Announcer

Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from www.HowStuffWorks.com.

Katie Lambert

Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I’m Katie Lambert.

Sarah Dowdey

And I’m Sarah Dowdey.

Katie Lambert

I am one of those people who really, really love babies. Molly of Stuff Mom Never Told You said that whenever we go out to lunch or dinner and I get really distracted and start smiling at someone behind her, she knows it’s a baby and not a guy. So of course, I would love a baby king, and we’re not talking about the kind you find in your king cake either.

Sarah Dowdey

Our topic is sandwiched somewhere in between Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. We have this infant who’s been chosen to rule Russia, but if you are started to get a growing sense of unease here, because our royal children so often have terrible fates, you are right on track.

Katie Lambert

So who is this baby? He is Ivan the Sixth, also known as Ivan Antonovich, born in August, 1740. His parents are Prince Anton Ulrich, who’s a nephew of Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Sixth, and Anna Leopoldovna, so he has rather illustrious beginnings.

Sarah Dowdey

That’s because Anna, his mother, is also the niece of Empress Anna Ivanovna, who is one of four very important women in our story, and that is Anna Leopoldovna, Anna Ivanovna, and Elizabeth Petrovna, followed by…

Katie Lambert

Catherine the Second.

Sarah Dowdey

Yeah, the one who everybody knows, I’m sure. So this is just our major group of Russian political women in this story. Try to keep track of all their very similar names.

Katie Lambert

He’s born into Anna’s court, and she was Ivan the Fifth’s daughter, and Peter the Great’s niece. As a side note, Ivan the Fifth is an interesting man in his own right. He was rule only in name because he was plagued by several illnesses, and his sister, Sophia, was the real power behind the throne.

In our story, Anna had become rule in 1730. She was elected by the supreme Privy Council, but the council tried to limit her power and take more of it for their own, but there were three entities opposed thing: Anna herself -

Sarah Dowdey

Of course.

Katie Lambert

The imperial guards, and the lesser nobility. Changing power from an autocracy to an oligarchy disadvantaged them. If the power is spread out, that means there are more obstacles to the ruler.

Sarah Dowdey

More people you have to bribe and court their favor. You can’t just go to the queen’s main folks.