Ivan VI of Russia

Ivan Antonovich became Emperor of Russia in October 1740 at eight weeks old, his mother Anna Leopoldovna serving as regent. The reign lasted barely a year: his cousin Elizabeth Petrovna staged a coup in December 1741 and seized the throne. Ivan and his parents were locked away in fortress prisons far from the capital, where he grew up knowing only walls and wardens. In July 1764, when army officers attempted a rescue he knew nothing about, his guards killed him on the spot. He was twenty-three. His siblings, born into the same captivity, were finally released and sent to live under house arres…