No. Some go by Salic Law (men only) and then others go by Right of Primogeniture (men take precedence, with women after if in fact there are no men left), and then the basic law of succession that means the eldest will reign, no matter the Gender.
Because there are no direct heirs(descendants) of the last TsarOk so why is it there is a dispute over the succession?
MM
Because there are no direct heirs(descendants) of the last Tsar
Actually there is one ,as the descendants of the last Tsar's sisters ,basically do not want to recognize GD Maria Vladimirovna as a legal heir.Of course I do not mean all of Romanovs,many of whom are rather indifferent of this matter.Well I know that but the line should pick up at the next closest royal relative, is there a dispute as to who that is?
MM
Midwestern Mom, the closest male relative to Nicholas II were his sisters Olga and Xenia. I believe Xenia is the only one who still have descendants alive and they are the closest link to Nicholas.
Olga was one of the closest FEMALE ( not male) relative of Nicholas II.The order of Succession after Nicholas II was the following: his son Alexei, Grand Duke Mihail Alexandrovitch, Grand Duke Kirill.Nicholas II abdicate for him and for his son, Grand Duke Mihail alexandrovitc renounce to his rights and Grand Duke Kirill became Head of the Imperial Family accepted by the dynasts.
When Grand Duke Vladimir dies there was no other male dynast and so the closest female dynast Grand Duchess Maria, became Head of the Imperial House.
If the last Tsar's closest relatives are not eligible for the throne because they are descended from his sisters, then I don't think Maria or her descendants are eligible either. Who would be the next male relative available? Is there any male out there who descended from a male relative of the Tsar but with no interruptions in male to male line of descent?
Besides, if Maria's claim is legitimate, then she should not be considered head of the Imperial House but her son should be. She is ineligible to claim the throne under existing law.
Because the throne no longer exists, and because we seem to discount existing law if we recognize Maria's claim as legitimate, then we should be considering the descendants of Grand Duke Dimitri so long as the male descendants are products of a lawful union. No need to see that the marriage is performed by an Orthodox priest to a female convert to Orthodoxy who also happens to be a member of a ruling family.
The last "de iure " and "de facto "Emperor was Nicholas II. After him we could speak only about "the iure" Emperors (Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovitch, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovitch, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirilovitch and now Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna).
If you read carefully the article you will find the answers to all your doubts.
Imperial Law concerning Succession:
Chapter Two On the order of succession to the Throne