False Dmitry III ( rus, Лжедмитрий III, Lzhedmitrii III; died July 1612), historically known as Pseudo-Demetrius III, was the last and most enigmatic of three pretenders to the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n throne who claimed to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible; Tsarevich

Dmitry Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτρι� ...

Biography

Supposed to have been a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

called Sidorka, he appeared suddenly, from behind the river Narva, in the

Ingria Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with Esto ...

n town of

Ivangorod Ivangorod ( rus, Иванго́род, p=ɪvɐnˈɡorət; et, Jaanilinn; vot, Jaanilidna) is a town in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the east bank of the Narva river which flows along the Estonia–Russia int ...

, proclaiming himself the Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, on March 28, 1611. The Cossacks, ravaging the environs of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, acknowledged him as

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

on March 2, 1612, and under threat of vengeance in case of non-compliance, the gentry of Pskov also "kissed the cross" (i.e., swore allegiance) to the ''rebel/criminal of Pskov'' (псковский вор), as he was usually nicknamed. On May 18, 1612, he fled from Pskov, was seized and delivered up to the authorities at Moscow, and was secretly executed there.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dmitry III, False False Dmitrys Executed Russian people 1612 deaths Year of birth unknown 17th-century executions by Russia 1611 in Europe 1612 in Europe Impostors 1582 births

Biography

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