“The Russian kingdom” is the official name of the Russian state, which existed for a relatively short time - only 174 years, which fell within the time period between 1547 and 1721. During this period, the country was ruled by kings. Not princes, not emperors, but Russian tsars. Each reign became a certain stage in the historical development of Russia. The list of reigns as separate events in their time sequence is presented in the table "Russian tsars. Chronology of reigns (1547 - 1721)".
| Name, dynasty | Years of government |
| John IV the Terrible (Rurik dynasty) |
1533 - 1584 King since 1547 |
| Fyodor Ioannovich (Rurik dynasty) | 1584 - 1598 |
| Boris Fyodorovich Godunov (non-dynastic tsar) | 1598 - 1605 |
| False Dmitry I (non-dynastic king) | 1605 - 1606 |
| Vasily IvanovichShuisky (non-dynastic king) | 1606 - 1610 |
| Mikhail Fedorovich (Romanov dynasty) | 1613 - 1645 |
| Aleksey Mikhailovich (Romanov dynasty) | 1645 - 1676 |
| Sophia (ruler, Romanov dynasty) | 1682 - 1689 |
| John V Alekseevich (Romanov dynasty) | 1682 - 1696 |
| Peter I the Great (Romanov dynasty) |
1682 - 1725 Emperor since 1721 |
The adoption of the title of Tsar by John IV was caused by the need to weaken the autocracy of the boyars.
The wedding to the kingdom, which took place on January 16, 1547, included a church blessing and the laying of royal regalia on the recipient. The regalia, signs of the royal dignity included the cross of the Life-Giving Tree, barmas - a kind of necklace made of large plaques, Monomakh's hat. From now on, the Moscow Grand Dukes in all official papers began to be called tsars, and all Russian tsars were required to observe the ceremony of consecration to the kingdom in Russia, which was carried out “according to the ancient Tsaregrad position.”
Russian tsars for the most part were representatives of two dynastic lines: the Rurikids (until 1598) and the Romanovs (since 1613). A relatively short period from the end of the XVI century. until 1613, the Russian throne was occupied by the so-called non-dynastic tsars: Boris Godunov, False Dmitry, Vasily Shuisky. In order to convince the people of their right to reign, each of them tried to give the ceremony of crowning the kingdomspecial solemnity, complementing the wedding rite with new actions. So, in addition to the usual regalia, Boris Godunov was given a power - a golden ball with a cross, affirming the triumph of Christianity over the world.
The history of the new dynasty of Russian tsars, and later all-Russian emperors, began in 1613 with the accession of Mikhail Fedorovich, a representative of the Russian boyar family of the Romanovs. The next king was Alexei Mikhailovich. Then followed the 6-year period of the reign of his son, Fedor Alekseevich, who was not distinguished by good he alth. After the death of Fyodor Alekseevich in 1862, a unique joint coronation of John and Peter, who were also the sons of Alexei Mikhailovich, took place. In 1721, Peter I was destined to take the title of the first All-Russian Emperor.
After 1721, the Russian tsars remained such in the popular mind (“father tsar”, “mother queen”), but in all official documents they were emperors (empresses). The moment when the last Russian tsar, Peter I, assumed the imperial title, the history of the Russian (Russian) kingdom was completed.
