Elizabeth

Elizabeth Petrovna also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, was the Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She was greatly beloved by her people due to her refusal to sentence anyone to death during her reign, her many building projects, and her staunch opposition to Prussian politics. She was the second-born daughter of Tsar Peter the Great and after her half-brother Alexei's demise in 1718, the throne passed to her mother Catherine I of Russia, then to her nephew Peter II, who passed away in 1730 and was succeeded by Elizabeth's first cousin Anna. After the brief reign of Anna's infant great-nephew Ivan VI, Elizabeth took the throne with the military's backing and designated her own nephew, the future Peter III, as her heir.