Being a Russian historical figure is never a picnic, but Emperor Ivan VI had it worse than many. He was born in August of 1740, the son of a duke and duchess. His mother was the niece of the reigning Empress Anna, who had no children. At the age of two months, he was declared the heir to the throne just before Anna died. A year later, the toddler Emperor Ivan VI was overthrown by his cousin Elizabeth Petrovna, and he and his parents were imprisoned. At age four, he was separated from this parents and put into solitary confinement and the public was led to believe he was dead. While his guards were kept in the dark as to their prisoner's true identity, Ivan was taught to read only so he could read the Bible, and was otherwise left alone. He grew to be mentally ill due to years of isolation, and weak from the lack of any medical attention during his confinement. However, Ivan knew who he was, and eventually some of the guards knew, too.
When Catherine the Great ascended to the throne in 1762, she issued secret orders that the "nameless one" was to be put to death if anyone ever tried to take him out of his prison. And that's exactly what happened in 1764, just before Ivan's 24th birthday. Read about the hapless emperor at Wikipedia with more commentary at reddit. -via Messy Nessy Chic
(Image credit: Ivan Ivanovich Tvorozhnikov)
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