WEBVTT - Will the Real Tsar Dmitri Please Stand Up? (Part 2)

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm

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<v Speaker 1>and Mild from Aaron Manky listener discretion advised. Just before

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<v Speaker 1>midnight on May sixteenth, sixteen oh six, a courtier and

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<v Speaker 1>several of his accomplices nervously waded in the palace shadows,

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<v Speaker 1>with traders potentially lurking in every corner of the Kremlin.

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<v Speaker 1>Speed and stealth were vital, but also nearly impossible considering

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<v Speaker 1>the group's mission sneaking twenty five horses out of the

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<v Speaker 1>Tsar's private stable. This was no theft, however, no devious

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<v Speaker 1>horse heist. The courtier Mikhail Milkanov had been tasked with

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<v Speaker 1>securing this royal herd by their owner himself, Tsar Dmitri.

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<v Speaker 1>Milkanov was one of the Emperor's closest associates and had

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<v Speaker 1>helped hatch this escape plan after Dimiti learned of a

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<v Speaker 1>post wedding assassination plot against him that was set to

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<v Speaker 1>kick off in mere hours. Milkanov had tasked and experienced

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<v Speaker 1>stable hand with gathering the horses, But was that man trustworthy?

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<v Speaker 1>Could this risky getaway possibly work? The tense moments ticked past,

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<v Speaker 1>until at last the stable hand delivered the horses as

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<v Speaker 1>covertly as he could. Milkanov and his men met up

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<v Speaker 1>with a disguised Tsar Dmitri and successfully helped him flee

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<v Speaker 1>Moscow under cover of darkness, so that he could then

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<v Speaker 1>travel incognito and daringly test the true loyalty of his

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<v Speaker 1>subjects and purportedly devoted lords. Or so goes this alternate

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<v Speaker 1>version of events. After Vasili Shwisky initiated his murderous plan

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<v Speaker 1>and grotesquely paraded Czar Dmitri's supposed by through the streets,

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<v Speaker 1>Milkanov began to spread his dramatic tale. Within days, the Tsar,

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<v Speaker 1>he said actually escaped, and a few details did add

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<v Speaker 1>a sniff of plausibility. For example, twenty five horses did

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<v Speaker 1>go missing from Zar Dmitri's stables. Milkanov also had Dmitri's

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<v Speaker 1>favorite Turkish horse and state seal to back up his claim,

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<v Speaker 1>and vasily reportedly had that skillful stable hand tortured, hoping

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<v Speaker 1>to make him reveal that he had not actually helped

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<v Speaker 1>Dmitri survive, But that poor stable hand, apparently deeply loyal

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<v Speaker 1>to Dmitri after all, died without admitting a thing. Milkanov

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<v Speaker 1>gradually headed for Poland Lithuania, and has been credited by

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<v Speaker 1>some historians as having done more to keep the legend

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<v Speaker 1>of Zar Dmitri alive than any other individual. Vulkanov achieved

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<v Speaker 1>this by not only spinning his yarn that the Czar

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<v Speaker 1>and his horses had artfully escaped their enemies, but by

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<v Speaker 1>also pretending to be Dmitri himself. Milkanov did not bear

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<v Speaker 1>much resemblance to Dmitri, but he knew him so well

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<v Speaker 1>that he could defintely imitate him while traveling among less

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<v Speaker 1>familiar townsfolk. In spite of these efforts, Milkanov is typically

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<v Speaker 1>not even included by scholars as one of the main

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<v Speaker 1>quote false Dmitris because although he elicited considerable Dmitri loyalty

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<v Speaker 1>in certain localities, Milkanov was already too well known in

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<v Speaker 1>Moscow and other power circles to continue to play the role.

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<v Speaker 1>Since the original Czar Dmitri was seemingly never seen or

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<v Speaker 1>heard from again, Milkanov essentially served as a stand in

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<v Speaker 1>who stoke the fires of rebellion until eventually you guessed it.

