Romanov

The House of Romanov (????????, pronounced Ro-MAH-nof) was the second and last imperial dynasty of Russia, which ruled Muscovy and the Russian Empire for five generations from 1613 to 1762. From 1762 to 1917 Russia was ruled by a branch of the House of Oldenburg, which retained the Romanov surname.

The Romanov-Gottorp Dynasty

The Holstein-Gottorps of Russia, however, kept the surname Romanov and sought to emphasise their female-line descent from Peter the Great. Emperor Pavel was particularly proud to be great-grandson of the illustrious Russian monarch, although his German-born mother, Catherine II (of the House of Anhalt-Zerbst), had insinuated in her memoirs that Paul's real father had been her lover Sergei Saltykov. Disapproving of morganatic alliances, Paul established the house law of the Romanovs, one of the strictest in Europe. The consorts of Russian dynasts had to be equal born (i.e., born to a sovereign house of Europe) and of the Orthodox faith. Otherwise their children forfeited their rights to the throne.

Related Topics:
Peter the Great - Emperor Pavel - Catherine II - Anhalt-Zerbst - Sergei Saltykov - Morganatic - House law - Sovereign - Orthodox faith

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Paul I was murdered in his palace in Saint Petersburg. Alexander I succeeded him on the throne. He died without having left a male heir. As a surprise to himself, Nikolai I, a brother of the latter monarch, found himself on the throne. His era, just like the one of Pavel I, was marked by enormous attention on army. Nonetheless, Russia lost the Krimean campaign, although it had some brilliant admirals on its side (Nachimov, for example). Nikolai I fathered four children, all of whom, he thought, could one day face the challenge of ruling over Russia. Trying to prepare all the boys for the future, he provided excellent education, especially military one, for all of them. Alexander II became the next Russian emperor. This was an educated, intelligent man, who held that his task was to keep peace in Europe and Russia, whereas he believed that only a country with a strong army could do this. Paying attention to the army, giving much freedom to Finland, freeing the slaves in 1861, he gained much support (Finns still dearly remember him). His family life was not that happy. His beloved wife had serious problems with lungs, which led to her death and to a secret morganatic marriage. Alexander III was the next emperor, a son of Alexander II, a true giant with great stamina and somewhat commmon-people jokes. His family life was nice, his wife was completely different from him, and they loved each other and their children. One of the children was Nikolai, later known as Nikolai II. Accidentally, Alexander III dies at the age of 49, leaving Nikolai II as his heir. Nikolai II was known as a quiet and reasonable man, a loving husband and father. As was later noted by Kerensky, "Nikolai is so clever".

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Konstantin Pavlovich and Mikhail Alexandrovich, although sometimes counted among Russian monarchs, were not crowned and never reigned. They both married morganatically, as did Alexander II. Six crowned representatives of the Gottorp-Romanov line include: Pavel (1796-1801), Alexander I (1801-1826), Nikolai I (1826-56), Alexander II (1856-81), Alexander III (1881-94), and Nikolai II (1894-1917).

Related Topics:
Konstantin Pavlovich - Mikhail Alexandrovich - Pavel - Alexander I - Nikolai I - Alexander II - Alexander III - Nikolai II

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