False Dmitriy I
Encyclopedia
False Dmitriy I was the Tsar of Russia from 21 July 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dimitriy Ioannovich (Cyrillic
Димитрий Иоаннович). He is sometimes referred to under the usurped title of Dmitriy II. He was one of three impostors who claimed during the Time of Troubles
to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, tsarevitch Dmitriy Ivanovich, who had supposedly escaped a 1591 assassination attempt. It is generally believed that the real Dmitriy was assassinated in Uglich
and that this False Dmitriy's real name was Grigory Otrepyev, although this is far from certain.
, however, ordered him to be seized and examined, whereupon he fled to Prince Constantine Ostrogsky at Ostroh
, then in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, and subsequently entered the service of another Ruthenian
family, the Wisniowiecki
s. Princes Adam
and Michał Wiśniowiecki found his story to be convincing, as to who he purported to be, and it gave them an opportunity to get involved in the political turmoil that was transpiring in Muscovy.
There were vague rumours that Dmitriy was an illegitimate son of the Polish
king, Stefan Batory
, who had reigned from 1575 to 1586. According to a later tale, Dmitriy blurted out his identity when his master had slapped him in anger. Dmitriy himself claimed that his mother, the widow of Tsar Ivan, had anticipated Boris Godunov
's assassination attempt and had given him into the 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 Wisniowiecki. A number of people who had known Tsar Ivan later claimed that Dmitriy did resemble the young tsarevitch. Dmitriy displayed aristocratic skills like riding and literacy and spoke both Russian and Polish.
Regardless of whether they believed the tale of Dmitriy, Adam Wiśniowiecki
, Roman Różyński, Jan Sapieha
and several other Polish noblemen decided to support him against Tsar Boris Godunov. In March 1604, Dmitriy visited the royal court of Sigismund III Vasa
in Kraków
. The king provisionally supported him, but did not promise any direct aid to help him on his way to the throne of Russia. To attract the support of powerful Jesuits, Dmitriy publicly converted to Roman Catholicism on 17 April 1604 and convinced the papal nuncio
Claudio Rangoni to back up his claim. At that time he also met Marina Mniszech
, a Polish noblewoman, who was a daughter of Jerzy Mniszech
. He asked for her hand and was promised it in return for giving to the Mniszech family the Russian towns of Pskov
, Novgorod, Smolensk
and Novhorod-Siverskyi
.
When the Tsar Boris 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 began to wane, especially when he tried to spread counter-rumors. Some of the Russian boyar
s also claimed to accept Dmitriy's claim because it gave them legitimate reason not to pay taxes to Boris.
Dmitriy attracted a number of followers, formed a small army, and gained the support of Commonwealth magnates who gave him approximately 3500 soldiers from their private armies. With them he rode to Russia on June 1604. Enemies of Boris, including the southern Cossacks, joined his forces on his way to Moscow. Dmitriy's forces fought two engagements with reluctant Russian soldiers; they won the first, capturing Chernigov (modern Chernihiv), Putivl (Putyvl), Sevsk
, and Kursk
but badly lost the second and nearly disintegrated. Dmitriy's cause was only saved when the news of the sudden death of Tsar Boris (13 April 1605) reached the troops.
This removed the last barrier to the pretender's further progress. Russian troops began to defect to Dmitriy's side, and on 1 June boyars in Moscow imprisoned the newly-crowned tsar, Feodor II
, and his mother and later killed them. On 20 June Dmitriy made his triumphal entry into Moscow, and on 21 July he was crowned tsar by a new patriarch of his own choosing, the Greek Ignatius
.
At first the new tsar tried to consolidate his power by visiting the sepulchre of Tsar Ivan and the convent of his widow Maria Nagaya
, who accepted him as her son. The Godunov
family was executed with the exception of Princess Xenia Godunova, whom he raped and imprisoned as his concubine. In contrast, many of the noble families exiled by Godunov - such as the Shuisky
s, Golitsins and Romanov
s - were granted his grace and allowed to return back to Moscow. Filaret (Feodor Romanov) he appointed as metropolitan
of Rostov
. Patriarch Job of Moscow, who did not recognize him as the new tsar, was sent to exile.
