1741-1762.—Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great reigned during Ivan’s captivity.
HOUSE OF ROMANOFF-HOLSTEIN
All the subsequent emperors, without exception, connected themselves by marriage with German families. The wife and successor of Peter III., Catherine II., daughter of the Prince of Anhalt Zerbst, general in the Prussian army, left the crown to her only son Paul, who became the father of two emperors, Alexander I. and Nicholas, and the grandfather of a third, Alexander II. All these sovereigns married German princesses, creating intimate family alliances, among others, with the reigning houses of Württemberg, Baden, and Prussia.
1762.—Peter III., son of Anne and of Charles Frederick, duke of Holstein-Gottorp; deposed, and died soon after; supposed to have been murdered. Son of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein.
1762-1796.—Catherine II.; a great sovereign; extended the Russian territories on all sides; died 1796; wife of Peter III.
1796-1801.—Paul, her son; murdered, 1801; son of Peter III.
1801-1825.—Alexander I., died 1825; son of Paul.
1825-1855.—Nicholas I.; died 1855; third son of Paul.
1855-1881.—Alexander II., assassinated at St. Petersburg, March, 1881; son of Nicholas I.
1881-1894.—Alexander III.; died 1894; married Mary (formerly Dagmar), princess of Denmark; son of Alexander II.