Anna of Russia Anna of Russia Anna Ioannovna (; – ), also spelled Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, was regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Anna was born in Moscow as the daughter of Tsar Ivan V by his wife Praskovia Saltykova. Ivan V was co-ruler of Russia along with his younger half-brother Peter the Great, but he was mentally disabled and incapable of administering the country, and Peter effectively ruled alone. Ivan V died in February 1696, when Anna was only three years old, and
Peter II of Russia of state. Foreign witnesses proclaimed that “All of Russia is in terrible disorder ... money is not paid to anyone. God knows what will happen with finances. Everyone steals, as much as he can.” Moving the court and several other institutions from St. Petersburg back to Moscow was painful for the new capital, as well as the nobility forced to move with it, as Peter the Great had put much effort into developing St. Petersburg into a large and lively city at the time. Peter II returned to St. Petersburg from time to time, but continued an aimless life full