Career
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 confessed under torture that he was Tsarevich Dmitry, whereupon he was taken at his word and joined by thousands of Cossacks, Poles, and Muscovites. This brought him the support of the magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who had supported False Dmitry I. Adam Wiśniowiecki, Roman Różyński, and January Sapieha decided to support the second pretender as well, supplying him with some early funds and 7500 soldiers, among them Aleksander Józef Lisowski, leader of the infamous mercenary band later known as Lisowczycy.
He quickly captured Karachev, Bryansk, and other towns, was reinforced by the Poles, and in the spring of 1608 advanced upon Moscow, routing the army of Tsar Vasily Shuisky at Bolkhov. Promises of the wholesale confiscation of the estates of the boyars drew many common people to his side.
The village of Tushino, twelve versts from the capital, was converted into an armed camp where Dmitry gathered his army.
His forces soon exceeded 100,000 mentor Having drunk deep at dinner..he ordered a sleigh to be harnessed, taking flasks of mead to the sleigh. Coming out into the open country, he drank with some boyars.
Prince Peter Urusov, together with those several score horsemen with whom he was in league, was riding after him, apparently escorting him.
And when the imposter had drunk very well with the boyars, Urusov drew from his holster a pistol which he had ready, and galloping up to the sleigh first shot him with the pistol, then cutting off his head and hand with his saber, took to the road.
