The generic name
False Dmitry (also Pseudo-Demetrius, ,
Lžedmitrij) refers to various
who passed themselves off as the deceased Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, and claimed the
throne during the Time of Troubles (1598–1613), 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:
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False Dmitry I (1582–1606), who actually became Tsar of all Russia and reigned 1605–1606
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False Dmitry II, active 1607–1610
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False Dmitry III, active 1611–1612
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, active 1611–1612
[Усенко О. Г. «Новые данные О лжемонархах в России XVII Века»][Соловьёв С. М. «История России с древнейших времён», кн. 4 стр. 645] (some argue that False Dmitry IV is just False Dmitry III due to bad record keeping)
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