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<v Speaker 1>The time came to debut a new Dmitri. I'm Danish

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<v Speaker 1>forts and this is noble blood, how was yet another

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<v Speaker 1>man and eventually more after that, able to somewhat successfully

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<v Speaker 1>assume the same Dmitri identity. Much like franchise movie sequels

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<v Speaker 1>or knockoff rollis'es. The market for them was clearly there,

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<v Speaker 1>and to fully understand how Russia's impersonator supply kept up

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<v Speaker 1>with the Dmitri demand, we must first look at the

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<v Speaker 1>unstable situation in Moscow. Following the death of the man

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<v Speaker 1>who had seized power under the name Zar Dmitri, Vasily

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<v Speaker 1>quickly finagled his way into becoming the new Czar. Vasily's

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<v Speaker 1>transition to the throne was rocky, though many accounts have

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<v Speaker 1>pegged Vasily as a cunning strategist, particularly accounts he commissioned

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<v Speaker 1>and or those that conveniently ignore his less cunning plans

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<v Speaker 1>that backfired in farcical ways, But compared to his predecessor,

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<v Speaker 1>Vasily was less respected in the capitol, where many nobles

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<v Speaker 1>reportedly saw him as a detestable trader, and he was

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<v Speaker 1>far less well liked than Dmitri. Within the larger realm,

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<v Speaker 1>Vasily has been unfavorably depicted as a stocky, balding, and

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<v Speaker 1>exceedingly near sighted man who apparently looked fairly ridiculous, yet

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<v Speaker 1>still intimidated his opponents through tireless scheming and betraying. This

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<v Speaker 1>is by no means to say that a ruler's overall

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<v Speaker 1>effectiveness hinges on their looks or benevolence or reluctant to fearmonger.

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<v Speaker 1>There are plenty of historical cases that prove otherwise. But

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<v Speaker 1>unfortunately for Vasily when it came to winning broad support,

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<v Speaker 1>he also did not have many other common image enhancing

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<v Speaker 1>factors to help his case among either the noble classes

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<v Speaker 1>or the wider population. Vasily was of a.

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<v Speaker 2>Royal background, but even putting aside the whole committing regicide issue,

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<v Speaker 2>any assertion of him being a proper heir was murky

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<v Speaker 2>at best. Vasily also did not naturally come off as

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<v Speaker 2>a battle tested hero or military mastermind, and unlike Czar

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<v Speaker 2>Dmitri with his Jesus esque resurrection, Vasily lacked a compelling

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<v Speaker 2>origin story that was anywhere near as interesting or easy

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<v Speaker 2>to sell to the masses. Throughout his time in power,

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<v Speaker 2>Vasily tried to boost his own legitimacy and combat wild

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<v Speaker 2>rooms us about his popular predecessor in numerous ways, ways

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<v Speaker 2>which often involved spreading wild rumors about his popular predecessor.

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<v Speaker 2>He eagerly picked up where czar Boris had left off

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<v Speaker 2>by launching a dramatic propaganda campaign to discredit Dmitri. Remember

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<v Speaker 2>grigory Otrepev, the defract Monk, the supposed alter ego of

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<v Speaker 2>the supposed Tzar. Vasily incessantly endorsed the idea that the

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<v Speaker 2>pretender Dmitri had undoubtedly been that dabbler in the dark

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<v Speaker 2>arts all along, and went to great lengths with his

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<v Speaker 2>related scare tactics. For example, Vasily allegedly staged a ghoulish

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<v Speaker 2>incident where Dmitri's corpse suddenly appeared at a churchyard far

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<v Speaker 2>from where it had been buried the weak prior, so

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<v Speaker 2>that spooky stories would spread. Then, claiming that the earth

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<v Speaker 2>was clearly refusing to accept the body of an evil sorcerer,

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<v Speaker 2>Vasily had Dmitri's remains burned in one of the forts

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<v Speaker 2>Dmitri had commissioned, and, according to an apocryphal sounding legend,

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<v Speaker 2>ordered his ashes to be fired from a cannon aimed

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<v Speaker 2>in the direction from which the so called Sarvich and

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<v Speaker 2>his army had marched into Moscow. Along the way, Vasily

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<v Speaker 2>continued to promote correlated notions that the heretic Dmitri was

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<v Speaker 2>a tool of the devil, had impregnated thirty nuns, was

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<v Speaker 2>maybe even the actual Antichrist, and so on. Sure, this

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<v Speaker 2>strategy hadn't worked the first time around, but doubling down

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<v Speaker 2>on thoroughly demonizing the formers are which surely release people

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<v Speaker 2>from their sacred obligation to support him as a monarch.

