Anna Ivanovna

693-1740
EMPRESS OF ALL RUSSIA 1730-1740

Born on January 28, 1693, Anna Ivanovna was the daughter of Peter the Great's co-ruler, Ivan V and Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova. Until the age of 17, she spent most of her time in the village of Ismailovo, near Moscow, where her mother lived.

After the death of Emperor Peter II, she was elected to the Russian throne by the Supreme Privy Council, which set limits to her power. On March 4, 1730, Anna Ivanovna rejected their conditions and dissolved the council; then on April 28, 1730, she crowned herself in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Historians have different opinions of her reign. On one hand, the Empress herself spent little time on affairs of state, surrounding herself with German grandees. Power lay in the hands of her favorite, Count Biron. On the other hand, her rule was a period of internal stability and successful foreign policy.

Anna Ivanovna died of kidney disease at the age of 47, leaving no heirs, and was buried in the Cathedral of the St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

Biography and image from The Florida International Museum WWW exhibit
"The Treasures of the Czars"

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