or Pseudo-Demetrius
Any of three pretenders to the Muscovite throne who, during the Time of Troubles , claimed to be Ivan IV 's child Dmitry Ivanovich, who had died mysteriously while still a child, possibly murdered at the order of Boris Godunov .
The first False Dmitry challenged Godunov's right to the throne and was proclaimed tsar in 1605. In 1606 he was murdered by Vasily Shuysky (15521612), who succeeded him. Rumors spread that Dmitry had survived, and a second pretender gained a large following before being killed in 1610. A third False Dmitry appeared in 1611, gaining the allegiance of the Cossacks and the inhabitants of Pskov, but he was executed in 1612.