First False Dmitry

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First False Dmitry

Russian pretender

Also known as: Dmitry Samozvanets, Grigory, Grigory Yury Bogdanovich Otrepyev, Lzhedmitry(Show More)

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June 25, 2026

Quick Summary

The "False Dmitry" refers to three pretenders who claimed the Russian throne during the Time of Troubles (1598–1613). These individuals asserted they were Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of Tsar Ivan IV, who had died in 1591.

The first False Dmitry, likely Grigory Otrepyev, gained support with Polish and Lithuanian backing, invading Russia in 1604. Following Tsar Boris Godunov's death, he entered Moscow in 1605 and was proclaimed tsar. However, his disregard for Russian customs and favouritism towards Poles led to his assassination in 1606.

A second pretender emerged in 1607, gathering followers and establishing a rival court at Tushino. Known as the Thief of Tushino, he contended for the throne until his death in 1610. A third False Dmitry appeared in 1611, gaining some support before his execution in 1612. These pretenders significantly destabilized Russia during a period of political turmoil and foreign intervention.12

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False Dmitry
…Boris Godunov succeeded him, the first False Dmitry appeared and challenged Godunov’s right to the throne. The first pretender is considered by many historians to have been Grigory (Yury) Bogdanovich Otrepyev, a member of the gentry who had frequented the house of the Romanovs before becoming the monk Grigory and…
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…Boris Godunov succeeded him, the first False Dmitry appeared and challenged Godunov’s right to the throne. The first pretender is considered by many historians to have been Grigory (Yury) Bogdanovich Otrepyev, a member of the gentry who had frequented the house of the Romanovs before becoming the monk Grigory and…
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Vasily (IV) Shuysky
…pretender claiming to be Prince Dmitry had appeared, Shuysky reversed himself and, declaring that Dmitry had escaped death in 1591, supported the pretender’s claim to the throne. When Boris died in April 1605, Shuysky instigated a movement to murder Boris’ son Fyodor II and swore allegiance to the first False…
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…pretender claiming to be Prince Dmitry had appeared, Shuysky reversed himself and, declaring that Dmitry had escaped death in 1591, supported the pretender’s claim to the throne. When Boris died in April 1605, Shuysky instigated a movement to murder Boris’ son Fyodor II and swore allegiance to the first False…
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Poland
Sigismund III Vasa
…some Polish magnates to the False Dmitry (who claimed to be the son of Ivan the Terrible) eventually embroiled Poland in hostilities. The victory at Klushino in 1610 by Hetman Stanisław Zółkiewski resulted in a Polish occupation of Moscow and the election by Moscow’s boyars of Sigismund’s son Władysław as…
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…some Polish magnates to the False Dmitry (who claimed to be the son of Ivan the Terrible) eventually embroiled Poland in hostilities. The victory at Klushino in 1610 by Hetman Stanisław Zółkiewski resulted in a Polish occupation of Moscow and the election by Moscow’s boyars of Sigismund’s son Władysław as…
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Fyodor II
…challenged, however, by the first False Dmitry, a pretender to the throne, who, claiming to be the son of Ivan IV the Terrible (reigned 1547–84) and the legitimate heir to the throne, had invaded Russia in October 1604 in an effort to overthrow Boris Godunov. After Fyodor’s military commander shifted…
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…challenged, however, by the first False Dmitry, a pretender to the throne, who, claiming to be the son of Ivan IV the Terrible (reigned 1547–84) and the legitimate heir to the throne, had invaded Russia in October 1604 in an effort to overthrow Boris Godunov. After Fyodor’s military commander shifted…
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Time of Troubles
…to the throne, the so-called False Dmitry, who claimed to be Dmitry, half brother of the late tsar and legitimate heir to the throne. (The real Dmitry had died in 1591.) Boris was able to maintain his regime, but when he died (April 1605), a mob favouring the False Dmitry…
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…to the throne, the so-called False Dmitry, who claimed to be Dmitry, half brother of the late tsar and legitimate heir to the throne. (The real Dmitry had died in 1591.) Boris was able to maintain his regime, but when he died (April 1605), a mob favouring the False Dmitry…
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