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<v Speaker 2>Right far from it, Vasily's macab displays and scary accusations

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<v Speaker 2>seemingly just confused or alienated sizable portions of Russian society.

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<v Speaker 2>Many citizens were stout in their Russian Orthodox beliefs, and

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<v Speaker 2>some presumably bought Vasili's stories, but many others were just

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<v Speaker 2>fatigued by Vasili's rumor mill and skeptical of his desperate

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<v Speaker 2>copying of Boris's talking points. Again, it's worth noting that

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<v Speaker 2>the whole painting your political adversary as a demon gambit

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<v Speaker 2>had been so frequently deployed by that point that an

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<v Speaker 2>average Russian on the street might have been hard pressed

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<v Speaker 2>to name a former ruler who hadn't maybe had a

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<v Speaker 2>chat or two with Satan. But a more important factor

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<v Speaker 2>is that Dmitri had made many promises to towns, soldiers,

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<v Speaker 2>and exiled families in order to gain their support during

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<v Speaker 2>his Civil war crusade back before he died, and he

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<v Speaker 2>had started to deliver on those debts once he became Czar. Vassal,

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<v Speaker 2>on the other hand, had not specifically promised these groups

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<v Speaker 2>nearly as many legal or financial rewards. So when Mikhail

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<v Speaker 2>Milkanov aka stand in Dmitri and his associates traveled throughout

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<v Speaker 2>the countryside building up the myth of Dmitri's miraculous escape,

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<v Speaker 2>many of Dmitri's ambitious supporters quickly backed the cause once

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<v Speaker 2>again and revived their civil war fighting. As this rebellion

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<v Speaker 2>neared critical mass in early sixteen o seven, an individual

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<v Speaker 2>emerged in dramatic fashion, claiming yet again to be the

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<v Speaker 2>true Czar Dmitri. Russia had not even had to wait

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<v Speaker 2>a full year to get there. Exciting, if somewhat slap

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<v Speaker 2>dash sequel. The origins of the man who would later

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<v Speaker 2>be referred to by many as False Dmitri, the second

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<v Speaker 2>or second False Dmitrie, are similarly foggy to those of

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<v Speaker 2>Czar Dmitri, who we will now refer to as False

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<v Speaker 2>Dmitrie number one, not because we're fully upholding the arguments

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<v Speaker 2>of various detractors, but for the sake of historians, naming

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<v Speaker 2>conventions and basic clarity, just to keep all of the

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<v Speaker 2>Dmitris straight. Apparently, False Dmitri number two was a similar

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<v Speaker 2>height to False Dmitri the First, but only vaguely resembled him.

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<v Speaker 2>Most accounts described False Dmitri the Second as well educated,

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<v Speaker 2>having been able to write in Russian as well as Polish, which,

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<v Speaker 2>similar to the prior Dmitri, would have helped him gain

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<v Speaker 2>support in both countries. His handwriting apparently even looked like

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<v Speaker 2>False Dmitri the firsts, although this could have been thanks

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<v Speaker 2>to help from stand in Dmitri, who could have closely

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<v Speaker 2>modeled the first Dmitri's penmanship for the second Dmitri. Regarding

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<v Speaker 2>the background of False Dmitri the Second, consistent facts are

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<v Speaker 2>hard to come by. Some sources pinpoint him as a

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<v Speaker 2>Jew named Bogden. This is largely based on the fact

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<v Speaker 2>that Hebrew writings and a copy of the p Tulmud

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<v Speaker 2>were reportedly posthumously found in his belongings. Many other accounts

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<v Speaker 2>also represent him as someone far less refined or from

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<v Speaker 2>a low socioeconomic class, possibly the son of a coach

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<v Speaker 2>driver or blacksmith. Maybe he was an apprentice himself, or

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<v Speaker 2>a cossack, or maybe a teacher. According to many contemporary sources,

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<v Speaker 2>False Dmitri the second also had some association with the church,

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<v Speaker 2>since he was knowledgeable when it came to certain Russian

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<v Speaker 2>Orthodox traditions. So he was probably, they say, the son

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<v Speaker 2>of a priest, or maybe a priest's servant. But he

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<v Speaker 2>was also seemingly a beggar when determined rebel agents were

