Romanov was the name of the imperial family which ruled Russia from 1613 to 1917. The Romanovs came from Lithuania or Germanv. They became Russian landholders and reached a high position when Czar Ivan IV married Anastasia Romanov in 1547. Her nephew became leader of the church. His son Michael was elected czar in 1613. Michael's son, Alexis I, acquired the Ukraine and brought the church under czarist control.
Fifteen more Romanov rulers followed. The most famous was Peter the Great. The imperial family died out in 1762, but the rulers kept the Romanov name down to Nicholas II, who was deposed in 1917. He and his immediate family were executed in July, 1918, but other members of the Romanov family escaped from Russia and survived.
