False Dmitry

The generic name False Dmitry (also Pseudo-Demetrius, Russian: Лжедмитрий, Lžedmitrij) refers to various pretenders to the Russian throne during the Time of Troubles (1598-1613) who passed themselves off as Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, 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:

• False Dmitry I (1582–1606), who actually became Tsar of Russia and reigned from 1605–1606
• False Dmitry II, active 1607–1610
• False Dmitry III, active 1611–1612
• False Dmitry IV, active 1611–1612^[1][2]

Notes and references