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<v Speaker 2>out looking for lookalikes, or if you were sympathetic to

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<v Speaker 2>their spin, when they were out trying to locate the

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<v Speaker 2>true Czar, who was certainly alive and had in no

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<v Speaker 2>way been cremated and shot out of a cannon, So

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<v Speaker 2>that would make False Dmitri the second a priest's servant

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<v Speaker 2>turned beggar. Some accounts explained this progression through a salacious

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<v Speaker 2>story about how he was a priest's servant, but how

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<v Speaker 2>he had been turned out into the street when he

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<v Speaker 2>was caught in bed with the wife of the priest

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<v Speaker 2>he had been serving. Whatever this man's pre Dmitri identity,

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<v Speaker 2>the general consensus among many historians seems to be that

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<v Speaker 2>False Dmitri the Second did not want to be Czar

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<v Speaker 2>Dmitri at all, but after being found, jailed and threatened

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<v Speaker 2>with execution, he agreed that yes, he definitely was the

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<v Speaker 2>real Dmitri. That said, having only just remembered that he

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<v Speaker 2>was Dmitri te he needed training and then a big

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<v Speaker 2>unveiling in May sixteen o seven. The town of Stardob

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<v Speaker 2>was chosen by rebel leaders as a good place for

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<v Speaker 2>this because of the helpful fact that the people there

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<v Speaker 2>were not remotely familiar with what Zar Dmitri had been

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<v Speaker 2>like in person. In a carefully engineered event, surprisingly similar

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<v Speaker 2>to an episode of Undercover Boss, False Dmitri the Second

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<v Speaker 2>arrived to town under an alias and asks around as

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<v Speaker 2>to what people thought of Zar Dmitri and if they'd

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<v Speaker 2>want him back in power again, and then aha, in

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<v Speaker 2>a flashy public display, he revealed himself to be Zar Dmitri.

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<v Speaker 2>All along he had been hiding as a test to

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<v Speaker 2>judge their loyalty, and they'd passed. The whole spectacle supposedly

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<v Speaker 2>really stirred up the town and won over its occupants.

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<v Speaker 2>False Dmitri the Second then continued to gain support, but

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<v Speaker 2>his rise also came at a great cost. His military

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<v Speaker 2>forces slogged through bloody battles, sieges, and starvation as they

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<v Speaker 2>fought against Tsar Vassili's army, facing steep obstacles preventing them

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<v Speaker 2>from sweeping into Moscow. False Dmitri the Second and his

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<v Speaker 2>rebel group set up a rival capital in the village

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<v Speaker 2>of Tashino, which led to a messy, confusing, and wide

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<v Speaker 2>ranging conflict that split the country in a sense. For

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<v Speaker 2>over a year, Russia had two tsars, two capitals, and

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<v Speaker 2>two armies. Along the way, False Dmitri the second political

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<v Speaker 2>alliances became extremely fraught, since, for various reasons, he had

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<v Speaker 2>to accept into his circle several other impostors who were

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<v Speaker 2>also pretending to be the sons of powerful men, some

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<v Speaker 2>of whom themselves were impostors. It's difficult to avoid being

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<v Speaker 2>hyperbolic in parts of the story like this, but it

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<v Speaker 2>basically got to the point that had you been sitting

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<v Speaker 2>in a war planning meeting with False Dmitri the Second

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<v Speaker 2>and looked to the person on your left and then

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<v Speaker 2>to your right, at least one of them would have

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<v Speaker 2>been an impostor, if not all three of you. During

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<v Speaker 2>this time, zar vasily tried to speed up peace negotiations

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<v Speaker 2>by releasing key prisoners to appease False Dmitri the Second.

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<v Speaker 2>Polish supporters, including the wife and father in law of

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<v Speaker 2>False Dmitri the First, vasily strictly ordered False Dmitri the

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<v Speaker 2>First's widow, Marina and her father stick directly with their

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<v Speaker 2>convoy and after reaching Poland Lithuania that they were under

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<v Speaker 2>no circumstances to go join False Dmitri the Second where

0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:56.920
<v Speaker 2>they could declare him to be Marina's miraculously surviving husband.

