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Death of Tsar Dimitri II of Russia

When
1606
Where
Russia
Episodes
2

In May 1606, Vasili Shuisky brought about the death of the reigning tsar, identified as False Dmitry I, by stating the real Dmitry had been slain and the current ruler was an impostor. Following this, Shuisky's adherents proclaimed him tsar on May 19, 1606.

Episodes

  1. May 1606 · RussiaKilling of the Tsar

    Shuisky brought about the death of the tsar by stating the real Dmitry had been slain and the current ruler was an impostor in May 1606.

  2. May 19, 1606 · RussiaProclamation of Shuisky

    Shuisky was proclaimed tsar by his adherents on May 19, 1606, following the death of the previous ruler.

Background and detail

Political Context. Vasili Shuisky was a leading boyar during the reigns of Feodor I and Boris Godunov. After the death of Boris Godunov and the accession of his son Feodor II in 1605, Shuisky initially supported the pretender False Dmitry I to gain favor, though he later turned against him.

The Killing of the Tsar. Shuisky brought about the death of the reigning tsar in May 1606 by stating that the real Dmitry had been slain and that the current ruler was an impostor. The tsar was identified as False Dmitry I.

Succession. After the death of the tsar, Shuisky's adherents proclaimed him tsar on May 19, 1606. This marked the beginning of his rule, which lasted until 1610. He was the last member of the Rurikid dynasty to rule as tsar.

People involved

Sources

  1. Vasili IV of Russia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-10

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.