The reign of the next three sovereigns of Russia, Anne, Ivan VI., and
Elizabeth, of the female line of Romanoff, formed a transition period,
which came to an end with the accession of Peter III., of the house of
Holstein-Gottorp.
=1730-1740.=--Anne, duchess of Courland, daughter of the czar Ivan.
=1740-1741.=--Ivan VI., an infant, grand-nephew to Peter the Great;
immured in a dungeon for eighteen years; murdered in 1764.
=1741-1762.=--Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great reigned during
Ivan’s captivity.