0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:01.360
<v Speaker 2>So naturally, after getting captured by rubber, Marina and her

0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:04.879
<v Speaker 2>dad met up with False Dmitri the Second, and after

0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:09.120
<v Speaker 2>some negotiations about her future, she declared that he truly

0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:14.000
<v Speaker 2>was Tsar Dmitri, her husband. He had survived, after all,

0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:19.160
<v Speaker 2>what a miracle. This boosted the legitimacy of False Dmitri

0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:23.320
<v Speaker 2>the Second, and by sixteen eight more than half of

0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:28.359
<v Speaker 2>Russia recognized him as Tsar Dmitri. But this upswing also

0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:35.680
<v Speaker 2>brought many more Dmitris. Given how the story of Dmitri

0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:41.919
<v Speaker 2>surviving assassination attempts clearly captivated people, Russia became a hotbed

0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:46.320
<v Speaker 2>for pretenders hoping to use the same formula for themselves.

0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:50.640
<v Speaker 2>During the later stages of the Civil War, about ten

0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:55.960
<v Speaker 2>more copycats claimed to be Czar Dmitri. These fellows do

0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:59.040
<v Speaker 2>not typically even make it into the top tier of

0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:03.800
<v Speaker 2>scholars fall Dmitri lists, since many of them barely scratched

0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:09.920
<v Speaker 2>the surface of plausibility or garnered any traction at all. Still,

0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:14.840
<v Speaker 2>all this Dmitri duplication led many Russians to lose faith

0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:19.280
<v Speaker 2>in False Dmitri the Second. Desperate to curry favor with

0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:23.600
<v Speaker 2>certain lords and rejuvenate his public support, False Dmitri the

0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:29.080
<v Speaker 2>Second reportedly began offering rewards to those who found Pseudosavich's

0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.960
<v Speaker 2>roaming around and brought them to him. He even resorted

0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:37.400
<v Speaker 2>to executing other impostors in his own circle, some who

0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:41.640
<v Speaker 2>he'd previously claimed were his close relatives, to prove that

0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:46.480
<v Speaker 2>he was real and he would not tolerate fakes. However,

0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:51.280
<v Speaker 2>False Dmitri the Second's influence was unraveling too fast for

0:18:51.359 --> 0:18:55.359
<v Speaker 2>him to stop. Unlike the more open and forward thinking

0:18:55.520 --> 0:19:00.840
<v Speaker 2>ruling style of the first Dmitri, the Second Dmitri's court was,

0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:06.200
<v Speaker 2>by most accounts the opposite. It was guarded, paranoid, snobbish,

0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:10.520
<v Speaker 2>and cruel. False Dmitri the Second lost the support of

0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:15.160
<v Speaker 2>his advisers, and by letting his soldiers looting and pillaging

0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:20.000
<v Speaker 2>go unchecked, he lost the support of townsfolk. False Dmitri

0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.920
<v Speaker 2>the Second fled Tashino as his forces turned on him,

0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:28.760
<v Speaker 2>but soon mistreated those around him so egregiously that the

0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:33.520
<v Speaker 2>captain of his own bodyguard killed him on December eleventh,

0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:38.400
<v Speaker 2>sixteen ten, while they were out sleigh riding. In addition

0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:42.320
<v Speaker 2>to costing False Dmitri the Second his life, this bloody

0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:47.800
<v Speaker 2>chapter of Russian history also sealed Czar Vasili's fate. Plagued

0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:52.399
<v Speaker 2>by backlash over his handling of this civil war, Vasily

0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:56.760
<v Speaker 2>was ousted, forced to be a monk, and imprisoned. He

0:19:56.840 --> 0:20:01.360
<v Speaker 2>died a couple years later. What a rim and tragic

0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:05.520
<v Speaker 2>end to the time of troubles Huh, Nope, hold on

0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:09.160
<v Speaker 2>to your fur hats, because it's time for False Dmitri

0:20:09.560 --> 0:20:17.000
<v Speaker 2>number three. Don't worry. Within the hem czar studded cast

0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:21.240
<v Speaker 2>of False Dmitri's False Dmitri the Third's time in the

0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:25.879
<v Speaker 2>spotlight is the briefest and least complicated. Who was he?

