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{{short description|Russian tsarevich}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{family name hatnote|Ivanovich||lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox royalty|tsarevich
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Dmitry Ivanovich
| name = Dmitry Ivanovich
| title = Tsarevich of Russia
| title = Tsarevich of Russia
| image = 1899. Tzarevich Dmitry by M. Nesterov.jpg
| image = 1899. Tzarevich Dmitry by M. Nesterov.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_size = 250px
| caption = ''Tsarevich Dmitry'' (1899), by [[Mikhail Nesterov]].
| caption = ''Tsarevich Dmitry'' by [[Mikhail Nesterov]] (1899)
| house = [[Rurik]]
| house = [[Rurik dynasty|Rurik]]
| father = [[Ivan the Terrible|Ivan IV of Russia]]
| house-type = Dynasty
| father = [[Ivan IV]]
| mother = [[Maria Nagaya]]
| mother = [[Maria Nagaya]]
| birth_date = 19 October 1582
| birth_date = {{OldStyleDate|29 October|1582|19 October}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place = Moscow, Russia
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1591|5|15|1582|10|19}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1591|5|15|1582|10|29}}
| death_place = [[Uglich]]
| death_place = [[Uglich]], Russia
| burial_date =
| burial_date =
| burial_place= Uglich later moved to [[Moscow]]
| burial_place= [[Cathedral of the Archangel]], Moscow
| religion = [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]]
| religion = [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]]
|}}
}}
{{Infobox saint|
{{Infobox saint|
| titles = the Wonderworker, Slain Crown Prince or Pious Crown Prince
| titles = the Wonderworker, Slain Crown Prince or Pious Crown Prince
Line 25: Line 27:
| canonized_by = [[Russian Orthodox Church]]
| canonized_by = [[Russian Orthodox Church]]
| feast_day = [[May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)|May 15]]/ 28
| feast_day = [[May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)|May 15]]/ 28
|}}
}}
'''Dmitry Ivanovich''' ({{lang-ru|Дмитрий Иванович}}; {{OldStyleDate|29 October|1582|19 October}} – 15 May 1591)<ref>The name is also translated as '''Demetrius''' or transliterated in numerous other ways. See [[Dmitry]].</ref> was the youngest son of Russian tsar [[Ivan the Terrible]]. He was the [[tsarevich]] ([[heir apparent]]) for close to seven years of his half-brother [[Feodor I of Russia|Feodor I]]'s reign (though his legitimacy as an heir could have been contested by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]). After his death, he was impersonated by a number of [[False Dmitry|imposters]] to the throne, during the [[Time of Troubles]].

'''Tsarevich Dmitry''' or '''Dmitri Ivanovich''' ({{lang-rus|Дмитрий Иванович|Dmitrii Ivanovich}}; 19 October 1582 – 15 May 1591),<ref>The name is also translated as '''Demetrius''' or transliterated in numerous other ways. See [[Dmitry]].</ref> also known as '''Dmitry of Uglich''' ({{lang|ru|Дмитрий Угличский}}, ''Uglichskii'') or '''Dmitry of Moscow''' ({{lang|ru|Дмитрий Московский}}, ''Moskovskii''), was a Russian [[tsarevich]] famously impersonated by a [[False Dmitriy (disambiguation)|series of pretenders]] after the death of his father [[Ivan the Terrible]].


==Life==
==Life==
Dmitry was the youngest son of [[Ivan the Terrible]] by his last wife [[Maria Nagaya]], and their only child together.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dmitry-Ivanovich Ray, Michael. "Dmitry Ivanovich". ''Encyclopedia Britannica'']</ref> Ivan died in 1584, and was succeeded by Dmitry's older brother, [[Feodor I of Russia|Feodor I]]. Feodor was sickly and weak, and the country was governed by a regency council. This was headed from 1586 by [[Boris Godunov]], Feodor's brother-in-law and [[Malyuta Skuratov]]'s son-in-law.
Dmitry was the youngest son of [[Ivan the Terrible]] and Ivan's only child born to [[Maria Nagaya]]. After the death of [[Ivan IV]], Dmitry's older brother, [[Feodor I of Russia|Feodor I]], ascended to power. However, the actual ruler of the Russian state was Feodor's [[brother-in-law]], a [[boyar]], [[Boris Godunov]], who had had a claim on the Russian [[throne]]. According to a later widespread version, Godunov wanted to get rid of Dmitry, who could have succeeded the throne in light of Feodor's childlessness. In 1584, Godunov sent Dmitry, his mother and her brothers into exile to the Tsarevich's [[appanage]] city of [[Uglich]]. On 15 May 1591, Dmitry died from a [[stabbing|stab]] wound, under mysterious circumstances.


