It was distinguished by an extreme degree of godlessness, a disregard for Russian customs, and the flooding of the country by the Poles. cannot be unequivocal, since in the first weeks of his reign he adhered to completely different principles. False Dmitry understood perfectly well that in order to consolidate his power, the people had to fall in love with him. One performance, played out, albeit masterfully, with Maria Noga, the widow of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible, was clearly not enough. Therefore, at the initial stage of his reign, he is characterized as a policy of flirting with the population. The new king independently held meetings with the population. He listened to people's complaints about their fate, as well as citizens' complaints against each other. Almost all day long, False Dmitry received people, listened to their orders and promised to sort everything out. As a result internal politics of False Dmitry 1 characterized by the beginning of the fight against embezzlement. But people expected something completely different from him. The peasants, who were the overwhelming majority, were waiting for the tsar to fulfill his main promise - to distribute land to the peasants.
Characteristics of the internal policy of False Dmitry 1 at the final stage of her reign, is described by historians as hated by the Russian people. The Russians began to despise their tsar, who did not observe Russian customs and walked around Moscow in Polish attire. The Poles, who arrived in Moscow at the call of False Dmitry, behaved in the capital not as guests, but as invaders. Poles killed Russian people, robbed them. In churches they laughed, did not take off their hats, and in every possible way showed their disdain for the Russian faith. Internal policy of False Dmitry 1 finally overflowed the patience of the Russians when the young tsar decided to marry. His chosen one was the Pole Marina Mnishek. Many Poles were invited to the wedding, who desecrated Russian customs and traditions, ridiculed and insulted Russians.
The overthrow of False Dmitry 1
All of the above are the main ones. The people were indignant. Absolutely the entire population of the country was angry with the king. Increasingly, the opinion began to appear among the people that only overthrow of False Dmitry 1 can stop the disorder in the country. In addition to the common people, the noble boyars were also dissatisfied with the tsar, who began to prepare a revolt to overthrow the objectionable monarch. As a result, the boyar conspiracy was implemented. It resulted in overthrow of False Dmitry 1. Talking about what are reasons for the overthrow of False Dmitry 1 we can safely say that False Dmitry was a Pole at heart, who took advantage of the situation in Russia and pretended to be Tsarevich Dmitry. False Dmitry was alien to everything Russian. The Russian people and their problems were alien to him. In such situation overthrow of False Dmitry 1 was inevitable. It happened on May 17, 1616. False Dmitry was killed. The Poles were expelled from the country.
In world history, there are many examples when impostors who pretended to be real rulers seized power in a particular country. There were such cases in Russia. The first of them took place in 1605, when False Dmitry 1 was on the throne of Moscow. The biography of this historical figure contains many conflicting facts. Some historians attribute to him a royal origin, but most scientists are inclined to believe that the man who declared himself miraculously saved the youngest son of John IV the Terrible, Dmitry, was an adventurer with cunning and an enviable mind.
The origin and early life of the impostor
Who was actually False Dmitry 1? A brief biography of this person contains not so much information about his life before accession to the throne. In official history, it is generally accepted that False Dmitry 1 was born around 1581 in Galich (Kostroma volost). At birth, the impostor was named Yuri (Yushka), and his father was a nobleman from the impoverished Lithuanian family of the Nelidovs, Bogdan Otrepiev. Arriving in his youth in Moscow, the young man entered the service in one of the orders. After working for some time, Yuri Otrepiev took the vows as a monk under the name Grigory. It happened in Yushka went to the monastery not from great faith, but in order to avoid reprisal, because in worldly life he stole, drank and did not listen to his father.
A year after being tonsured a monk, Gregory managed to settle in the Miracle Monastery in Moscow. Being literate and possessing calligraphic handwriting, the young man got the position of a copyist of books in it. It is here that Otrepiev comes up with the idea of impersonating the prematurely deceased heir to the Moscow throne, Tsarevich Dmitry. Gregory was about the same age as the youngest son of John IV, and even had a resemblance to him.
Description of Otrepiev's appearance
The characteristic of False Dmitry 1, left by his contemporaries, indicates that he was below average height, unusually wide, with a short neck and arms of different lengths. This man cannot be called handsome: he was "decorated" with large warts and a large, shoe-like nose. He was gloomy and thoughtful, but possessed remarkable physical strength and could easily bend a horseshoe with his bare hands.
