With Feodor's death, Russia was, for the first time left without any legitimate heirs to the throne. A time of troubles hit Russia, as various princes and boyars fought to gain power and war and famine spread throughout Russia. Ivan IV's reign had left Russia weak and without a strong ruler to maintain the country. The country went through many rulers after Feodor's death until the beginning of the Romanov dynasty. The first was Boris Godunov, a boyar who had gained much power during Feodor's reign. Godunov had been elected by a zemskii sobor, however his reign was short, lasting only from 1598 to his death in 1605. His reign was not a peaceful one; the country was afflicted with Church and boyar opposition, peasants fleeing from the estates, and Cossack rebellions.

At Boris Godunov's death, a man claiming to be Dmitrii, a young son of Ivan IV's who had died mysteriously, organized a group of rebels and took the throne. His reign lasted less than a year because he was murdered by dissatisfied boyars. Next, Prince Vasilii Shuiskii reigned from 1606-1610 as Vasilii IV but civil strife and foreign intervention continued to be a problem. His reign too was full of problems. Moscow suffered from a Cossack rebellion which was put down and a second fale Dmitrii, followed by two years of civil war. Finally, another zemskii sobor elected Mikhail Romanov to be tsar. This was the beginning of the Romanov dynasty.