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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.
Peter the Great (Russian: Пётр Великий, transliterated Pyotr Velikiy), Peter I (Russian: Пётр I) or Peter Alexeyevich (Russian: Пётр Алексеевич) ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May (O.S. 27 April) 1682 until his death in 1725, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V. Through a number of successful wars, he expanded the Tsardom into a much larger empire that became a major European power. He led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, Westernised and based on the Enlightenment. Peter's reforms made a lasting impact on Russia, and many institutions of Russian government trace their origins to his reign. |
