Ivan VI or Ivan Antonovich was the infant Tsar of Russia who became the emperor when he was barely two-months-old and was deposed soon after. He was the grand-nephew of the Empress Anna of Russia who had no children and she therefore chose Ivan VI, the eldest son of her niece, to be her heir. The baby Tsar’s reign was a short-lived one and barely a year after he was named Tsar, his aunt Elizabeth staged a coup and took over the throne. Ivan VI and his family were imprisoned. The infant was separated from his parents and sent into solitary confinement. He never saw his family for the rest of his life. As Ivan VI was the legal heir to the throne, the rulers of Russia saw him as a threat and tried to obliterate him from Russian memory. He was held in such secrecy that even the guards did not know his name. Having spent all his life in confinement, he became mentally unstable. When word of his whereabouts finally got out some soldiers tried to rescue him. This led to the murder of Ivan VI, bringing to end one of the most tragic chapters in Russian history.
