House of Romanov

The House of Romanov was the ruling family of Russia from 1613 to 1917. The first Romanov tsar was Michael I. His line ended with Empress Elizabeth, who died 1762. The succeeding Holstein-Gottrop family was renamed as "Romanov" and is generally treated as a continuation of the dynasty. The last tsar was Nicholas II, who abdicated in 1917 at the start of the Russian Revolution.

Tsars of Russia (1613-1917)

• Michael (r. 1613 - 1645), son of the patriarch of Moscow. He was chosen tsar by a Zemsky Sobor (assembly of the land).
• Alexis (r. 1645 - 1676)
• Feodor III (r. 1676 - 1682)
• Ivan V (r. 1682 - 1696)
• Peter I (r. 1682 - 1725), byname "Peter the Great." First tsar to be proclaimed emperor (1721). The succession law of 1722 provides that a tsar name his successor.
• Catherine I (r. 1725 - 1727, co reigned from 1724 - 1725)
• Anna of Russia (r. 1730 - 1740)
• Ivan VI (r. 1740 - 1741)
• Elizabeth (r. 1741 - 1762)

House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov

• Peter III (r. 1762 - 1762), son of Anna, daughter of Peter I, and Charles Frederick, duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
• Catherine II (r. 1762 - 1796), wife of Peter III.
• Paul (r. 1796 - 1801). Issued the Pauline Law in 1797. This law provides for succession by primogeniture among "dynasts" recognized by the imperial court.
• Alexander I (r. 1801 - 1825) Victory over Napoleon in 1812 makes Russia Europe's superpower.
• Nicholas I (r. 1825 - 1855) Decemberist revolt in 1825 and the Crimean War (1853-1856) created interest in reform.
• Alexander II (r. 1855 - 1881) Serfs emancipated in 1861.
• Alexander III (r. 1881 - 1894) Sergei Witte supervised railway construction, which led to an industrial revolution.
• Nicholas II (r. 1894 - 1917) A parliament called the Duma was created in 1906. The country was attacked by Germany in 1914. The Russian Revolution overturn the tsar in 1917.

Heads of the House of Romanov (1917-1992)

• Tsar Nicholas II (1917-1918) (after abdication)
• Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1918-1938). Proclaimed "curator of the throne" in 1922 and "emperor" in 1924.
• Vladimir Kirillovich (1938-1992), son of Kirill.
• Maria Vladimirovna (1992-present) [disputed], daughter of Vladimir

In 1948, Vladimir married Princess Leonida Bagration-Mukhransky in Lausanne. When he died in Florida in 1992, his daughter Maria Vladimirovna claimed the right to succeed as the only child of the last male Romanov dynast.

Although the Bagrations are the former ruling family of the Republic of Georgia, the Romanov Family Association has objected that Vladimir's marriage was not "equal" according to the rules of the House. This would imply that Maria was not eligible to succeed. The RFA includes almost all the surviving Romanovs aside from Maria. It promotes the claim of Andrew Andreevich, a California author.

Almanach de Gotha describes Vladimir as, "the last Head of the Imperial House of Russia." That is to say, it does not recognize the claims of either Romanov faction.