Russian Leaders

Ivan III (The Great)

Jan 1, 1462

-Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505
-Grand Prince of all Russia
-One of the longest reigning Russian rulers in history
-Trippled the territory of his state
-Ended the dominance of the Tatars of the Golden Horde over Russia
-Laid the foundations of the Russian State http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/ivan+iii

Ivan IV (The Terrible)

Jan 1, 1533

-Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to
-Transformed Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state
-Changed Russia from a medieval state to an empire
-First ruler to be crowned as Tsar of All Russia http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/the-ryurikovich-dynasty/ivan-iv-the-terrible/

Michael Romanov

Jan 1, 1613

-Tsar of Russia from 1613 to 1645
-Founder of the Romanov Dynasty, which ruled Russia until 1917
-He was the solution to the dynastic crisis of the Time of Troubles
-Reduced peasantry to serfdom and obtained peace with Sweden and Poland http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/easteurope/michael1.html

Peter I (The Great)

May 7, 1682

-Tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725
-transformed Russia from the medieval times to a leading eastern European state
-centralised government, modernised the army, created a navy, and increased the subjugation of the peasants http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peter_the_great.htm
-he had an aggressive foreign policy

Catherine II

Jul 9, 1762

-Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1790
-Longest-ruling female leader of Russia
-Russia grew larger and stronger, and became one of the Great Powers of Europe
-Founded many new towns and cities http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/catherine2.html
-Modernized Russia along Western European lines

Alexander II

Mar 3, 1855

-Emperor of the Russian empire from 1855-1881
-King of Poland
-Grand Duke of Finland
-1856 signed treaty of Paris
-Freed the serfs http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSalexander2.htm

Nicholas II

Jan 1, 1894

-Last emperor of Russia
-Grand Prince of Finland
-Titular King of Poland
-Ruled from 1894 to 1917
-Russia had economic and military collapse
-He approved the Russian mobilization of 1914, which began the involvement of Russa in WWI
-a.k.a. Bloody Nicholas because of the Khodynka Tragedy, Bloody Sunday, his execution of political opponents, and his pursuit of military campaigns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia

Alexander Kerensky

Jan 1, 1912

-1912 he was elected to the State Duma
-Major political leader before and during the Russian Revolution of 1917
-Second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government
-1917 he became Minister of War http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSkerensky.htm

Vladimir Lenin

Jan 1, 1917

-Led the October Revolution of 1917
-Leader of the Bolsheviks
-Headed the Soviet State froom 1917 to 1924 while it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War
-Worked to create a socialist economic system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin
-produced Marim-Leninism

Joseph Stalin

May 6, 1941

-Premier of Soviet Union from 1941-1953
-one of the Bolshevik revolutionaries promoted the October Revolution in Russia in 1917
-held the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922-1953
-Led USSR during post-war reconstruction
-Stalingrad was named after him after the Russian Civil War http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstalin.htm

Nikita Khrushchev

Jan 1, 1953

-led the Soviet Union during the Cold War
-First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953-1964
-Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1958-1964
-responsible for the de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union
-1962 he sent off nuclear missiles in Cuba (Communist) http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/bios/all_bio_nikita_khrushchev.htm

Mikhail Gorbachev

Jan 1, 1985

-General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet union from 1985 to 1991
-he was the last Soviet Union's Head of State from 1988 to 1991
-helped contribute to the end of the Cold War
-ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev

Boris Yeltsin

Jun 12, 1991

-1st President of the Russian Federation from 1991-1999
-Elected the chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet
-1993 Russian constitutional crisis--he illegally ordered the dissolution of the parliament and he introduced a new constitution
-Wanted to transform Russia's socialist economy into a free market economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin

Vladimir Putin

Dec 31, 1999

-2nd President of the Russian Federation from 1999-2008
-Current Prime Minister of Russia
-Chairman of the Council of Minister of the Union of Russia and Belarus and chairman of United Russia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin

Dmitri Medvedev

Mar 2, 2008

-3rd President of the Russian Federation
-Wants to modernize Russia's economy and society, and use less oil and gas
-2008 South Ossetia War--victory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Medvedev

Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev

Mar 2, 2022

-Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great was a grand prince of Kiev, and ruler of Kievan Rus from 980 to 1015
-First Christian ruler in Kievan Rus
-Military conquests made the provinces of Kiev and Novgorod into a single state http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/631547/Vladimir-I
-Determined the course of Christianity in the region by the Byzantine baptism