The generic name False Dmitry (also Pseudo-Demetrius, russian: Лжедмитрий, ''Lžedmitrij'') refers to various
impostor
An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...
s who passed themselves off as the deceased
Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia, the youngest son of
Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.
Ivan ...
, and claimed the
Russian throne during the
Time of Troubles (1598–1613), after the real Dmitry's death at the age of eight in 1591. Each of these impostors claimed to have miraculously escaped the assassination attempt that appeared to have claimed Dmitry's life, and, in the case of II and III, also to have escaped the assassinations that subsequently targeted I and II.
Several people impersonated Dmitry Ivanovich, most prominently:
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False Dmitry I (1582–1606), who actually became Tsar of Russia and reigned 1605–1606
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False Dmitry II, active 1607–1610
*
False Dmitry III, active 1611–1612
* , active 1611–1612
[Усенко О. Г. «Новые данные О лжемонархах в России XVII Века»][Соловьёв С. М. «История России с древнейших времён», кн. 4 стр. 645] (some argue that False Dmitry IV is just False Dmitry III due to bad record keeping)
Notes and references
External links
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{{Set index article
Ivan the Terrible
Impostor pretenders