False Dmitry II

Who was False Dmitry II?

False Dmitri II, also called the rebel of Tushino, was the second of three pretenders to the Russian throne who claimed to be Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. The real Dmitry had died under uncertain circumstances, most likely an assassination attempt in 1591, at the age of nine, at his widowed mother's appanage residence in Uglich.

The second False Dmitry first appeared on the scene around July 20, 1607, at Starodub. He is believed to have been either a priest's son or a converted Jew, and was relatively highly educated for the time. He spoke both the Russian and Polish languages and was something of an expert in liturgical matters. He pretended at first to be the Muscovite boyar Nagoy, but confessed under torture that he was Tsarevich Dmitry, whereupon he was taken at his word and joined by thousands of Cossacks, Poles, and Muscovites.

In the course of the year Jerzy Mniszech, father of Marina Mniszech, widow of False Dmitry I, 'reunited' him with Marina, who miraculously recognized her late husband in this second Dimitry. This brought him the support of the magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who had supported False Dmitry I. Adam Wiśniowiecki, Roman Różyński, and Jan Sapieha decided to support the second pretender as well, supplying him with some early funds and 7500 soldiers, among them Aleksander Józef Lisowski, leader of the infamous mercenary band later known as Lisowczycy.¹