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The House of Romanov

The Romanovs ruled Russia for just over three centuries, first as tsars and then as emperors. Their story ended with the revolution of 1917 and the murder of the last emperor and his family in 1918. This page follows the dynasty from its rise to its end and its afterlife, using only the sources listed at the end.

Before the Throne: A Boyar Family

The family was prominent long before it reigned. Its standing rose after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned Tsar of all Russia [1]. That marriage linked the Romanovs to the old ruling house. It later helped make a Romanov an acceptable choice when the throne fell vacant.

1613: An Elected Tsar

The early 17th century was the Time of Troubles. Several pretenders and impostors claimed the throne during a Polish–Lithuanian occupation [1]. On 21 February 1613, the Zemsky Sobor (assembly of the land) elected Michael Romanov as tsar. This made the Romanovs Russia's second reigning dynasty [1]. Michael's only surviving son, Alexei, succeeded him in 1645 [1]. After Alexei's death in 1676, his children by his two marriages fought for the throne [1].

Peter the Great and the Russian Empire

Michael's grandson, Peter I (Peter the Great), took the title of emperor and proclaimed the Russian Empire in 1721. Through a series of wars and reforms he made Russia a great power [1]. The rulers were titled Tsar of all Russia from 1613 to 1721 and Emperor of all Russia from 1721 to 1917 [1].

Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp

The direct male line of the Romanovs ended in 1762 with the death of Empress Elizabeth [1]. Later Romanovs, starting with Peter III, descended in the male line from the House of Holstein-Gottorp, a branch of the House of Oldenburg. They are sometimes called Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov [1]. Peter III's wife overthrew him and reigned as Catherine the Great. Their son, Paul I, succeeded her in 1796 [1]. Paul was the first heir to bear the title tsesarevich, which all later direct heirs used [1].

The 19th Century

The emperors of the 19th century were Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II (1855–1881), Alexander III (1881–1894) and Nicholas II (1894–1917) [1]. Alexander II is remembered for freeing the serfs in 1861, although the source flags that passage as needing a citation [1]. Two grand dukes, Constantine Pavlovich and Michael Alexandrovich, are sometimes counted among the emperors. Neither was ever crowned [1].

1917–1918: Revolution and Murder

The monarchy was overthrown in the February Revolution of 1917 [1]. In August 1917 the Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky sent Nicholas II and his family into exile in Tobolsk, in Siberia [1]. After the Bolsheviks took power in the October Revolution, the family was moved in April 1918 to Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, and held in the Ipatiev House [1]. On 17 July 1918, Emperor Nicholas II, his family and several retainers were shot by local Bolsheviks [2][3].

The US Library of Congress holds a unique copy of the files of the Sokolov Commission. That inquiry into the murders began only weeks after the killings, and a former law professor deposited the documents at the Library in 1953 [3]. Of the house's 65 members, 47 survived and went into exile [1].

Identification and the Anastasia Legend

The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra and three of their children were excavated near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and identified two years later by DNA analysis [1]. The Library of Congress bulletin of 1996 likewise reports that genetic tests yielded "irrefutable evidence" of the family's deaths [3]. Because the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and one daughter were missing at first, the legend that Anastasia had survived persisted for decades [1][3].

1998: Burial in St Petersburg

For two hundred years, almost every Russian ruler from Peter I to Nicholas II was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg; only Peter II and Ivan VI were not [2]. On 17 July 1998, eighty years after the murders, the remains of Nicholas II and members of his family were buried in the cathedral's Catherine Chapel [2]. In 1992, Vladimir Kirillovich, a great-grandson of Alexander II, was buried in the cathedral's Grand Ducal Burial Chapel [2].

Who Heads the House Today?

The headship of the House of Romanov is disputed. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen both have supporters [1]. GOTHA records both claims and does not take sides.

Key Dates

Licence: contains material adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This article is released under the same licence. Primary and institutional sources are summarised or briefly quoted.