Life in Poland
How was the further fate of the man who went down in history as False Dmitry 1? His brief biography testifies that in 1602 he was accused of theft and ran away from the monastery. For some time the fraudster stayed in Kyiv, and then moved to Poland and secretly adopted the Catholic faith. There he proclaimed himself the legitimate heir to the Russian throne and enlisted the support of the king. In gratitude for the fact that he would help him seize the Moscow throne, False Dmitry 1 promised to give part of the Western Russian lands to the Commonwealth. The impostor also enlisted the support of the governor Jerzy Mniszek, vowing to marry his daughter Marina, give the cities of Pskov and Novgorod and pay 1 million zlotys.
Attack on Russian cities and seizure of power
False Dmitry 1, together with a three thousandth Polish army, began his campaign against Russian lands in the autumn of 1604. Due to the dissatisfaction of the local population with the domestic policy of Boris Godunov, who was the de facto ruler of the state under the frail son of Ivan the Terrible, Otrepiev quickly managed to subjugate a number of Russian cities and settle in Putivl. It was here that False Dmitry 1 settled with his government. A brief biography of the impostor contains facts confirming that the people supported the new ruler, believing that he really had the miraculously saved son of John IV in front of him, and he would put things in order on their lands.
In April 1605, Boris Godunov died suddenly and his son Fyodor was proclaimed heir to the throne. However, he did not manage to stay in power for a long time: a few weeks later he was overthrown by the supporters of False Dmitry. Having officially reigned on the throne on June 20, 1605, the impostor ordered the murder of Fedor and his mother, and he made his sister Xenia his concubine, and then sent her to a monastery.
In order for the people to finally believe that they were the real heir to the throne, a meeting was arranged between the adventurer and Marya Naga, Dmitry's mother. The woman recognized the man standing in front of her as her son. Later, after the death of Otrepiev, she retracted her words, confessing that she was forced to tell a lie by his supporters.
Characteristics of the internal policy of False Dmitry 1
Once in power, the newly-made ruler officially banned bribery, ordered the return of people who suffered under Godunov from exile, reorganized the army and increased the salaries of everyone who was in the service. The impostor eased the lot, freed the south of Russia from taxes and took away land plots from the monasteries.
The internal policy of False Dmitry 1 was aimed at strengthening Polish influence in all spheres of state life. He laid the foundation for the construction of churches, distributed foreign amusements among ordinary people and organized the Secret Chancellery, which included Poles. Under the impostor, the Boyar Duma was renamed the Senate, and the construction of a wooden palace with secret passages began near the Kremlin. In foreign policy, False Dmitry 1 was preparing for a war with the Turks, in which Sigismund III was interested.
Otrepyev's wedding with Marina Mnishek and his murder
Very soon, False Dmitry 1 lost the support of the people. His biography indicates that he had a lot of fun, loved hunting and beautiful women. The dissatisfaction of the Orthodox people was caused by the marriage of the ruler with Marina Mnishek, carried out according to the Catholic rite. During the celebration, a lot of Poles came to Moscow, who, pretty tipsy, robbed passers-by and broke into the houses of the local population.
On May 17, 1606, in the midst of the wedding celebration, Prince Vasily Shuisky, striving to seize the throne, raised an uprising in Moscow, as a result of which False Dmitry 1 and his supporters were killed. People, angry at the arbitrariness of the impostor, mocked his body for a long time, and then burned it and, loading the cannon with ashes, fired from it in the direction of the Commonwealth. So ingloriously ended his days False Dmitry 1. This short biography is an instructive story telling about what happens to impostors.
Name: False Dmitry I (Dmitry Ivanovich Rurikovich)
Age: 23 years old
Activity: Tsar of All Russia, probably an impostor
Family status: was married
False Dmitry I: biography
The biography of False Dmitry I differs from most others in the first place in that the very identity of this person remains unexplained to the end. He convinced everyone that he was an offspring, but was later recognized as an impostor. The official date of birth of this person coincides with the birthday of Tsarevich Dmitry, while according to other sources, the years of False Dmitry and the real son of the king do not coincide. The same applies to versions about the place of birth: he himself claimed that he was born in Moscow, which corresponded to his legend, while the whistleblowers claimed that False Dmitry the impostor was from Warsaw. It is worth adding that Tsar False Dmitry 1 was the first of three different people who called themselves the surviving prince.