Dmitriy planned to introduce a series of political and economical reforms. He restored Yuri's Day
, the day when serf
s were allowed to move to another lord, to ease the conditions of peasant
ry.
In foreign policies, Dmitriy sought for an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
and Roman Pope. He planned a war against the Ottoman Empire
and ordered the mass production of firearm
s. In his correspondence he referred to himself as "Emperor of Russia", a century before Peter I
, though this title wasn't recognized at the time.
On 8 May 1606, Dmitriy married Marina Mniszech
in Moscow. Usually when a Russian Tsar married a woman of another faith, she first converted to Orthodox Christianity. It is believed that Dmitriy had made a concession to his Polish supporters to convert Russia to Catholicism after gaining the throne. For this reason, Marina
did not convert to the Orthodox faith.
This angered the Russian Orthodox Church
, the boyars, and the population alike and increased the support of his enemies. The boyars, headed by Prince Vasily Shuisky
, began to plot against him, accusing him of spreading Roman Catholicism and sodomy
. They gained popular support, especially as Dmitriy was guarded by Commonwealth forces, who still garrisoned Moscow and often engaged in various criminal acts and angered the local population.
On the morning of 17 May 1606, about two weeks after the marriage, conspirators stormed the Kremlin. Dmitriy tried to flee through a window but broke his leg in the fall. One of the plotters shot him dead on the spot. The body was put on display and then cremated, the ashes reportedly shot from a cannon towards Poland. Dmitriy's reign had lasted a mere ten months. Vasili Shuisky
took his place as Tsar Vasili IV.
However, two further impostors later appeared, False Dmitriy II and False Dmitriy III.
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
Димитрий Иоаннович). He is sometimes referred to under the usurped title of Dmitriy II. He was one of three impostors who claimed during the Time of Troubles
Time of Troubles
The Time of Troubles was a period of Russian history comprising the years of interregnum between the death of the last Russian Tsar of the Rurik Dynasty, Feodor Ivanovich, in 1598, and the establishment of the Romanov Dynasty in 1613. In 1601-1603, Russia suffered a famine that killed one-third...
to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, tsarevitch Dmitriy Ivanovich, who had supposedly escaped a 1591 assassination attempt. It is generally believed that the real Dmitriy was assassinated in Uglich
Uglich
Uglich is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, which stands on the Volga River. Population: A local tradition dates the town's origins to 937. It was first documented in 1148 as Ugliche Pole...
and that this False Dmitriy's real name was Grigory Otrepyev, although this is far from certain.
Background
False Dmitriy I appeared in history circa 1600, when he made an impression on Patriarch Job of Moscow with his learning and assurance. Tsar Boris GodunovBoris Godunov
Boris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from c. 1585 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles.-Early years:...
, however, ordered him to be seized and examined, whereupon he fled to Prince Constantine Ostrogsky at Ostroh
Ostroh
Ostroh is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine, located on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the administrative center of the Ostroh Raion and is itself designated as a special administrative subordination within the oblast...
, then in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, and subsequently entered the service of another Ruthenian
Ruthenian
Ruthenian may refer to:*Ruthenia, a name applied to various parts of Eastern Europe*Ruthenians, a historic ethnic group*Ruthenian Catholic Church, the sui iuris particular church united to the Bishop of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church...
family, the Wisniowiecki
Wisniowiecki
Wiśniowiecki is the name of a family notable in the history of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They were powerful magnates in Ruthenia of Rurikid or Gediminids descent. The family traditions traces their descend to Gediminids, but modern historians believe there is more evidence for the Rurikid...
s. Princes Adam
Adam Wisniowiecki
Adam Wiśniowiecki Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth szlachcic and magnate. Supported False Dmitriy I during the Muscovy Time of Trouble, famous, together with Konstanty Wiśniowiecki , for being the 'finders' of the False Dmitriy I.Married Aleksandra Chodkiewicz before 1601. Daughter Krystyna...
and Michał Wiśniowiecki found his story to be convincing, as to who he purported to be, and it gave them an opportunity to get involved in the political turmoil that was transpiring in Muscovy.
