar Ivan V of Russia. She was the mother of Empress Anna ...
, caring about little but "fasting and praying day and night".
Marriage and issue
![Praskovia Saltykova by I](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Praskovia_Saltykova_by_I.Nikitin_%2818th_c.%2C_Sergiev_Posad%29.jpg)
In late 1683 or early 1684, Ivan married
Praskovia Saltykova
Praskovia Fyodorovna Saltykova (russian: Прасковья Фёдоровна Салтыкова; 12 October 1664 – 13 October 1723) was the tsaritsa of Russia as the only wife of joint-Tsar Ivan V of Russia. She was the mother of Empress Anna ...
, daughter of Fyodor Petrovich Saltykov, a minor nobleman, by his wife, whose name is uncertain – it was either Yekaterina Fyodorovna or Anna Mikhailovna Tatishcheva. Ivan's marriage was arranged in the traditional style of Russian rulers: he selected a bride from a
parade of potential candidates. Praskovia Saltykova, who came from a rather obscure family, had been raised in a middle-class household and adhered to conventional values and moral standards. She bonded strongly with her gentle and simple husband, and proved to be an exemplary wife to a mentally-challenged man. She became the mainstay of his life and earned the lifelong respect of her powerful brother-in-law, Peter the Great, who entrusted the care and education of his own two daughters to her. Ivan's purported debility did not prevent him from producing robust offspring, and Praskovia bore him five daughters, three of whom lived to adulthood. Their children were:
* Maria Ivanovna (1689–1692)
* Feodosia Ivanovna (1690–1691)
*
Ekaterina Ivanovna
Ekaterina is a Russian feminine given name, and an alternative transliteration of the Russian ''Yekaterina''. Katya and Katyusha are common diminutive forms of Ekaterina. Notable people with the name can be found below.
Arts
* Ekaterina Medvedev ...
(1691–1733)
*
Anna Ivanovna
Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...
(1693–1740)
*
Praskovia Ivanovna (1694–1731)
Death and succession
At the age of 27, Ivan was described by foreign ambassadors as
senile
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
,
paralytic
Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...
and almost
blind. He died two years later, on 8 February 1696, and was interred in the
Archangel Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Archangel (russian: Архангельский собор, Arkhangel'skiy sobor) is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It is located in Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia between the G ...
. It was fortuitous to Peter's faction that Ivan produced several daughters but no sons, as there was no confusion regarding the succession of the crown upon his death. His co-ruler was left to become supreme ruler of Russia; with Ivan's death, the struggle for power within the family had finally ended.
In 1730, more than 30 years after Ivan's death, his second surviving daughter,
Anna, Duchess of Courland, was invited to the throne of Russia by the country's privy council. She ruled for more than 10 years, and was succeeded by Ivan's infant great-grandson
Ivan VI
Ivan VI,; – (Julian calendar should be used in this article) Iván or Ioánn Antónovich (12 August 1740 5 July 1764) was an infant emperor of Russia who was overthrown by his cousin Elizabeth Petrovna in 1741. He was only two months old whe ...
; however, a palace coup engineered in 1741 by Ivan's niece
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
resulted in the throne passing finally to the progeny of Peter the Great.
See also
*
Rulers of Russia family tree
The following is a family tree of the monarchs of Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationall ...
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*
Romanovs. The second film. Feodor III, Sophia Alekseyevna; Ivan V – Historical reconstruction "The Romanovs". StarMedia. Babich-Design(Russia, 2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivan 05 Of Russia
1666 births
1696 deaths
17th-century Russian monarchs
Russian people with disabilities
Russian tsars
House of Romanov
Royalty from Moscow
Modern child rulers
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
People with epilepsy
Royalty and nobility with disabilities
Russian tsareviches
Children of Alexis of Russia