False Dmitry I. Portrait from Mnishkov castle in Vyshnevets | historical portrait It is quite natural that the biography of False Dmitry 1 is directly related to the death of the little prince Dmitry. The boy died under unclear circumstances at the age of eight. Officially, his death was recognized as an accident, but his mother thought otherwise, named the names of high-ranking murderers, which made it possible for further history to link together Boris Godunov, False Dmitry and Vasily Shuisky. The first of them was considered the customer of the murder of the heir to the throne, the third conducted an investigation and declared the death accidental, and False Dmitry took advantage of the circumstances and rumors that circulated in Russia that the prince had escaped and fled.
Personality of False Dmitry I
The origin of the person who called himself Tsar Dmitry remains unknown, and it is unlikely that the surviving historical data will be able to help identify him. Nevertheless, there are many versions of who occupied the throne during the time of False Dmitry 1. One of the main candidates was and remains Grigory Otrepyev, the son of a Galician boyar, who from childhood was a serf of the Romanovs. Later, Gregory took the monastic vows and wandered around the monasteries. The question is why Otrepyev began to be considered False Dmitry.
Engraving of False Dmitry I | First, he was too much interested in the murder of the prince, and also suddenly began to study the rules and etiquette of court life. Secondly, the flight of the monk Grigory Otrepiev from the holy monastery suspiciously exactly coincides with the first mention of the campaign of False Dmitry. And thirdly, during the reign of False Dmitry 1, the tsar wrote with characteristic errors, which turned out to be identical to the standard errors of the monastery scribe Otrepiev.
One of the portraits of False Dmitry I | Oracle According to another version, Gregory did not pretend to be False Dmitry himself, but found a young man suitable in appearance and education. This person could be the illegitimate son of the Polish king. This assumption is supported by the impostor's too casual possession of edged weapons, horseback riding, shooting, dancing, and most importantly, fluency in Polish. This hypothesis is opposed by the testimony of Stefan Batory himself, who during his lifetime publicly admitted that he had no children. The second doubt is given by the fact that the boy who allegedly grew up in a Catholic environment favored Orthodoxy.
Painting "Dmitry - Tsarevich Murdered", 1899. Mikhail Nesterov | The possibility of “truth” is not entirely excluded, that is, that False Dmitry was in fact the son of Ivan the Terrible, hidden and secretly transported to Poland. This little popular hypothesis is based on rumors that, simultaneously with the death of little Dmitry, his peer Istomin, who lived in the wards, disappeared without a trace. Allegedly, this child was killed under the guise of a prince, and the heir himself was hidden. An important circumstance is considered an additional argument for this version: not only did Tsarina Martha publicly recognize her son in False Dmitry, in addition, she never served a funeral service for a dead child in the church.
In any case, it is noteworthy that False Dmitry I himself did not consider himself an impostor, and almost all scientists agree: he sincerely believed in his involvement in the royal family.
Board of False Dmitry I
In 1604, False Dmitry I's campaign against Moscow took place. By the way, many people believed that he was the direct heir to the throne, so most cities surrendered without a fight. The pretender to the throne arrived in the capital after the death of Boris Godunov, and his son Fyodor II Godunov, who sat on the throne, who reigned for only 18 days, was killed by the time the troops of False Dmitry arrived.
Painting "The Last Minutes of Dmitry the Pretender", 1879. Carl Wenig | False Dmitry rules briefly, although not as much as his predecessor. Almost immediately after his ascension, there was talk of imposture. Those who only yesterday supported the campaign of False Dmitry began to get angry at how freely he treated the treasury, spending Russian money on Polish and Lithuanian gentry. On the other hand, the newly-made Tsar False Dmitry I did not fulfill his promise to give the Poles a number of Russian cities and introduce Catholicism in Russia, which is why, in fact, the Polish government began to support him in the struggle for the throne. During those 11 months that False Dmitry the First headed Russia, there were several conspiracies against him and about a dozen assassination attempts.
