Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia

The full title varied between tsars. The full title of Alexis was:[13]

By the Grace of God, We, the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince Alexei Mikhailovich, Autocrat of all Great, Little and White Russia, Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Siberia, Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Prince of Tver, Yugorsk, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgar and others, Sovereign and Grand Prince of Novgorod of the Lower Land, Chernigov, Ryazan, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, and Ruler of all the Northern Countries, the Sovereign of the Iverian Lands, the Kartlian and Georgian Tsars and the Kabardian Lands, the Cherkasy and Mountainous Princes and many other States and Lands of the East and West, and the North from Father and Grandfather, and Heir, and Sovereign, and Possessor.

Following the expansion of his realm and his marriage to Sophia Palaiologina, the grand prince Ivan III took the title of sovereign and claimed inheritance to all the former territories of Kievan Rus', including those under Lithuanian control.[14] His full title was: Ivan, by the Grace of God, the Sovereign of all Russia and the Grand Prince of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Yugorsk, and Perm, and Bulgar and others.[15]

Ivan III also used the title tsar in foreign correspondence and used the title in official documents.[16][17] In diplomatic correspondence, the Latinized version of his title gospodar' vseia Rusi was dominus totius Russiae, and around the same time, the form Rus' in Russian was transformed into Rus(s)iia or Ros(s)iia.[14]

Vasily III, his son and successor, continued to use the title of tsar. On 4 August 1514, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I sent a letter to Vasily III requesting again an alliance against Poland and Lithuania, where he spoke of the brotherly friendship between them and referred to Vasily as Kayser or imperator.[lower-alpha 3][18]

After 1514, the full title used by Vasily III was: By the Grace of God, the Tsar and Sovereign of all Russia and the Grand Prince of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, Yugorsk, Perm, Vyatka and Bulgar, and others, the Sovereign and Grand Prince of Novgorod of the Lower Land, and Chernigov, and Ryazan, Volotsk, Rzhev, Belyov, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria and Kondia.[15]

At the age of three, Ivan IV acceded the throne in 1533, when his father Vasily III died.[19] On 16 January 1547, Ivan IV was the first to be crowned tsar, at the age of 16; his ceremony drew upon Byzantine precedents deliberately.[19] The consent of the patriarch of Constantinople to use the title was eventually given.[20][19] In 1561, the patriarch referred to Ivan IV as "tsar and sovereign of Orthodox Christians of the whole universe", likening him to a Byzantine emperor.[21][19] In exchange for acceptance of the title of tsar, the papacy hoped to gain recognition of Roman supremacy; one letter written by the pope and drafted for delivery in 1550 addressed Ivan IV as Universorum Ruthenorum imperator, but Polish obstruction prevented any papal mission from occurring.[22] During the reign of Feodor I, the establishment of the patriarchate of Moscow in 1589 was Boris Godunov's biggest contribution to the evolution of the doctrine of "Moscow, the third Rome", with the tsar as the emperor of Christians.[22]

The childless death of Feodor I in 1598 marked the end of the Rurik dynasty and the beginning of the Time of Troubles, a period of political chaos and foreign intervention.[22][23] One of the imposters to the throne, False Dmitry I, laid claim to the title of imperator or tsesar (tsar),[lower-alpha 4] which was rejected by his Polish sponsors, who had long resisted the title of tsar.[22] Eventually, the Romanov dynasty replaced the Rurik dynasty, but the position of the Russian monarch was weakened.[lower-alpha 5][22] In addition, Michael Romanov was an elected ruler, giving him a lower status, which meant he had to secure recognition as both the legitimate ruler and tsar.[22] Most European powers and princes of the Holy Roman Empire eventually recognized Michael, and the emperor accepted de facto recognition of Michael, without the title of Majesty.[22]

A Russian diplomatic initiative to create a coalition against the Ottoman Empire in the 1670s, with the Russian envoy to Rome, Paul Menzies, instructed to only accept documents containing the title "tsar", was unsuccessful, and it was not until 1685 that the papacy would begin addressing the Russian ruler as tsar.[24] Negotiations for Russia to join the Holy League succeeded after the temporary peace following the Truce of Andrusovo was consolidated and upheld by the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Russia and Poland.[24]

Peter I realized the need to secure the position of Russia within the European states system, including the importance of securing recognition from the Holy Roman Emperor of the equality of the titles of tsar and emperor.[24] Following his victory at the Battle of Poltava, Peter I brought up the question of the title of emperor to the Viennese court and the rank of Majesty, mentioning that even the Porte in Constantinople addressed the Russian ruler as Majesty, though this was rejected by Vienna.[24] In 1717, Peter I defended his right to use the title of imperator, using the letter from Maximilian I to Vasily III to support his claim.[25][24] Following Russia's victory against Sweden in the Great Northern War and the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystad in September 1721, the Governing Senate and Synod urged Peter I to accept the titles of Father of the Fatherland, All-Russian Emperor, and Peter the Great.[26] On 2 November [O.S. 22 October] 1721, Peter I formally adopted the title of emperor.[26] Vienna initially refused to accept the title, but eventually conceded after the letter was deemed to be genuine.[24]