In 1584, Godunov sent Dmitry, and his mother and her brothers, into internal exile in the tsarevich's [[appanage]] of [[Uglich]]. On 15 May 1591, Dmitry died there under mysterious circumstances.
==Accident or murder?==
[[File:Death of Tsarevich Dmitry (Pleshanov).jpeg|thumb|upright|left|The Death of Tsarevich Dmitry, by [[Pavel Pleshanov]]]]


As a result, when Feodor I died childless in 1598, Dmitry, the only other possible Rurikid heir, was also dead, and Godunov claimed the throne.
Russian chroniclers and later historians offered two possible scenarios of what could have happened to Dmitry. The first theory is that Dmitry was killed by the order of [[Boris Godunov]], the [[Assassination|assassins]] making it look like an accident (this version was supported by the prominent 19th-century historians [[Nikolai Karamzin]], [[Sergei Soloviev]], [[Vasily Klyuchevsky]] and others). The critics of this version point out that Dmitry was Ivan's son from his ''fifth'' (or ''seventh'') marriage, and thus illegitimate by the [[canon law]] (a maximum of three marriages are allowed in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]). This would make any claim of Dmitry's for the throne dubious at best.


It was widely believed at the time that Godunov got rid of Dmitry to clear the way for his own eventual succession.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hahn |first=Gordon M. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1289513805 |title=The Russian dilemma : security, vigilance and relations with the West from Ivan III to Putin |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-4766-4434-9 |location=Jefferson |oclc=1289513805}}</ref>
[[File:Uglichpalace.jpg|thumb|Scene of the crime: Dmitry was found dead a few steps from his residence.]]


==Death theories==
The second theory is that Dmitry stabbed himself in the [[throat]] during an [[epileptic seizure]], while playing with a knife (this version was supported by historians [[Mikhail Pogodin]], [[Sergei Platonov]], V. K. Klein, [[Ruslan Skrynnikov]] and others). The detractors of this scenario assert that, since during an epileptic seizure the palms are wide open, the self-infliction of a fatal wound becomes highly unlikely. However, the official investigation, done at that time, asserted that the Tsarevich's seizure came while he was playing a [[svaika]] game or with a knife (''v [[tychku]]'') and thus holding the knife by the blade, turned toward himself. With the knife in that position, the version of self-inflicted wound on the neck while falling forward during seizure appears more likely.
[[File:Death of Tsarevich Dmitry (Pleshanov).jpeg|thumb|upright|left|Depiction of Dmitry's death by [[Pavel Pleshanov]]]]
Russian chroniclers and later historians offered two possible scenarios of what could have happened to Dmitry. The first theory is that Dmitry was killed by order of [[Boris Godunov]], the [[Assassination|assassins]] making it look like an accident (this version was supported by the prominent 19th-century historians [[Nikolai Karamzin]], [[Sergey Solovyov (historian)|Sergei Soloviev]], [[Vasily Klyuchevsky]] and others). Critics of this version point out that Dmitry was Ivan's son from his last marriage, and thus illegitimate by [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] [[canon law]], which allows a maximum of three marriages. This would make any claim of Dmitry's for the throne dubious at best. Modern scholarship tends to exonerate Boris of any role in the prince's death.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The death of the Tsarevich Dimitry|last=Vernadsky|first=George|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1954|asin=B0007JWDNG}}</ref>


[[File:Углич. Палаты царевича Дмитрия 02.jpg|thumb|Palace in Uglich Kremlin, where Dmitry died]]
There is also a third version of Dmitry's fate, which found support with some earlier historians, such as [[Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin]], [[Ivan Belyaev (historian)|Ivan Belyaev]] and others. They considered it possible that Godunov's people had tried to [[assassinate]] Dmitry, but killed somebody else instead and he managed to escape. This scenario explains the appearance of [[impostor]]s, sponsored by the [[Poland|Polish]] [[nobility]] (see [[False Dmitry I]], [[False Dmitry II|II]], [[False Dmitry III|III]]). Most modern Russian historians, however, consider the version of Dmitry's survival improbable, since it is hardly possible that the boy's appearance was unknown to his assassins. Also, it is well known that many Polish nobles who supported [[False Dmitry I]] did not believe his story themselves.

The second theory is that Dmitry stabbed himself in the [[throat]] during an [[epileptic seizure]], while playing with a knife (this version was supported by historians [[Mikhail Pogodin]], [[Sergei Platonov]], V. K. Klein, [[Ruslan Skrynnikov]] and others). The detractors of this scenario assert that, since during an epileptic seizure the palms are wide open, the self-infliction of a fatal wound becomes highly unlikely. However, the official investigation, done at that time, asserted that the tsarevich's seizure came while he was playing a [[svaika]] game or with a knife (''v tychku'') and thus holding the knife by the blade, turned toward himself. With the knife in that position, the version of self-inflicted wound on the neck while falling forward during seizure appears more likely.