0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:30.760
<v Speaker 2>Possibly a deacon or a trader. He purportedly ended up

0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:35.240
<v Speaker 2>as a beggar in Novgorod, when sometime in sixteen eleven

0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:38.760
<v Speaker 2>he or purportedly those who put him up to it,

0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:43.440
<v Speaker 2>revealed his identity to be Dmitri, and he attracted some

0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:49.199
<v Speaker 2>broader support. Like the first, false Dmitri, the third was

0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:53.520
<v Speaker 2>said to be a great speaker and gained popularity among

0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:58.640
<v Speaker 2>Cossack groups who had backed prior Dmitri iterations. The third's

0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:02.960
<v Speaker 2>popularity act actually grew to the point that several higher

0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:07.440
<v Speaker 2>up nobles in the agitated political scene in Moscow once

0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:11.640
<v Speaker 2>again had to publicly back him this time, though their

0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:15.560
<v Speaker 2>hearts just weren't that in it. In secret, several of

0:21:15.600 --> 0:21:18.840
<v Speaker 2>the men trying to seize power at the Kremlin saw

0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:22.159
<v Speaker 2>the Third as a nuisance and work together to have

0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:27.920
<v Speaker 2>him captured and hanged in sixteen twelve, but that only

0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:33.240
<v Speaker 2>paved the way for False Dmitri the fourth. Kidding mostly,

0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:38.439
<v Speaker 2>there were a few rumors over the years about Dmitri resurrections,

0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:42.000
<v Speaker 2>but some of these might have been due to erroneous

0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:46.199
<v Speaker 2>reporting or accounting, and we have now covered the most

0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:52.320
<v Speaker 2>influential branches of our dense Dmitri tree. After several more

0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:57.000
<v Speaker 2>years of fighting and fierce political jostling. The time of

0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:01.119
<v Speaker 2>the troubles essentially came to an end in sixteen thirteen,

0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:06.240
<v Speaker 2>when Russia started to accept the Romanov dynasty as legitimate

0:22:06.680 --> 0:22:11.280
<v Speaker 2>and citizens went about trying to rebuild their war torn country.

0:22:12.040 --> 0:22:16.320
<v Speaker 2>Although the odd and tragic period of the false Dmitries

0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:22.760
<v Speaker 2>was relatively brief, their collective story continues to fascinate why.

0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:28.120
<v Speaker 2>In addition to having served up numerous uniquely absurd details,

0:22:28.520 --> 0:22:33.840
<v Speaker 2>the procession of impostors brings up intriguing questions of identity

0:22:34.400 --> 0:22:38.000
<v Speaker 2>on an individual scale and for Russia as a whole.

0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:42.680
<v Speaker 2>It's important to remember that at this time, the Russian

0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:49.840
<v Speaker 2>population was extremely widespread and largely illiterate. Accurate salient news

0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:54.520
<v Speaker 2>was hard to come by, so two institutional constants that

0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:58.320
<v Speaker 2>citizens put their trust in were the sovereignty of Russia

0:22:58.440 --> 0:23:03.160
<v Speaker 2>and the Russian Orthodox Church. At various points, the figure

0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:07.040
<v Speaker 2>of Zar Dmitri offered them a chance to actively fight

0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:12.520
<v Speaker 2>for both. So to say Russian people were repeatedly embarrassingly

0:23:12.720 --> 0:23:17.520
<v Speaker 2>duped is perhaps not giving them enough credit. Given the

0:23:17.720 --> 0:23:21.919
<v Speaker 2>information and resources available, combined with the fact that so

0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:25.320
<v Speaker 2>many of them were in grave debt and or starving,

0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:29.960
<v Speaker 2>it's understandable for them to put their faith in a hopeful,

0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:36.520
<v Speaker 2>battle tested legend supposedly capable of near christlike miracles. Beyond

0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:41.240
<v Speaker 2>these loftier motivations, it's possible that some Russians support of

0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:46.800
<v Speaker 2>Zar Dmitri revealed a very practical desire for stability. Power

0:23:46.840 --> 0:23:52.000
<v Speaker 2>struggles meant bloodshed and steep taxes. Even for those skeptical

0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:56.640
<v Speaker 2>of the rumors of miraculous escapes, the regal and righteous

0:23:56.760 --> 0:24:01.680
<v Speaker 2>seeming Zar Dmitri, whoever he was, may have been significantly