There were vague rumours that Dmitriy was an illegitimate son of the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
king, Stefan Batory
Stefan Batory
Stephen Báthory was a Hungarian noble Prince of Transylvania , then King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . He was a member of the Somlyó branch of the noble Hungarian Báthory family...
, who had reigned from 1575 to 1586. According to a later tale, Dmitriy blurted out his identity when his master had slapped him in anger. Dmitriy himself claimed that his mother, the widow of Tsar Ivan, had anticipated Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov
Boris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from c. 1585 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles.-Early years:...
's assassination attempt and had given him into the 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 Wisniowiecki. A number of people who had known Tsar Ivan later claimed that Dmitriy did resemble the young tsarevitch. Dmitriy displayed aristocratic skills like riding and literacy and spoke both Russian and Polish.
Regardless of whether they believed the tale of Dmitriy, Adam Wiśniowiecki
Adam Wisniowiecki
Adam Wiśniowiecki Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth szlachcic and magnate. Supported False Dmitriy I during the Muscovy Time of Trouble, famous, together with Konstanty Wiśniowiecki , for being the 'finders' of the False Dmitriy I.Married Aleksandra Chodkiewicz before 1601. Daughter Krystyna...
, Roman Różyński, Jan Sapieha
Jan Piotr Sapieha
Jan Piotr Sapieha was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman . Starosta uświacki, pułkownik królewski, son of Paweł Sapieha and Anna Chodkiewiczowna , married to Zofia Weiher, father of Paweł Jan Sapieha...
and several other Polish noblemen decided to support him against Tsar Boris Godunov. In March 1604, Dmitriy visited the royal court of Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. The king provisionally supported him, but did not promise any direct aid to help him on his way to the throne of Russia. To attract the support of powerful Jesuits, Dmitriy publicly converted to Roman Catholicism on 17 April 1604 and convinced the papal nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
Claudio Rangoni to back up his claim. At that time he also met Marina Mniszech
Marina Mniszech
Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech (Polish: Maryna Mniszchówna or Maryna Mniszech; Russian: Марина Мнишек (Marina Mnishek); also known as "Marinka the witch" in Russian folklore; c...
, a Polish noblewoman, who was a daughter of Jerzy Mniszech
Jerzy Mniszech
Jerzy Mniszech was a nobleman in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Member of the Mniszchowie family. Krajczy koronny in 1574, castellan of Radom in 1583, voivode of Sandomierz Voivodship in 1590, żupnik ruski, starost of Lwów in 1593, starost of Sambor, Sokal, Sanock, Rohatyn.Father of Marina...
. He asked for her hand and was promised it in return for giving to the Mniszech family the Russian towns of Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
, Novgorod, Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
and Novhorod-Siverskyi
Novhorod-Siverskyi
Novhorod-Siversky is a historic city in the Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Novhorod-Siversky Raion, and is situated on the bank of the Desna River, 330 km from the capital, Kiev, and 45 km south of the Russian border. Current estimated population:...
.
Way to the Russian throne
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
s also claimed to accept Dmitriy's claim because it gave them legitimate reason not to pay taxes to Boris.
Dmitriy attracted a number of followers, formed a small army, and gained the support of Commonwealth magnates who gave him approximately 3500 soldiers from their private armies. With them he rode to Russia on June 1604. Enemies of Boris, including the southern Cossacks, joined his forces on his way to Moscow. Dmitriy's forces fought two engagements with reluctant Russian soldiers; they won the first, capturing Chernigov (modern Chernihiv), Putivl (Putyvl), Sevsk
Sevsk
Sevsk is a town in Sevsky District of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Sev River , away from Bryansk. Population: -History:...
