Russian rulers, also known as Tsars, were the monarchs of the Russian Empire from 1547 to 1917. They were autocrats who held absolute power over the country and its people. The first Tsar was Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, who was crowned in 1547. He was followed by a succession of Tsars, including Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Nicholas II, who was the last Tsar of Russia before the fall of the monarchy in 1917.