Final answer:
After Ivan IV, Tsar Nicholas II continued the autocratic rule until the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the regime, leading to the founding of the Soviet Union (USSR) and a shift to communist governance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The central political institutions in Russia following Ivan IV's reign experienced significant changes, especially during the early 20th century. After the death of Tsar Alexander III, his son Nicholas II took the throne in 1894. Nicholas held nearly complete authority over both politics and the Russian Orthodox Church, much like his predecessors.
Russia faced numerous social and political problems due to its delayed industrialization, which prompted a widespread desire for a new political system. Influenced by liberal European ideals and Marxist ideologies, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, emerged and advocated for a violent revolution to overthrow the tsarist regime.
This contributed to the 1905 Revolution, although initially, the Tsar managed to retain power and the Duma established shortly thereafter failed to serve as an effective counterweight to Tsarist autocracy.
However, following the 1917 Russian Revolutions, the monarchy ended with the execution of Czar Nicholas II and his family, leading to the Russian Civil War and the establishment of a Communist imperial state under Lenin's leadership. Eventually, the Soviet Union, or USSR, was founded, marking a complete overhaul of Russia's political institutions with central planning and a shift in capital from St. Petersburg to Moscow.