Russian Ivan Alekseyevich
born Sept. 6, 1666, Moscow, Russia
died Feb. 8, 1696, Moscow
Nominal tsar of Russia (1682–96).
When his brother Tsar Fyodor III died, Ivan, a mentally deficient chronic invalid, was proclaimed coruler with his half brother Peter I , with Ivan's sister Sophia as regent. After Sophia's overthrow in 1689, Ivan was allowed to retain his official position, though he never participated in governmental affairs, devoting the bulk of his time to prayer, fasting, and pilgrimages.