Tzar Ivan V and his family

[Ausmanov]

Does anyone know where I could find a free copy of this book:

Five Empresses: Court Life in Eighteenth-century Russia Anisimov, Evgenii V./ Ca
On the internet or does some one have a copy of the book who would be willing to scan a few pages for me?

[agordon2000]

Anna Ivanovna was chosen to rule because her sister was married to Karl Leopold who was a grand jerk and even though she left him the Russian nobility  did not want to risk him taking over. This left Anna as Praskovia was retarded. The  family of Ivan Dmitriev-Mamonov did not like Praskovia, perhaps because she was retarded, her mother approved the match. She was very well loved by her mother as she was pretty but she was know to be moody. Anna was cheerful and lived with her mother after leaving her husband. Anna was described as ugly, and stupid. Peter did not think she could rule Courtland and sent down Peter Bestuzhev to rule for her. The nobility invited her to rule because they thought they could control her and they had not seen her in 20 in  years. She killed 20,000 people and all the nobles who wanted her to rule as proxy for them were imprisoned, sent to exile or killed.  Her lover ruled with Ostermann  except in domestic cases or if she herself was slandered. He was clever but angered the Russians by hiring Germans and using thugs to impose his will.

[ivanushka]

Anna Ivanovna was chosen to rule because her sister was married to Karl Leopold who was a grand jerk and even though she left him the Russian nobility  did not want to risk him taking over. This left Anna as Praskovia was retarded.

Hello agordon and welcome to the forum!

That's what I understood too.  Of the three sisters, Catherine, being the eldest, would have been the first choice were it not for her husband.  Though she and Karl Leopold had been separated for years he seems to have been hated by everyone who knew him and the Russian aristocracy were concerned that if Catherine took the throne he might turn up in Russia and try and throw his weight around.  As Anna was a widow (and appeared very humble from all of her letters to Peter the Great etc) she seemed like a far more satisfactory choice.  Little did they know...