0:24:01.840 --> 0:24:06.679
<v Speaker 2>preferable to lesser known usurpers, if only for the sake

0:24:06.800 --> 0:24:12.119
<v Speaker 2>of having a semblance of order, stability, and tradition. As

0:24:12.160 --> 0:24:16.600
<v Speaker 2>for Dmitri, he was both a person or series of people,

0:24:17.160 --> 0:24:22.879
<v Speaker 2>but also an enduring idea. As a symbol, Dmitri galvanized

0:24:22.960 --> 0:24:27.440
<v Speaker 2>the masses and for centuries to come inspired creative works

0:24:27.480 --> 0:24:32.680
<v Speaker 2>of fiction, theater, music, and poetry. In some ways, Dmitri

0:24:33.000 --> 0:24:38.320
<v Speaker 2>was also an aspirational fantasy. For a brief period in Russia,

0:24:38.440 --> 0:24:41.880
<v Speaker 2>there was basically an open casting call for an emperor.

0:24:42.359 --> 0:24:45.600
<v Speaker 2>You could be a peasant, a beggar and alleged demon,

0:24:45.680 --> 0:24:50.040
<v Speaker 2>accommodating former monk, and be plucked from obscurity and given

0:24:50.040 --> 0:24:55.520
<v Speaker 2>the keys to the Kremlin. It's basically Russian American idol Czar.

0:24:55.600 --> 0:24:59.520
<v Speaker 2>Dmitri's narrative was a classic rags to riches tale, so

0:24:59.720 --> 0:25:03.679
<v Speaker 2>intent icing that it begged to be repeated again and again.

0:25:04.400 --> 0:25:08.480
<v Speaker 2>And can we fully scoff at those involved, considering we've

0:25:08.520 --> 0:25:12.440
<v Speaker 2>all probably fantasized about sitting on a throne at some point,

0:25:12.960 --> 0:25:17.720
<v Speaker 2>maybe deep down we all have a little Dmitri in us.

0:25:19.520 --> 0:25:22.240
<v Speaker 2>That's the end of the second part of the deja

0:25:22.359 --> 0:25:25.959
<v Speaker 2>vu filled story of the False Dmitries. But stick around

0:25:26.000 --> 0:25:29.800
<v Speaker 2>after a brief sponsor break to hear about one more

0:25:29.840 --> 0:25:41.800
<v Speaker 2>supposed Dmitri who baffled Russia. In these False Dmitri chronicles,

0:25:41.840 --> 0:25:45.200
<v Speaker 2>the Dmitries are all intriguing, but just like in any

0:25:45.240 --> 0:25:49.520
<v Speaker 2>decent series of comic books or action movies, every legendary

0:25:49.560 --> 0:25:54.120
<v Speaker 2>hero needs a worthy foil, and in Vasily Shwisky, this

0:25:54.200 --> 0:25:59.440
<v Speaker 2>story has a fascinating antagonist and case study in contradiction.

0:26:00.240 --> 0:26:06.159
<v Speaker 2>In analyzing Vasily's battles against various Dmitri incarnations, it's hard

0:26:06.359 --> 0:26:10.280
<v Speaker 2>not to picture Vasily as everything from a cunning schemer

0:26:10.400 --> 0:26:14.119
<v Speaker 2>to a ridiculous arch villain shrieking at his underlings for

0:26:14.280 --> 0:26:18.760
<v Speaker 2>failing to dispatch his death defying rival. The time of

0:26:18.840 --> 0:26:22.879
<v Speaker 2>the Troubles may have been a pinnacle for pretenderism, but

0:26:22.960 --> 0:26:27.840
<v Speaker 2>it was also a heyday for hypocrites, perhaps none bigger

0:26:27.920 --> 0:26:33.119
<v Speaker 2>than Vasily. For instance, after spending years promoting falsehoods about

0:26:33.119 --> 0:26:36.439
<v Speaker 2>how Dmitri was a dark sorcerer in the League with Satan,

0:26:36.960 --> 0:26:40.119
<v Speaker 2>when Vasily feared that he was losing the war to

0:26:40.240 --> 0:26:45.080
<v Speaker 2>false Dmitri the Second, he allegedly looked into dark sorcery himself.

