Time of Troubles

A Russian political crisis from 1598 to 1613 marked by disputed succession, famine, civil conflict, and foreign intervention, ending with the accession of Michael Romanov.

Feodor I of Russia: The last reigning ruler of the Rurik dynasty, whose death in 1598 left no heir. His death ended the ruling line and opened the succession crisis.
Rurik dynasty: A dynasty traditionally traced to Rurik that ruled Kievan Rus' and later Muscovy for centuries. Its extinction in the male line left Russia without an uncontested hereditary successor.
False Dmitry II: A claimant who posed as Dmitry, son of Ivan the Terrible, and led a rival court during the Troubles. His competing court prolonged the fragmentation after False Dmitry I's fall.
Zemskiy Sobor: An assembly of representatives of Russian social estates convened by the tsar or government. Its 1613 assembly elected Michael Romanov and formalized a new dynasty.
Pugachev's Rebellion: A large Cossack and peasant revolt against Catherine the Great's government from 1773 to 1775. It was a later uprising against imperial rule, not a dynastic collapse.
Boris Godunov: Tsar of Russia from 1598 to 1605, elected after Feodor I's death. His contested legitimacy and death destabilized the new monarchy.
Ivan the Terrible: The first Russian ruler crowned tsar, whose reign from 1547 to 1584 expanded and centralized the state. His family and policies shaped the succession inherited by Feodor I.
Vasily IV of Russia: Tsar of Russia from 1606 to 1610, elected after the overthrow of False Dmitry I. His deposition created another vacancy in the struggle for the throne.
Romanov dynasty: The dynasty that ruled Russia from Michael Romanov's accession in 1613 until the monarchy's fall in 1917. Its accession restored dynastic continuity after years of disputed rule.
Russian Revolution: The upheavals of 1917 that ended the Russian monarchy and brought competing governments to power. It ended the Romanov rule that began with the Troubles' settlement.

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