IVAN VI (IVAN ANTONOVICH)
1740-1764
EMPEROR OF ALL RUSSIA 1740-1741
Ivan VI was the son of the niece of Empress Anna
Ivanovna of Mecklenburg and Anton Ulrich, Duke of Braunschweig. He was born
on August 12, 1740, and officially declared heir to the throne by Anna Ivanovna
on October 5. After her death, he became Emperor of Russia at the age of two
months. Count Biron, favorite of the late Empress, remained Regent. However, on
November 9, Biron was arrested and sent to Siberia. The child Emperor's mother
was declared Regent.
The reign of Ivan VI and Anna Leopoldovna was extremely short. On November
25, 1741, the Emperor was overthrown by the Imperial Guard led by Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great. The child and his family were exiled
first to Riga, then to Rannenborg Castle and finally in 1744 to Kholmogory where,
on March 7, 1746, Anna Leopoldovna died. At the beginning of 1756, Ivan
Antonovich was taken to the Schlisselborg Fortress, where he was kept in extreme
secrecy and under strict guard. On the night of July 5, 1764, the 24-year-old
Ivan was killed by his guards when his lieutenant, V.I. Mirovich, attempted to
free him. He was secretly buried in a hidden place near the walls of the
fortress. The grave was later destroyed.
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Text compiled by Alexei K. Levykin
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