, and Kursk
Kursk
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
but badly lost the second and nearly disintegrated. Dmitriy's cause was only saved when the news of the sudden death of Tsar Boris (13 April 1605) reached the troops.
This removed the last barrier to the pretender's further progress. Russian troops began to defect to Dmitriy's side, and on 1 June boyars in Moscow imprisoned the newly-crowned tsar, Feodor II
Feodor II of Russia
Fyodor II Borisovich Godunov of Russia was a tsar of Russia during the Time of Troubles. He was born in Moscow, the son and successor to Boris Godunov...
, and his mother and later killed them. On 20 June Dmitriy made his triumphal entry into Moscow, and on 21 July he was crowned tsar by a new patriarch of his own choosing, the Greek Ignatius
Patriarch Ignatius
Ignatius was a Russian Orthodox bishop of Greek descent who was the second Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in 1605-1606, even though his status is now disputed and he is frequently omitted from the list of Patriarchs of Moscow by the Russian Orthodox Church.Ignatius was reported to be of...
.
False Dmitriy's policies as a tsar
Maria Nagaya
Maria Feodorovna Nagaya was a Russian tsarina and eighth wife of Ivan the Terrible.Maria married Ivan IV in 1581 and a year later gave birth to their son Dmitry. After the Tsar's death in 1584, Nagaya, her son and her brothers were sent into exile to Uglich by Boris Godunov, where she lived...
, who accepted him as her son. The Godunov
Godunov
Godunov is a Russian surname.Godunov can refer to the following:Two Tsars of Russia and their kin:** Tsar Boris Fyodorovich Godunov a regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605...
family was executed with the exception of Princess Xenia Godunova, whom he raped and imprisoned as his concubine. In contrast, many of the noble families exiled by Godunov - such as the Shuisky
Shuisky
The Princes Shuisky were a Rurikid family of boyars descending from Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Vladimir-Suzdal and Prince Andrey Yaroslavich, brother to Alexander Nevsky. Their name is derived from the town of Shuya, of which they gained ownership in 1403. The family briefly reached the...
s, Golitsins and Romanov
Romanov
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the February Revolution abolished the crown in 1917...
s - were granted his grace and allowed to return back to Moscow. Filaret (Feodor Romanov) he appointed as metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
. Patriarch Job of Moscow, who did not recognize him as the new tsar, was sent to exile.
Dmitriy planned to introduce a series of political and economical reforms. He restored Yuri's Day
Yuri's Day
Yuri's Day is the Russian name for either of the two feasts of Saint George celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church.Along with various other Christian churches, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of St George on April 23 , which falls on May 6 of the Western Calendar...
, the day when serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s were allowed to move to another lord, to ease the conditions of peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
ry.
In foreign policies, Dmitriy sought for an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and Roman Pope. He planned a war against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and ordered the mass production of firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s. In his correspondence he referred to himself as "Emperor of Russia", a century before Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
, though this title wasn't recognized at the time.
On 8 May 1606, Dmitriy married Marina Mniszech
Marina Mniszech
Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech (Polish: Maryna Mniszchówna or Maryna Mniszech; Russian: Марина Мнишек (Marina Mnishek); also known as "Marinka the witch" in Russian folklore; c...
in Moscow. Usually when a Russian Tsar married a woman of another faith, she first converted to Orthodox Christianity. It is believed that Dmitriy had made a concession to his Polish supporters to convert Russia to Catholicism after gaining the throne. For this reason, Marina
Marina Mniszech
Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech (Polish: Maryna Mniszchówna or Maryna Mniszech; Russian: Марина Мнишек (Marina Mnishek); also known as "Marinka the witch" in Russian folklore; c...
did not convert to the Orthodox faith.
