False Dmitry II

False Dmitry II (; died ), historically known as Pseudo-Demetrius II and also called ("the rebel/criminal 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, during the Time of Troubles. The real Dmitry had died under uncertain circumstances, most likely an assassination 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 20 July 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 falsely confessed under torture that he was Tsarevich Dmitry, whereupon he was taken at his word and joined by thousands of Cossacks, Poles, and Muscovites. Dunning states, "According tradition, the future 'Tsar Dmitrii' was at the time of his 'discovery' a priest's servant and teacher who lived for some time in the town of Shklov in Belorussia." In the winter of 1606-7, unemployed and reduced to begging, Pan Miechowikci noticed the beggar looked similar to Dmitrii, and eventually convinced the beggar to learn the role of "Dmitrii." In May 1607, accompanied by two aides, the impostor crossed the border and made his way to Starodub. In 1608, following a peace agreement with King Sigismund, Tsar Vasilii agreed to release Tsar Dmitrii's father-in-law, Jerzy Mniszech, and widow, Marina Mniszech. They soon joined the second false Dmitrii's camp in Tushino, where she "recognized" her late husband in this second Dmitry. According to Dunning, "On the Tushino impostor's boyar council sat such powerful men as Mikhail G. Saltykov and Dmitrii Trubetskoi. They were soon joined by several of Tsar Dmitrii's former courtiers, including Grigorii Shakhovskoi and Mikhail Molchanov. The Saltykov and Romanov families were by far the most influential Russians in Tushino. The arrival in Tushino of Jan Piotr Sapieha with seven thousand cavalrymen in August speeded up rebel military activity."