Dimitri II of Russia

False Dmitry I (ruled 1605-1606) was one of three pretenders to the Russian throne who claimed to be the son of Ivan the Terrible Dmitry, who miraculosly escaped the assasination attempt. It's generally believed that the real Dmitry was assasinated in Uglich and Dmitry I's real name was Grigory Otrepyev (born Yury).

This would-be-Dmitry appeared around 1600 in Poland and joined the household of Polish nobleman Adam Wisniowieck as a manservant. According to a later tale, he blurted out his identity when his master slapped him in anger.

Dmitry claimed that his mother, the widow of Tsar Ivan, had anticipated the assassination attempt and had given him into a care of a doctor who hid with him in Russian monasteries. After the doctor died, he had fled to Poland where he worked as a teacher for a brief time before coming to the service of Wisniowieck. A number of people who had known the Tsar Ivan later claimed that Dmitry did resemble him. Dmitry displayed noble skills like riding and literacy and spoke both Russian and Polish.

Regardless of whether they believed Dmitry, Wisniowieck and a number of other Polish noblemen decided to support him against Boris Godunov. On March 1604, Dmitry visited the court of Sigismund III in Krakow. The king provisionally supported him, but did not promise any direct aid to help him in his way to the throne of Russia.

When Boris Godunov heard about the pretender, he claimed that the man was just a runaway monk called Grigory Otrepyev (born Yury Otrepyev; Grigory was the name given at the monastery), although on what information he based this claim is unclear. Regardless, his support begun to vane, especially when he tried to spread counter-rumors. Some of the Russian boyars also claimed to accept Dmitry's claim. Such support gave them legitimate reasons not to pay taxes to Godunov.

Dmitry attracted a number of followers, formed a small army, and rode to Russia on June 1604. Enemies of Godunov, including the southern cossacks, joined his forces on his way to Moscow. Dmitry's forces fought two engagements with reluctant Russian soldiers; they won the first but lost the second.

Boris Godunov died suddenly on April 13 1605 and Feodor II took the throne. However, Russian forces begun to defect to Dmitry's side and June 1 troops in Moscow imprisoned Feodor and his mother and later executed them. On June 20, Dmitry and his supporters marched to Moscow.

Dmitry tried to consolidate his power by visiting both the grave of Tsar Ivan and his widow Maria Nagaja did accept him. On July 30 1604 he was crowned Tsar Dmitry I.

However, Dmitry's support begun to vane as well, partly because of his alliance to Polish, and the need to collect taxes. He announced that he intended to marry the Polish catholic noblewomen Marina Mniszech (Mniszechowa). Usually when a Russian Tsar married a woman of another faith, she converted to Orthodox Christianity first. It is believed that Dmitry made a concession to his Polish supporters to convert Russia to Catholicism after gaining the throne. For this reason Mniszech did not convert to the orthodox faith. Thus angered the Russian Orthodox Church, the boyars, and the population. Some boyars that had supported him mainly to get rid of Boris Godunov, began to plot against him.

At the morning of May 17 1606, about two weeks after the marriage, conspirators stormed the Kremlin. Dmitry tried to flee through a window but broke his leg in the fall. One of the plotters shot him dead on the spot. At first the body was put on display, then cremated and the ashes shot towards Poland. Dmitry's reign had lasted a mere ten months. Vasili Shusky took his place as Tsar.

Preceded by: Feodor II

Tsar

Succeeded by: Vasili IV