Three imposters claimed to be the assassinated son of Ivan the Terrible, Prince Dmitry - but the first of the fraudsters got the furthest, actually being crowned Tzar on 10th June, 1605, and reigning over Russia for almost a year.

His name was Grigory Otrepiev - now more often known as ‘False Dmitry I’ - and he’d come to power despite a previous coup (in which he led a rebel army of Lithuanian and Polish nobles, Jesuits and Cossacks) having failed.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how he overcame this military defeat to seize power anyway; ask why so many Muscovites were prepared to state he was the ‘real’ Dmitry when he quite plainly wasn’t; and reveal whose testicles he ripped off to (very briefly) achieve his dreams…

Further Reading:

• ‘Grigory Otrepiev - the first of Lzhedmitriyev’ (Unansea): ​​

https://en.unansea.com/grigory-otrepiev-the-first-of-lzhedmitriyev/

• ‘Russia: A History, by Derek B Lange’ (New Word City, 2018): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Russia_A_History/UO1jDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=false+dmitry+i&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Weird History Sock Puppet Theatre: False Dmitry I’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYta60nyY0k

#Russia #1600s #crime #Royals

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

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