Both circumstances clearly indicate that Empress Anna intended her niece to inherit her throne, and was laying the ground for that by selecting a husband of suitable birth and situation and by observing him at close quarters for several years before the marriage was celebrated.

[1] On 28 October, just a few weeks after the proclamation, the empress died after she had left directions regarding the succession and appointing her favourite Ernest Biron, Duke of Courland, as regent.

[1] After Biron threatened to exile Anna and her spouse to Germany, she had little difficulty working with Field Marshal Burkhard Christoph von Münnich to overthrow him.

[2] According to the Dictionary of Russian History,[clarification needed] she ordered an investigation of the garment industry when new uniforms received by the military were found to be of inferior quality.

When the investigation revealed inhumane conditions, she issued decrees mandating a minimum wage and maximum working hours in that industry, as well as the establishment of medical facilities at every garment factory.

Anna's love life took up much time, as she was involved simultaneously in what were described as "passionate" affairs with Saxon Ambassador Count Moritz zu Lynar [de; ru] and her lady-in-waiting, Mengden.

[clarification needed][1] The coup overcame the insignificant opposition and was supported by the ambassadors of France and Sweden because of the pro-Austrian and pro-British policies of Anna's government.

The French ambassador in St. Petersburg, the marquis de La Chétardie, was deeply involved in planning Elizabeth's coup and bribed numerous officers of the Imperial Guard into supporting it.

A further 18 years were to pass before her son, Ivan VI, was murdered in Shlisselburg Fortress on 16 July 1764, and her husband, Anthony Ulrich, died in Kholmogory on 4 May 1774[12] after spending a further decade in prison.

Her remaining four children (Ekaterina, Elizaveta, Peter and Alexei[13]) were released from prison into the custody of their aunt, Danish Queen Dowager Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, on 30 June 1780 and settled in Jutland, where they lived in comfort under house arrest in Horsens for the rest of their lives under the guardianship of Juliana and at the expense of Catherine the Great.