The teenage emperor whose sudden death ended the direct male Romanov dynasty in 1730

History · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Peter II of Russia ascended the throne at eleven, only to spend his short reign trapped between warring court factions. A neglected orphan who despised statecraft, he preferred hunting and drinking to ruling. His death from smallpox on his wedding day left a power vacuum and changed Russian history forever.

Born in 1715, Peter II was the grandson of Peter the Great. His early life was marked by profound isolation; his father, Alexei, died in prison in 1718, and his grandfather viewed the boy with suspicion, keeping him in strict seclusion. His education was inconsistent, shifting from the care of a tailor's wife to a Hungarian noble, and later to Count Ostermann, who struggled to engage the boy's interest in history or mathematics.

When Peter II became emperor in 1727, the powerful minister Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov initially seized control, effectively holding the young monarch captive in his own home. However, the boy’s stubborn nature eventually led him to strip Menshikov of his rank and exile him to Siberia in September 1727. Power then shifted to the Dolgorukov family, who encouraged the young emperor’s reckless lifestyle, including heavy drinking and gambling, while the state administration fell into disarray.

The emperor’s disengagement was total. He rarely attended the Supreme Privy Council, and his reign saw the neglect of the Russian fleet and the tightening of serfdom. In 1728, he moved the court from Saint Petersburg back to Moscow, a decision that caused significant distress to the nobility. By late 1729, he was betrothed to Ekaterina Dolgorukova, but he remained indifferent to the union, reportedly influenced by his aunt, Elizabeth Petrovna.

Peter II’s life ended abruptly on 30 January 1730, the very day he was scheduled to marry. After falling ill with smallpox, he died in delirium, calling for his sister Natalya, who had passed away in 1728. His death marked the end of the direct male line of the House of Romanov. Unlike other post-Petrine monarchs, he was interred in the Cathedral of the Archangel in the Moscow Kremlin, leaving the throne to his cousin, Anna Ivanovna.

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