Politics of False Dmitry I
The first actions of Tsar False Dmitry I were numerous favors. He returned from exile the nobles expelled from Moscow under his predecessors, doubled the salaries of military personnel, and increased land plots for landowners, abolished taxes in the south of the country. But since the treasury was only empty from this, Tsar False Dmitry I increased the fees in other regions. Riots began to grow, which False Dmitry refused to extinguish by force, but instead allowed the peasants to change the landowner if he did not feed them. Thus, the policy of False Dmitry I was based on generosity and mercy towards his subjects. By the way, he could not stand flattery, which is why he replaced most of his associates.
The painting "Entry of the troops of False Dmitry I to Moscow". K.F. Lebedev | Wikipedia Many were surprised that Tsar False Dmitry I violated previously accepted traditions. He did not go to bed after dinner, eradicated the pretentious treatment at court, often went out into the city and personally communicated with ordinary people. False Dmitry I was very actively involved in all matters and negotiated daily. The reign of False Dmitry can be called an innovation not only for Russia, but also for Europe of those times. For example, he incredibly simplified the passage to the territory of the state for foreigners, and False Dmitry's Russia was called the freest country abroad.
False Dmitry I. One of the options for a possible appearance | Culturology But if the internal policy of False Dmitry I was based on mercy, in the external one he immediately began to prepare a war with the Turks in order to conquer the Azov and seize the mouth of the Don. He personally began to train archers to handle new models of guns and took part in training assaults along with the soldiers. For a successful war, the king wanted to make an alliance with Western countries, but was refused, as he had not previously fulfilled his promises. In general, the policy of False Dmitry I, seemingly based on sound ground, in the end only brought ruin.
Personal life
False Dmitry I was married to Marina Mnishek, the daughter of a Polish governor, who, apparently, knew about her husband's imposture, but wanted to become a queen. Although in this capacity she lived only a week: the couple got married shortly before his death. By the way, Mnishek was the first woman to be crowned in Russia, and she became the next. False Dmitry I apparently loved his wife, as written evidence of how he kindled feelings for her at the meeting has been preserved. But the relationship was definitely not mutual. Soon after the death of her husband, Marina began to live with a man, today called False Dmitry II, and passed him off as her first husband.
Slavic society In general, False Dmitry I was very greedy for female affection. During his short reign, virtually all the daughters and wives of the boyars automatically became his concubines. And the main favorite before the arrival of Marina Mnishek in Moscow was the daughter of Boris Godunov, Ksenia. There were rumors that she even managed to get pregnant from the impostor king. The second hobby of the autocrat after women was jewelry. In addition, there is evidence that False Dmitry 1 often liked to brag and even lie, on which he was repeatedly caught by close boyars.
Death
In mid-May 1606, Vasily Shuisky decided to raise an uprising against the Poles who flooded Moscow on the occasion of a wedding celebration. Dmitry became aware of this, but he did not attach much importance to such conversations. Shuisky started a rumor that foreigners want to kill the king, and thus raised the people to a bloody slaughter. Gradually, he managed to change the idea of "going to the Poles" to "going to the impostor." When they broke into the palace, False Dmitry tried to resist the crowd, then he wanted to escape through the window, but fell from a height of 15 meters, fell into the courtyard, sprained his leg, broke his chest and lost consciousness.
Engraving "Death of the Pretender", 1870 | Collection of historical documents The archers began to guard the body of False Dmitry I from the conspirators, and in order to calm the crowd, they offered to bring Queen Martha to confirm again whether the king was her son. But even before the messenger returned, the angry crowd beat False Dmitry and demanded to give his name. Until the last moment of his life, he held on to the version that he was a real son. They finished off the former king with swords and halberds, and for several days they betrayed the already dead body to public humiliation - they smeared it with tar, “decorated” it with masks, and sang insulting songs.
Sketch for the painting "Time of Troubles. False Dmitry", 2013. Sergei Kirillov | Lemur False Dmitry I was buried outside the Serpukhov Gates, in a cemetery for the poor, vagabonds and drunkards. But even this overthrow of the personality of the tsar was not enough for the conspirators and tormentors. Since after the assassination of False Dmitry I, a storm struck the neighborhood, scattering crops, people began to say that the dead man does not sleep in the grave, but comes out at night and takes revenge on his former subjects. Then the corpse was dug up and burned at the stake, and the ashes were mixed with gunpowder and shot towards Poland, from where False Dmitry I came. By the way, this was the only shot in history fired by the Tsar Cannon.
