My friend Shannon gave me permission to publish this poem written by her daughter, 13, after reading about czarist Russia in All Ye Lands... Thanks!
Russian Czars
By R. S.
Czar number one is Ivan the Great.
He was one whom people did not hate.
His people spoke a common tongue,
And they resisted Mongol oppression.
This Czar was responsible for the consolidation of Muscovy,
This made him "Great", yes-sir-ree!
The second in line is Ivan the Terrible
Whose portrait is, oh, so scareable!
He tried to eliminate the boyars
And was even successful!
Queen Elizabeth I he did marry,
But that business was very hairy!
In his later years he lost his mind,
And falling from his throne is how he died!
The third czar to come,
Was Ivan's idiot son.
After fourteen years he died childless,
And his family line ended, more or less.
After him came a Romanov named Michael
Who started a new cycle
Of a Russian family line.
He rule was very fine.
Under the rule of Michael's son, Alexis,
Things got a little bit hectic,
Because he tried to change religious things
People started to dislike this king.
A lot of people and things went bad,
And the history of Russia was a bit sad.
Until things got a neater
Under the rule of great Peter!
Peter brought over Western technology and thought,
Though many people fought to keep it the same.
Peter had St. Petersburg built,
(and I can't find an appropriate word to rhyme with built).
After Peter came Alexander II.
This czar abolished serfdom
In his vast kingdom.
He was killed and then his boy, Nicholas II took over control.
He was a family man with a true Christian role.
This concludes my tale about the Russian Czars
And even though they seem as old as the stars,
It is awfully neat
To learn about their feats!
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