Anna Ivanovna 1693-1740
Empress of Russia

Born in Moscow, she was the younger daughter of Ivan V and niece of Peter I, the Great. In 1710 she married the Duke of Courland, who died the following year. After the early death of Peter II she was elected to the throne by the Supreme Privy Council (1730), with conditions that severely limited her authority. Uninterested in government, she abolished the council and ruled as an autocrat with her German favourite, Ernst Johann Biron, who assumed the title of Duke of Courland and became the real power behind the throne. They established a reign of terror and financial extortion, in which 20,000 people are said to have been banished to Siberia. Abroad Russia won control of Poland (1733-35) but only gained Azov in an expensive war against Turkey (1735-39).