Russia

Ivan III

Feb 17, 1462

Ivan III or Ivan the Great, 1440–1505, grand duke of Moscow (1462–1505). Creator of the consolidated Muscovite state. He subjugated Great Novgorod asserted his sway over Vyatka, Tver, Yaroslavl, Rostovsuzdal, and other territories, and checked the eastward expansion of Lithuania, from which he gained some former Russian lands

Vasily III

Feb 17, 1505

Vasili III Ivanovich was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia PaleologueVasily completed his father’s policy of consolidating the numerous independent Russian principalities into a united Muscovite state by annexing Pskov (1510), Ryazan (1517), and Starodub and Novgorod-Seversk by 1523.

Ivan IV

Feb 17, 1530

Ivan the IV, or Ivan the Terrible, was tsar of Russia from 1530-1584 and established a tradition of absolute rule. After a childhood of abuse and repression he destroyed his rivals and claimed the throne of Tsardom. He beat back the last of the Mongols, provided some large territotial expansion, and centralized the bureacracy. At the same time his blood thristy habits and cruel personality have made him infamous in history's annals as a lunatic ruler whom even his own people called "Terrible."

Oprichniki

Feb 17, 1565

The six thousand political police enforcing the policy were called oprichniki, and the term oprichnina also applies to the secret police organization and to the territory in which, during that period, the Tsar ruled directly and in which his oprichniki operated.

Feodor I

Feb 17, 1584

In 1584, at the age of 27, Feodor I was crowned Tsar of Russia. Son of Ivan IV “the Terrible”, Feodor looked nothing like his physically imposing father in fact, he was small, with short arms and a squat neck. Quiet and passive, Feodor was believed to have been mentally retarded at birth, with little intelligence and a dispassion for ruling the country.

Michael Romanov

Feb 17, 1613

Michael Romanov, 1596–1645, czar of Russia 1613–45, founder of the Romanov dynasty; grandnephew of Anastasia, first wife of Ivan IV. His election as czar, following successive appearances of false pretenders, ended the so-called Time of Troubles, a period of social and political chaos in Russia that had begun in the late 16th century

Peter I

Feb 17, 1682

Peter the Great was born in 1672 and he died in 1725. Peter was tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725. His self-given title was Peter the Great though he was officially Peter I. Peter the Great is credited with dragging Russia out of the medieval times to such an extent that by his death in 1725