This angered the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, the boyars, and the population alike and increased the support of his enemies. The boyars, headed by Prince Vasily Shuisky
Vasili IV of Russia
Vasili IV of Russia was Tsar of Russia between 1606 and 1610 after the murder of False Dmitriy I. His reign fell during the Time of Troubles....
, began to plot against him, accusing him of spreading Roman Catholicism and sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
. They gained popular support, especially as Dmitriy was guarded by Commonwealth forces, who still garrisoned Moscow and often engaged in various criminal acts and angered the local population.
On the morning of 17 May 1606, about two weeks after the marriage, conspirators stormed the Kremlin. Dmitriy tried to flee through a window but broke his leg in the fall. One of the plotters shot him dead on the spot. The body was put on display and then cremated, the ashes reportedly shot from a cannon towards Poland. Dmitriy's reign had lasted a mere ten months. Vasili Shuisky
Vasili IV of Russia
Vasili IV of Russia was Tsar of Russia between 1606 and 1610 after the murder of False Dmitriy I. His reign fell during the Time of Troubles....
took his place as Tsar Vasili IV.
However, two further impostors later appeared, False Dmitriy II and False Dmitriy III.
Portrayals in literature
- The False Dmitriy's story was dramatized by Schiller (in DemetriusDemetrius (play)Demetrius is an incomplete drama by the German playwright Friedrich Schiller based on the life of Demetrius, briefly Russian czar between 1604 and 1605. It is a reflection on the individual's responsibility in history and on the rule of Napoleon...
), SumarokovAlexander SumarokovAlexander Petrovich Sumarokov was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonosov to inaugurate the reign of classicism in Russian literature....
, Pushkin, Khomyakov, by Modest MussorgskyModest MussorgskyModest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
in the operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Boris GodunovBoris Godunov (opera)Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
and by Antonín DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
in his opera DimitrijDimitrijDimitrij is an opera by Antonín Dvořák in 4 acts, set a libretto by Marie Červinková-Riegrová. More specifically, it belongs to the genre of Grand Opera. The work was first performed in Prague, at the Nové České Divadlo on 8 October 1882, after Dvořák began composition during May 1881...
. In the Pushkin tragedy and the Mussorgsky opera, Otrepyev is a young monk who decides to impersonate the Tsaravitch when he hears they would have been the same age had the child lived. - Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
recounts the overthrow of the False Dimitriy in The Notebooks of Malte Laurids BriggeThe Notebooks of Malte Laurids BriggeThe Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge was Rainer Maria Rilke's only novel. It was written while Rilke lived in Paris, and was published in 1910. The novel is semi-autobiographical, and is written in an expressionistic style...
, Rilke's only longer prose work. - Harold LambHarold LambHarold Albert Lamb was an American historian, screenwriter, short story writer, and novelist.Lamb was born in Alpine, New Jersey. He attended Columbia University, where his interest in the peoples and history of Asia began. Lamb's tutors at Columbia included Carl Van Doren andJohn Erskine. ...
fictionalizes the demise of the False Dimitriy in "The Wolf Master", in which the claimant survives his assassination through trickery, and flees East, pursued by a Cossack he has betrayed.
See also
- Ivan BolotnikovIvan BolotnikovIvan Isayevich Bolotnikov was the leader of a popular uprising in Russia in 1606–1607 known as the Bolotnikov rebellion . The uprising was part of the Time of Troubles in Russia.-Biography:...
- Isaac MassaIsaac MassaIsaac Abrahamszoon Massa was a Dutch grain trader, traveller and diplomat, the envoy to Muscovy, author of memoirs witnessing the Time of Troubles and the maps of Eastern Europe and Siberia. He was married to Beatrix van der Laen...
- Polish-Muscovite War (1605-1618)
- Tsars of Russia family tree