The Last Ivan on the Throne: Birth, Life and Death Under the Rule of Women

What do we know about the reign of Ivan VI? This period of history is known to everyone as the “women’s age”—a time of a succession of women on the throne. Few have asked questions about the rule of Ivan Antonovich, and yet even the brief period of his reign reflects all the twists and intrigues that surrounded the throne. We know many examples of children at the head of a state, but what—and, more precisely, who—stood behind them? How did the great women of the 18th century rule, and how did one of them create Ivan VI, another used his position, a third couldn’t preserve his power, the fourth deprived the future, and the fifth created the conditions in which he lost his life.