by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

The story of Ivan VI and his family is one of the most tragic stories in royal history. Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia (Ivan Antonovich) succeeded to the throne in 1740 at the age of two months. A little more than a year later, Ivan was deposed by Elizabeth Petrovna, the only surviving child of Peter I the Great, Emperor of All Russia, and spent the next 23 years imprisoned before being murdered in 1764 during the reign of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. Ivan’s parents spent the rest of their lives imprisoned and with the exception of his sister Catherine, all his other siblings were born while their parents were imprisoned. His siblings remained imprisoned until 1780.

Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia

Ivan Antonovich, the future Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia, was born on August 23, 1740, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the oldest of the five children of Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Ivan’s mother was the only niece of the childless Anna, Empress of All Russia (daughter of Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia), and the only grandchild of Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia. She had been born in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Germany, but moved to Russia with her mother after her parents’ marriage failed. Ivan’s mother converted to Russian Orthodoxy and was given the name Anna Leopoldovna and the title Grand Duchess. When Anna Leopoldovna married, she and her husband made their home in Russia, in the expectation that Anna Leopoldovna or her children would inherit the throne upon the death of Empress Anna.

Empress Anna adopted the infant Ivan Antonovich on October 5, 1740, and proclaimed him heir to the Russian throne. Twenty-three days after proclaiming the infant Ivan Antonovich her heir, Anna I, Empress of All Russia was dead at the age of 48 and two-month-old Ivan Antonovich was Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia. Before Empress Anna died, she had agreed that her longtime lover and advisor Ernst Johann von Biron would serve as regent until Ivan came of age. The Russian nobility had enough of Biron during Empress Anna’s reign. Biron was regent for three weeks and on November 19, 1740, he was seized and banished to Siberia. Ivan’s mother Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna was named regent.

A Coup to Overthrow the Infant Emperor

22-year-old Anna Leopoldovna was not qualified to be regent. She did as little as possible concerning state affairs and argued with her advisers. A conspiracy soon arose with the aim of obtaining the Russian throne for Elizabeth Petrovna, the only surviving child of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. A coup took place during the night of December 5-6, 1741 with financial support from France and military support from the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Elizabeth Petrovna arrived at the regiment’s headquarters wearing armor over her dress asking, “Who do you want to serve, me, your natural sovereign, or those who have stolen my inheritance?” The Preobrazhensky Regiment marched to the Winter Palace and arrested the infant Emperor Ivan and his parents. It was a daring coup and succeeded without bloodshed. The new 32-year-old Empress of All Russia, Elizabeth Petrovna, vowed that she would not sign a single death sentence, a promise which she kept throughout her 20-year-reign.

What happened to Ivan?

Now that she had the throne, Elizabeth had a problem. A living Emperor, the great-grandson of her father’s elder half-brother Ivan V, and his mother, the granddaughter of Ivan V, remained in St. Petersburg. They were both threats to her throne. Even though 15-month-old Ivan did not know he had been Emperor, his image was on coins used throughout Russia and prayers had been said for him in all Russian churches. Elizabeth originally planned to send Ivan, his mother Anna Leopoldovna, his father Anton Ulrich and his sister Catherine Antonovna somewhere in Europe so she sent them to Riga (now in Latvia) as the first stage of their journey. However, once the family arrived in Riga, Elizabeth had second thoughts – perhaps it would be a better idea to keep her young, dangerous prisoner under guard in Russia. Ivan was separated forever from his parents and his sister and classified as a secret state prisoner.

Ivan was first sent to Kholmogory, where, seeing no one other than his jailer, he remained for the next twelve years. Eventually, news of Ivan’s whereabouts began to be known. He was then secretly transferred to the Fortress of Shlisselburg where he was under heavy guard and not even the commandant of the fortress knew his true identity. Although instructions had been given not to educate him, Ivan had been taught his letters and could read his Bible. He also seemed to be aware of his former imperial status and always called himself Gosudar (Sovereign).

Empress Elizabeth died in 1762 and her nephew succeeded her as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. Ivan’s situation then improved a bit and Peter III even visited him. However, Peter III’s reign lasted only six months. He was deposed by his wife, born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who reigned as Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, and he died soon afterward, most likely murdered by Catherine’s supporters.

Catherine II ordered Ivan to be placed in manacles and further ordered that if any attempt were made to free the prisoner, he was to be put to death immediately. Ivan’s presence at the Fortress of Shlisselburg could not remain concealed forever. In 1764, Vasily Mirovich, one of the men guarding Ivan, learned his identity and formulated a plan for freeing and proclaiming him Emperor. At midnight on July 15, 1764, Mirovich and his supporters attempted to free Ivan. However, another guard immediately murdered Ivan, following Catherine II’s orders. Mirovich and his supporters were executed. Ivan VI’s burial place is unknown but it is commonly believed that he was buried in the Fortress of Shlisselburg.

What happened to Ivan’s parents and siblings?

Ivan’s parents were imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich had three additional children while imprisoned, born between 1743-1746. On March 18, 1746, Anna Leopoldovna died during childbirth at the age of 27. In 1762, Catherine II offered Anton Ulrich permission to leave Russia with the condition he would leave his children behind but he declined. At the age of 59, Anton Ulrich died in prison on March 19, 1776, after spending 36 years in captivity.

In 1780, Ivan’s four siblings, ranging in age from 34-39, were released into the custody of their maternal aunt, born Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, but then the Queen Dowager of Denmark. The four siblings had spent their entire lives imprisoned. They lived under house arrest in Horsens in Jutland, Denmark under the guardianship of Juliana Maria and at the expense of Catherine II. Although they were really prisoners, they lived in relative comfort and had a small court of between 40 and 50 people, all Danish except for their Russian Orthodox priest. The siblings were unhappy in Denmark because they were not used to their new degree of freedom in a new environment and were surrounded by people whose language they could not understand.

Ivan’s four younger siblings:

• Catherine Antonovna of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1741–1807)
• Elizabeth Antonovna of Brunswick -Lüneburg (1743–1782)
• Peter Antonovich of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1745–1798)
• Alexei Antonovich of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1746–1787)

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Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Anna Leopoldovna. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anna_Leopoldovna_of_Russia [Accessed 28 Dec. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Ivan VI of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_VI_of_Russia [Accessed 28 Dec. 2017].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/emperor-ivan-vi-of-russia/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
• Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
• Massie, R. (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Иван VI. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD_VI [Accessed 28 Dec. 2017].