Rumors about the miraculous rescue of Tsarevich Dmitry were made popular in the country. A convenient moment was seized by a man who appeared in 1601 in Poland, later known as False Dmitry the First.
According to the official version, False Dmitry 1st comes from the family of Bogdan Otrepyev, was a fugitive deacon of the Chudov Monastery. Posing as a miraculously saved prince, he was supported by the Polish aristocracy, as well as representatives of the Catholic clergy. In subsequent years (1603-1604), preparations began in Poland for his "return" to the Russian throne. During this period, False Dmitry 1st secretly accepts the Catholic faith, promises to introduce Catholicism in Russia, to help Sigismund 3rd in the conflict with Sweden, Poland - to give Smolensk and Seversk lands.
With the Polish-Lithuanian detachment in the fall of 1604, False Dmitry crossed the borders of Russia in the Chernigov region. The success of the adventure was largely facilitated by the uprisings of the peasants that broke out in the southern lands. False Dmitry I eventually managed to strengthen his position in Putivl. After the death of Boris Godunov and the transition of his army to the side of the impostor, during the uprising that began on June 1, 1605 in Moscow, Tsar Fedor 2nd Borisovich was overthrown. False Dmitry the 1st entered Moscow on June 30 (according to the new style), 1605. The next day he was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
The reign of False Dmitry I began with attempts to pursue an independent policy. In an effort to enlist the support of noble families, the impostor established land and monetary salaries for them. Funds for this were taken by revising the rights to the lands of the monasteries. Some concessions were also made to the peasants. Thus, the southern regions of the country were exempted from taxes for 10 years. However, the impostor failed to win over the remaining aristocracy and peasants. The general increase in taxes and the sending of the promised money to Poland led as early as 1606 to a peasant-Cossack uprising. Force was not used to suppress it, but False Dmitry the 1st made certain concessions and included articles on the peasant exit in the Consolidated Sudebnik.
The impostor who gained power was in no hurry to fulfill the promises made to Sigismund III, which led to a deterioration in the country's foreign policy. The crisis situation has also developed in domestic politics. All this created the conditions for the boyar conspiracy, headed by Shuisky. False Dmitry 1st was killed during a riot of townspeople against the impostor and Maria Mnishek who had gathered to celebrate the wedding. The body, originally buried outside the Serpukhov Gates, was later burned, and the ashes were fired from a cannon towards Poland.
Already in the next 1607, False Dmitry 2nd appeared, nicknamed the Tushinsky thief. Supported by the Poles and declaring himself a miraculously saved False Dmitry 1st, he marched on Moscow. Very little is known about the biography of False Dmitry II. The only reliable fact is that he really looked like the first impostor. False Dmitry 2nd, who entered the Russian land, supported, however, his troops and the army of the rebels failed to unite near Tula.
In 1608, the army that moved towards Moscow, having defeated Shuisky's regiments, fortified itself in Tushino. Since the autumn of the same year, having laid siege to Moscow, the Tushinos engaged in pogroms and robberies. This situation continued for two years. Unable to repulse the impostor, Shuisky concluded an agreement with the ruler of Sweden (1609), according to which he promised to give up Karelians in exchange for military assistance. The commander of the Swedish troops is the tsar's nephew Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, who turned out to be a gifted commander. This gave Poland an excuse to intervene and openly attack Russian lands. Smolensk, besieged by their troops, defended itself for 20 months.
The appearance of the Swedish army provoked the flight of False Dmitry 2nd to Kaluga, and his former associates crowned the son of Sigismund 3rd, Vladislav, as king. The camp in Tushino was empty by the spring of 1610. Great hopes were pinned on Skopin-Shuisky, but the commander died in the same year under rather strange circumstances. His place was taken by V. Shuisky, the army was defeated in June 1610. False Dmitry the 2nd again had the hope of taking the throne, and he moved to Moscow. However, already in August 1610, the reign of False Dmitry II ended. He again fled to Kaluga, where he was killed.
