http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians From the Romanovs to Revolution and beyond, discover the rulers and politicians behind Russia's tumultuous history. en Copyright 2013, History.com Fri, 24 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT History.com 2013-05-24T04:00:00Z en Copyright 2013, History.com http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo1 Ivan IV presided over a rapidly growing Russian empire, and in 1547 became the first ruler to be crowned Czar. Prone to instability, he often quarreled with the noble boyar class and accidentally killed his own son and heir in a violent outburst. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo1 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo2 In the late 16th century, Russia was racked by a succession crisis known as the "Time of Troubles." In 1613, a national assembly elected 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov czar. The Romanovs would rule Russia for the next 300 years. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo2 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo3 Peter I ruled Russia for more than 40 years, and instituted sweeping political, social and military reforms that modernized the nation, making it a major European power for the first time. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo3 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo4 German-born Catherine II seized the throne following a coup that overthrew her husband. She continued Peter I's Westernizing model, was a patron of artists and writers and strove to bring the ideas of the Enlightenment to Russia. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo4 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo5 A grandson of Catherine II, Alexander I became czar after his father's murder in 1801. His initial alliance with Napoleon turned to hatred following the French invasion of Russia, and the czar's early liberal positions eventually gave way to a more autocratic rule. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo5 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo6 After decades of repression, Alexander II's radical reforms and emancipation of Russia's feudal laborers, or serfs, earned him the nickname "the Great Liberator." Despite these efforts, he was assassinated by a left-wing terrorist group called Narodnaya Volya, or "People's Will." http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo6 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo7 Witte was credited with the rapid industrialization of Russia in the late 19th century. Following the disastrous 1905 Russo-Japanese War, he convinced Nicholas II to grant limited legislative concessions, including constitutional controls on the monarchy and an elected parliament, or Duma. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo7 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo8 As prime minister under Nicholas II, Stoylpin attempted to quell the growing tide of unrest in Russia through a combination of land reforms and crackdowns on radical terrorist groups. The radicals won, assassinating Stolypin in 1911. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo8 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo9 The Siberian "holy man" gained the absolute trust of Nicholas II and his wife due to his ability to "heal" their hemophiliac son, the czarevitch Alexei. Despised by Russian society for his abuse of power and debaucherous lifestyle, he was murdered in December 1916. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo9 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo10 Weak and ineffectual, Nicholas II led Russia into two disastrous wars. In March 1917, at the onset of the Russian Revolution, he was forced to abdicate, bringing the Romanov dynasty to an end. He and his entire family were murdered by Bolshevik agents in July 1918. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo10 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo11 Born Vladimir Ulyanov, Lenin was the founder of the Russian Communist Party, leader of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the architect, builder and first head of the Soviet state. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo11 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo12 Trotsky was a leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the struggle for power following Lenin's death, however, Joseph Stalin emerged as victor, while Trotsky was removed from all positions of power and later exiled until his assassination by a Stalinist agent in 1940. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo12 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo13 Stalin's rapid industrialization, agrarian reforms and series of purges led to the death and imprisonment of millions of Soviet citizens. He successfully led the USSR through World War II and oversaw the communization of Eastern Europe, which would lead to the Cold War. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo13 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo14 Khrushchev's de-Stalinization programs eased travel restrictions, increased production of consumer goods and freed thousands of political prisoners. He pledged "peaceful coexistence" with the West, but clashed with the United States in Berlin and Cuba. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo14 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo15 Brezhnev's defense spending led to parity with the United States but dramatically weakened the Soviet economy. Despite this military buildup, he was committed to diffusing tensions with the West through a policy known as "détente." http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo15 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo16 Gorbachev's programs of "perestroika" ("restructuring") and "glasnost" ("openness") introduced profound changes. Within five years, communist governments were swept from power throughout Eastern Europe, bringing an end to the Cold War. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo16 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo17 In 1991, following the fall of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin became the first popularly elected leader in the Russian history, guiding his country through a stormy decade of political and economic retrenching until his resignation in December 1999. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo17 http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo18 A former member of the KBG, Vladimir Putin served as Russia's president from 1999 to 2008. He led efforts to strengthen the market economy and end corruption, and cracked down on separatist groups. In 2008, he chose Dmitry Medvedev as his successor and later assumed the post of prime minister. http://www.history.com/photos/russian-leaders-and-politicians/photo18