History of Russia (1721–96) mounting financial difficulties and Elizabeth's death in 1762. Her nephew and successor, Peter III (grandson of Peter I), took Russia out of the war. Peter III reigned for a mere six months before his wife, Catherine II, led a coup against him. He was born and raised in Germany in the court of his father, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and did not come to live in Russia until he was fourteen. It is difficult to ascertain his character because there exist many contradictory accounts. Catherine's journals describe him as incompetent bordering on retarded, yet his acts as emperor illustrate a
Tsarevna Catherine Ivanovna of Russia Catherine was present at her daughter's conversion to the Orthodox religion, where she received the name "Anna Leopoldovna", in order to make her acceptable as an heiress to the throne. Catherine died one month later and was buried next to her mother in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra monastery. Tsarevna Catherine Ivanovna of Russia Tsarevna Catherine Ivanovna of Russia (20 October 1691 – 14 June 1733) was a daughter of Tsar Ivan V and Praskovia Saltykova, eldest sister of Empress Anna of Russia and niece of Peter the Great. By her marriage, she was a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Catherine was born