Ranking Every Russian Tsar From Worst to Best

Sorry if I sound a little tired, due to technical issues I had to record a second time, and by then I had blown through my vocal chords.

A little mad I couldn't find available versions of Kalinka and Katyusha. Grrrrr!
At least the 1812 Overture is in the appropriate placement.

[Shyang]

You can make a list of all Brazilian emperors, there is only 2 of them, it will be easy.

[cbot]

The fact that a two month old wasn't ranked last says a lot

[thoughtfulpug]

The reason why Peter III did what he did was insane: dude was legit a fanboy for Frederick the Great, and was sending the dude literal fucking fan mail. I get the feeling the guy is just some time travelling history hipster who got too carried away.

[fiendish]

Peter III can be considered one of the best Prussian kings for how he resolved that war lmao

[thrallfan]

Imagine Truman becoming president in 1945 and deciding to just peace out of WW2 with 0 concessions from Germany and Japan. That was Peter III.

[sonnyocad]

The 1st is obviously Ivan VI (no, not Ivan IV). He was literally incapable of making any bad decisions (or any decisions for that matter) and he has a great portrait, so that's one good thing he caused and zero bad things.

[pridelander]

Timestamps for Tsars in chronological order:
Ivan IV (the Terrible): 9:29
Feodor I (the Bellringer): 3:21
Boris Godunov: 7:10
Feodor II: 4:17
False Dimitry I: 4:30
Vasily IV: 4:49
Michael I: 8:38
Alexis I: 7:29
Feodor III: 6:54
Ivan V: 5:47
Peter I (the Great): 14:11
Catherine I: 5:19
Peter II: 1:52
Anna Ivanovna: 8:05
Ivan VI: 3:49
Elizabeth Petrovna: 10:53
Peter III: 0:59
Catherine II (the Great): 13:26
Paul I: 6:07
Alexander I (the Blessed): 11:31
Constantine: 4:02
Nicholas I: 2:51
Alexander II (the Liberator): 12:21
Alexander III (the Peacemaker): 6:30
Nicholas II: 2:15

[rtyDFGaS]

Kinda harsh on Peter II tbh. You don't exactly expect an eleven year old kid to guide the country on his own. His health also wasn't the best, so he died at the age of 14.

Fun fact: He was the last of Romanov's male bloodline.

[АртемийДжафаров]

The funny thing is that Alexei the Peaceful was actually pretty tough on the whole. Remember the Salt Riot and the Copper Riot - major urban uprisings which were brutally and bloodily crushed. Do not underestimate Alexei Mikhailovich, he deserves a higher place...

[kriwe]

It is 3 AM. I do not need sleep. I want to watch someone rank every Russian Tsar from Ivan the Terrible to Nicholas II. This is truly what I want from my temporary life.

[rycolligan]

About Ivan the Terrible's wife: For the time period Mercury was considered highly medicinal and was administered in enormous quantities by physicians. It's possible her mercury poisoning was the result of a well-intentioned (but obviously dumb in hindsight) medical therapy. Equally possible, Ivan may have been drinking lots of mercury for the same reason and this could have much to do with his mental deterioration in his life.

[JamesTobiasStewart]

Personally I kind of feel bad for Alexander II, he was genuinely trying to implement some desperately needed reforms and drag Russia into the modern era.

Plus the bitter irony that he was assassinated by people mad he wasn't reforming Russia fast enough, only for them to get Alexander III out of it, is the sort of dark humour you so often hear associated with Russia.

[floatline]

I would argue that Paul I should be higher on the list, since he multiple reforms, many of which were anti-aristocratic in nature and which ultimately led to his demise (such as lifting the ban on corporal punishments for the aristocracy, cruelty towards serfs by their owners becoming a crime, and it being harder to evade from serving in the army). History doesn't do him justice, as Paul I was preceded and succeeded by both Catherine II and Alexander I, respectively, which lasted way longer than him, both disliked him, and both are considered to be two of the greatest Russian monarchs

[Vugir]

Fun fact: after Peter III was dethroned and killed, there was a rumour in both Russia and Montenegro that he lived. That opportunity was used by a man from Dalmatia (modern day Croatia) who looked a lot like the former emperor. He came to Montenegro and managed to convince most of the people there that he was Peter III. Stephen the little (Šćepan Mali) as he was known soon became the ruler of Montenegro in the year of 1767 he was actually a good leader having almost completely stoped blood vengeance, theft and murder in Montenegro. He was later betrayed and killed by his friend working for the Ottomans, who weren’t happy with an idea of a Russian emperor in charge of Montenegro.

[jahoyhoy]

Being from Russia, I always wondered why Ivan was called The Terrible by the west. First and foremost, that's not the correct translation, in Russia we call him Иван Грозный, which translates as Ivan the Formidable. I think it gives a better idea to what kind of person he was. He was surrounded by enemies 24/7 but managed to hold the throne against all odds, and honestly he wasn't a bad ruler. Of course he was paranoid, but such were the times in Russia back then, he could be killed easily if he wasn't careful. Also, he was pretty damn smart. There are still his original letters you could read, that he sent to his opponents, and they contain some pretty sick burns. He was well educated and overall definitely not Terrible.

[iomgpoc]

Actually, even though it seems that Saint-Petersburg is named after Peter The Great, it's named after the St Peter who is an apostle. Peter I never liked to show off and wasn't interested in "fancy" stuff. Hello from Saint-Petersburg :D

[Duke_of_Lorraine]

Please all vote for the French monarchs next time ! We have one that had the bright idea of dancing in the dark, carrying torches while wearing a flamable costume !

(yes, it ended exactly as you expect it to, though this fool survived and reigned for a long time afterwards...)

[vladimirsilva]

Nicholas I must be higher, the crimean war was a disaster, the lack of significant reforms did not help either. However, he built 70% of all the railroads of the XIX century, he order the reorganization of all the laws in the country that were a mess and sometimes untraceable or lost. Also he started industrialising the country and did not offer as many serfs as his predecessors, he tried to improve their conditions, not with the best intent but it's still an improvement. He might have failed in many aspects, but he did more for Russia than Ivan VI who was practically a newborn and never ruled, than Ivan V who never truly ruled and only served to allow his sister Sophia to rule instead. And I also think that he should be higher than Ekaterina I who never wanted to rule nor was she capable to rule. Overall a pretty good video as usual, keep the good work.

[drpepper]

Funfact: in the late 17th century tsar Peter the great came to amsterdam because he wanted to learn all about shipbuilding and tactics, when he was watching a demonstration battle he was so impressed that he took the colours of the Dutch flag and switched them around, creating the modern Russian flag.

[merchantmahogany]

when you announced this would be your first video of 2022, i didn't think it would come out so soon into the year lmao. great work as always, can't wait to see you rank french and/or english monarchs!