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Ivan V Alekseyevich (Russian: Иван V Алексеевич) was a joint Tsar of Russia (with his younger half-brother Peter I) who co-reigned between 1682 and 1696. Ivan was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia by his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, while Peter was the only son of Alexis by his second wife, Natalya Naryshkina. Ivan's reign was only formal, since he had serious physical and mental disabilities.
On 25 June 1682, less than two months after the death of Feodor III, Ivan and Peter were crowned in the Cathedral of the Dormition as dvoetsarstvenniki (double tsars). While Ivan was 16 years old at this time, his co-ruler Peter I was only ten. Ivan was considered the "senior Tsar", but actual power was wielded by Sophia Alekseyevna for the next seven years.
At the age of 27, Ivan was described by foreign ambassadors as senile, paralytic and almost blind. He died two years later, on 8 February 1696, and was interred in the Archangel Cathedral. It is fortuitous that Ivan produced several daughters but no sons. Therefore, there was no confusion regarding the succession upon his death. His co-ruler was left to become supreme ruler and Tsar of all of Russia. The struggle for power within the family had finally ended, and Peter was left to bring Russia into a new age of westernization.
One of Ivan's daughters, Anna Ivanovna, would ascend the throne in 1730 and rule for a decade as Empress Anna of Russia. |
