How a widowed duchess outmaneuvered the Russian elite to reclaim absolute power

History · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When the Romanov male line went extinct in 1730, the Russian Supreme Privy Council invited Anna of Russia to the throne, expecting a puppet. She initially agreed to their restrictive conditions, only to dismantle the council and restore autocracy, marking a decade of rule often remembered as a dark era.

Born in 1693 to Tsar Ivan V and Praskovia Saltykova, Anna spent her formative years under the strict, austere guidance of her mother. While her uncle, Peter the Great, modernized Russia and shifted the court to St. Petersburg, Anna’s early life emphasized domesticity and religious observance. Her trajectory changed in 1710 when she married Frederick William, Duke of Courland. The union was short-lived; the Duke died in January 1711, just weeks after their wedding, leaving Anna to govern the province of Courland and Semigallia for nearly two decades.

The death of Peter II in 1730 created a succession crisis that brought Anna back to the center of Russian politics. As the daughter of Ivan V, she was one of four candidates for the throne. The Supreme Privy Council, hoping to limit the monarch's authority, offered her the crown on the condition that she accept significant power-sharing constraints. Anna famously accepted these terms, but once she secured her position, she moved to abolish the council entirely. By reestablishing the absolute autocracy, she asserted her independence from the noble factions that had sought to control her.

Anna’s ten-year reign, lasting until 1740, remains a subject of historical debate. In Western historiography, her administration is frequently viewed as a continuation of Peter the Great’s European-style reforms, including the funding of the Russian Academy of Science and the 1730 repeal of primogeniture laws. However, within Russia, the period is often characterized as a dark era. Her governance was shaped by the legacy of her uncle, yet she navigated the complex court dynamics of the 18th century with a distinct, often controversial, approach to power that solidified her place in the Romanov lineage.

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