0:26:45.800 --> 0:26:48.920
<v Speaker 2>In an even wilder turn of events, There is actually

0:26:49.080 --> 0:26:52.840
<v Speaker 2>one more type of false Dmitri we have not yet discussed,

0:26:53.200 --> 0:26:57.160
<v Speaker 2>one whose inclusion is debatable, since he never sought to rule,

0:26:57.640 --> 0:27:01.760
<v Speaker 2>but whom Vasily had no one but himself to blame

0:27:01.960 --> 0:27:07.280
<v Speaker 2>for creating. After usurping the throne, Vasily sought to further

0:27:07.480 --> 0:27:11.359
<v Speaker 2>discredit false Dmitri the First by having the body of

0:27:11.480 --> 0:27:14.399
<v Speaker 2>the young boy Dmitri, the one who died when he

0:27:14.480 --> 0:27:17.439
<v Speaker 2>was eight years old, dug up under the guise of

0:27:17.520 --> 0:27:21.480
<v Speaker 2>honoring him as a martyr. He had the exhumed Tsarevich

0:27:21.560 --> 0:27:27.160
<v Speaker 2>paraded around while spreading propaganda that the amazingly well preserved

0:27:27.240 --> 0:27:32.680
<v Speaker 2>body of this true Dmitri could perform miracles and emitted

0:27:32.760 --> 0:27:38.080
<v Speaker 2>a sublime fragrance. The only problem with this plan, every

0:27:38.160 --> 0:27:42.640
<v Speaker 2>part of it accounts claim that the spectacle fooled no one.

0:27:43.320 --> 0:27:46.479
<v Speaker 2>Not only did the body smell like a dead body,

0:27:47.080 --> 0:27:51.639
<v Speaker 2>everyone was almost certain that Vasily had actually ordered a

0:27:51.760 --> 0:27:55.119
<v Speaker 2>boy of the same age to be killed and used

0:27:55.160 --> 0:27:58.440
<v Speaker 2>as a replacement. In other words, the man who had

0:27:58.440 --> 0:28:02.320
<v Speaker 2>spent an extraordinary, very amount of time playing a game

0:28:02.480 --> 0:28:09.119
<v Speaker 2>of Whack a Dmitri perplexingly created a retroactive false Dmitri himself,

0:28:09.560 --> 0:28:14.080
<v Speaker 2>although allegedly this one was already dead. And not only

0:28:14.160 --> 0:28:18.040
<v Speaker 2>did Vasily keep trying to pass off this false dead

0:28:18.160 --> 0:28:23.240
<v Speaker 2>Dmitri as legitimate, he made him a saint, which technically

0:28:23.320 --> 0:28:28.240
<v Speaker 2>also made him the first canonized but now mostly non

0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:34.320
<v Speaker 2>canonical Dmitri. As much as Vasily hated his zombie like nemesis,

0:28:34.720 --> 0:28:38.000
<v Speaker 2>having dealt with him at every stage from boy to

0:28:38.160 --> 0:28:41.880
<v Speaker 2>boy saint to man to czar to stand in czar

0:28:42.040 --> 0:28:46.760
<v Speaker 2>to reluctant tzar to quickly multiplying horde of cheap knockoff czars,

0:28:47.160 --> 0:28:52.360
<v Speaker 2>perhaps we should credit Dmitri's clearly obsessed opposite number as

0:28:52.480 --> 0:28:57.800
<v Speaker 2>having actually done more to immortalize the Dmitri persona than

0:28:57.880 --> 0:29:05.280
<v Speaker 2>any other person in history. Noble Blood is a production

0:29:05.480 --> 0:29:09.040
<v Speaker 2>of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey.

0:29:09.640 --> 0:29:13.520
<v Speaker 2>Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional

0:29:13.560 --> 0:29:18.480
<v Speaker 2>writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit,

0:29:18.680 --> 0:29:22.640
<v Speaker 2>and Julia Melaney. The show is edited and produced by

0:29:22.760 --> 0:29:28.360
<v Speaker 2>Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il Kaali and executive

0:29:28.400 --> 0:29:32.640
<v Speaker 2>producers Aaron Mankey, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more

0:29:32.680 --> 0:29:38.160
<v Speaker 2>podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

0:29:38.240 --> 0:29:42.120
<v Speaker 2>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.