What were the imperial dynasties of the Russian Empire?

Question by Joe: What were the imperial dynasties of the Russian tsardom?
I know of the Stroganovs, the Ruriks, and the Romanovs (clearly being the last dynasty), but what came before? Were the Stroganovs actual tsars or were they just influential nobility? Also, in what order were the dynasties?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Blonde A
there were only two ruling dynasties: the Ruriks and the Romanovs.

Answer by Lenny
2 long dynasties and 1 short one.

Ruriks – from 9th century Igor (First ruler Oleg was his uncle, brother or Rurik) to 16th century Feodor Ioanovich.

Godunovs – Boris and his son Fyodor

Ignore temporary figureheads installed by Poles and Lithuanians. Those were killed or driven off before they could be called dynasties.

Romanovs – from Michael (17th century) to Nickolas II (20th century) killed by Bolsheviks.

Answer by Big B
it is believed that the original founder of muscovy, Rurik, came from the vikings.

Rurik and his descendants set up the original duchy of Muscovy or Moscow. From their they moved further East and South, claiming lands around Kiev. Among Ruriks descendants was Alexander Nevsky, who lead the infant kingdom to defeat the Swedes to the west.

The most famous of the Rurik dynasty was Ivan III, who married the sister of the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI. When Constantine was overthrown, it was Ivan III who proclaimed Russia as the ‘Third Rome’. It was Ivan’s grandson, Ivan IV or ‘Ivan the Terrible’ who began calling himself ‘Tsar’ or ‘Caesar’. Ivan’s wife was from the Romanov Clan.

After Ivan died his son, Fedor 1, took the throne but died a short while after. One of his advisors, Boris, seized power and called himself Tsar as Boris Gudonov.

When civil war broke out in 1610 after the death of Boris, the council of nobles gathered to elect a new tsar, and choose the young Michael Romanov whose descendants ruled until 1917.

Read all the answers in the comments.

Know better? Leave your own answer!