Ivan Dmitriyevich (russian: Иван Дмитриевич, nicknamed as Ivaska the Little Rebel/Criminal, russian: Ивашка Ворёнок; – ) was the only son of False Dmitry II of Russia ("''Rebel/Criminal of Tushino''", russian: Тушинский вор) and his wife

Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech, ( pl, Maryna Mniszech; russian: Марина Мнишек, Marina Mnishek, ) also known in Russian lore as Marinka the Witch ( 1588 – 24 December 1614) was a Polish noblewoman who became the Tsaritsa of Russia during the Time ...

, daughter of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

Jerzy Mniszech Jerzy Mniszech (c. 1548 – 1613) was a Polish nobleman and diplomat in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Member of the House of Mniszech. Krajczy koronny in 1574, castellan of Radom in 1583, voivode of Sandomierz Voivodship in 1590, � ...

and his wife ''Jadwiga Tarło''. He was a claimant to the throne of the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...

until his death at the age of three, in July 1614. He was killed right after his step-father, Ivan Zarutsky.

Early life

False Dmitry I, False Dmitry II and Marina Mniszech

In November 1605,

married False Dmitry I, Tsar of Russia and thus became Tsarita consort of All Russia. However, this lasted less than a year. On 17 May 1606, conspirators who opposed Dmitri and his policy of close cooperation with Poland, broke into the Moscow Kremlin. Dmitry attempted to escape out a window, but he broke his leg while climbing out. He was immediately spotted by a plotter and he was shot on the spot. After the death of False Dmitry I, Marina was spared her lifeafter she had rejected her royal titleand sent back to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in July 1608. However, her father

didn't give up on his plan to become father-in-law of the

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 ...

. Exiled to

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...

, he searched for a way to regain his favours. With his help, Marina turned up in

Tushino Tushino ( rus, Тушино, p=ˈtuʂɨnə) is a former village and town to the north of Moscow, which has been part of the city's area since 1960. Between 1939 and 1960, Tushino was classed as a separate town. The Skhodnya River flows across the ...

, where she would secretly marry another impostor,

False Dmitry II False Dmitry II ( rus, Лжедмитрий II, Lzhedmitrii II; died ), historically known as Pseudo-Demetrius II and also called "тушинский вор" ("rebel/criminal of Tushino"), was the second of three pretenders to the Russian throne ...

after "recognizing" her miraculously "salvaged" husband in him, even though they looked absolutely nothing alike and it was impossible for Dmitry I to have been saved, as his body had been put for display after his murder. Polish

hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Stanisław Żółkiewski Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, magnate, military commander and a chancellor of the Polish crown of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, who took part in many campaigns ...

wrote in his memoirs that the only two things False Dmitris I and II had in common was that they were both human and usurpers. This marriage would soon share the same fate as her previous one, as Dmitry II was killed by a

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

prince, Peter Urusov.

Birth of the Tsarevich and Ivan Zarutsky

After the 10 December 1610 murder of

, Marina was once again left widowed. She was, this time, however, pregnant and on 5 January 1611 ( O.S. 26 December 1610), she delivered a baby boy, whom she named Ivan. The infant was subsequently nicknamed ''Little Rogue'', ''Baby Brigand'' or ''Luba''. She met Cossack

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

Ivan Zarutsky and by April 1611, they were married. Zarutsky took a liking to little Ivan, and using the fact that Marina was a widow of two Tsars, he proclaimed four-month-old Ivan ''"Ivan Dmitriyevich"'' (literally, ''Ivan, son of Dmitry''). Patriarch Hermogenes, however, called Ivan "little сriminal". Zarutsky was thinking he would have established his position as ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' ruler of the

for a long time. He was, however, dethroned, and he and Marina had to flee to

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

Death

When Tsar Michael I of Russia was elected, the citizens of

wanted the pretender and his family to leave the town. In 1614 an uprising of townspeople was aimed solely at capturing the family. They fled into the steppes to escape. A month later, in May 1614, after failing to gather support for a Cossack uprising, they were captured by the Cossacks near the

Yaik River The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia ...

and handed over to the government. Marina was imprisoned in the

Kolomna Kremlin Kolomna Kremlin () is a very large fortress in Kolomna, Russia. The stone Kolomna Kremlin was built from 1525–1531 under the Russian Tsar Vasily III. Before its reconstruction in 1531, the Kolomna Kremlin was made of wood. On its territory ...

tower and Ivan and Zarutsky were brought to

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 ...

. Zarutsky was impaled. Three-year-old Ivan was publicly hanged on in Moscow, near the Serpukhov Gate. According to one account, he was too light for the drop to break his neck and died slowly of strangulation. Just five months after the deaths of her son and husband, Marina died in prison on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1614.

Early life

False Dmitry I, False Dmitry II and Marina Mniszech

Birth of the Tsarevich and Ivan Zarutsky

Death

References

Bibliography

See also