Pavlov claims to be the legitimate successor of the Kievan Rus since 2014, this can be seen from the adoption of "Russkaya Pravda" as civil code, the title of "Autocrat of all Rus'", the names of administrative divisions, the name of the Monarch, Alexander IV, being styled in a way of continuing the numeration of the Rus' Monarchs and many similar quirks.
The Pavlovian ruler assumed the title of Emperor and Autokrator to emphasize his claim to the Roman and Byzantine Imperial legacy. In a way similar to how Muscovy adopted Byzantine terms, rituals, titles, and emblems such as the double-headed eagle in 1472 after Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina. The Pavlovians claim that since the Pavlovian Emperor remained the only legitimate Orthodox ruler, and that Pavlov was the Fourth Rome, becoming the final lineal successor to Rome, Constantinople and Rus, the three centers of Christianity and of the Roman Empires of earlier periods. The "Fourth Rome" concept would resonate in the self-image of the Pavlovian people in future years, with HIH Grand Prince Jaroslav proclaiming "Three Romes have fallen. The fourth stands. And there will be no fifth. No one shall replace your Christian Empire!"
Pavlov’s claim to be the Fourth Rome, while originally of tongue-in-cheek nature, turned into an accurate description of this community: just like the original Roman Empire — albeit on a smaller scale — Pavlov managed to create an all-encompassing indentity superceding the original backgrounds of its citizens.
In a liberal micronation, liberals remain liberals. In a conservative micronation, conservatives also remain who they are. In Pavlov, which was not on the political compass, but above and beyond it, and perhaps in a whole other societal dimension, liberals, conservatives, Christians, Muslims, pagans and staunch atheists turned into Pavlovians, whose previous background remained outside of the micronation. Just like in the Roman Empire, where residents assumed a new Roman identity which became primary.
Is your Monarch a Pretender to the Byzantine throne?
Well yes and no, if by Byzantine you mean late Eastern Roman, then yes. If you mean something else, then no. The Government of Pavlov consider HIM Emperor Alexander IV the legitimate pretender to the Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") throne.