There is also a third version of Dmitry's fate, which found support with some earlier historians, such as [[Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin]], Ivan Belyaev, and others. They considered it possible that Godunov's people had tried to [[assassinate]] Dmitry, but killed somebody else instead and he managed to escape. This scenario explains the appearance of [[impostor]]s, sponsored by the Polish [[nobility]] (see [[False Dmitry]]). However, most modern Russian historians consider the version of Dmitry's survival improbable, since it is hardly possible that the boy's appearance was unknown to his assassins. Also, it is well known that many Polish nobles who supported [[False Dmitry I]] did not believe his story themselves.


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
[[File:Church of St. Demetrius on Blood in Uglich.jpg|thumb|Church of St. Demetrius on Blood in Uglich (17th century) - commemorates the murder of Tsarevich Demetrius]]
[[File:Uglich Church of Tsarevich Dmitry on the Blood 2023-07-22 7337.jpg|thumb|The Church of St. Demetrius on Blood in Uglich commemorates his death]]
[[File:Coat of Arms of Uglich (Yaroslavl oblast).png|thumb|The Coat of Arms of the city of Uglich, featuring Tsarevich Dmitri]]


The death of the Tsarevich roused a violent riot in [[Uglich]], instigated by the loud claims of Dmitry's mother [[Maria Nagaya]] and her brother Mikhail that Dmitry was murdered. Hearing this, enraged citizens [[Lynching|lynch]]ed fifteen of Dmitry's supposed "assassins", including the local representative of the Moscow government (''dyak'') and one of Dmitry's playmates. The subsequent official investigation, led by [[Vasily Shuisky]], after a thorough examination of witnesses, concluded the Tsarevich had died from a self-inflicted stab wound to the throat. Following the official investigation, Maria Nagaya was forcibly [[tonsure]]d as a [[nun]] and exiled to a remote [[convent]].
The death of the tsarevich roused a violent riot in [[Uglich]], instigated by the loud claims of Dmitry's mother [[Maria Nagaya]] and her brother Mikhail that Dmitry was murdered. Hearing this, enraged citizens [[Lynching|lynch]]ed 15 of Dmitry's supposed "assassins", including the local representative of the Moscow government (''dyak'') and one of Dmitry's playmates. The subsequent official investigation, led by [[Vasily Shuisky]], after a thorough examination of witnesses, concluded that the tsarevich had died from a self-inflicted stab wound to the throat. Following the official investigation, Maria Nagaya was forcibly [[tonsure]]d as a [[nun]] and exiled to a remote [[convent]].


However, when the political circumstances changed, Shuisky retracted his earlier claim of accidental death and asserted that Dmitry was murdered on [[Boris Godunov|Godunov]]'s orders. On 3 June 1606, Dmitry's remains were transferred from Uglich to [[Moscow]] and his cult soon developed. In the calendar of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], he is venerated as a "Saint Pious Tsarevitch", with feast days of 19 October, 15 May and 3 June. In the 20th century, the majority of Russian and [[Soviet historians]]{{who|date=February 2016}} have given more credit to the conclusions of the first official investigation report under [[Shuisky]], which ruled Dmitry's death to be an [[accident]].{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}
However, when the political circumstances changed, Shuisky retracted his earlier claim of accidental death and asserted that Dmitry was murdered on [[Boris Godunov]]'s orders. On 3 June 1606, Dmitry's remains were transferred from Uglich to [[Moscow]] and his cult soon developed. In the calendar of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], he is venerated as a "Saint Pious Tsarevitch", with feast days of 19 October, 15 May and 3 June. In the 20th century, some Russian and Soviet historians have given more credit to the conclusions of the first official investigation report under [[Shuisky]], which ruled Dmitry's death to be an accident.<ref>{{Cite web|title=RUSSIA...Dmitry on the Blood {{!}} Travel Blog|url=https://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Centre/Uglich/blog-1050195.html|access-date=2020-10-15|website=travelblog.org}}</ref>


==Cultural references==
==Cultural references==
The story of murder is presumed in [[Aleksandr Pushkin]]'s play ''[[Boris Godunov (drama)|Boris Godunov]]'', made into an [[Boris Godunov (opera)|opera]] by [[Modest Mussorgsky]].
The story of murder is presumed in [[Aleksandr Pushkin]]'s play ''[[Boris Godunov (drama)|Boris Godunov]]'', made into an [[Boris Godunov (opera)|opera]] by [[Modest Mussorgsky]].

==See also==
{{Commons category|Dmitriy of Uglich}}
*[[False Dmitriy I]]
*[[False Dmitriy II]]
*[[False Dmitriy III]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia (1582-1591)}}

==Bibliography==
*[[Sergey Platonov]]. ''Очерки по истории смуты в Московском государстве XVI-XVII вв.'' Moscow, 1937.
*[[Sergey Platonov]]. ''Очерки по истории смуты в Московском государстве XVI-XVII вв.'' Moscow, 1937.
*[[Ruslan Skrynnikov]]. ''Лихолетье. Москва в XVI-XVII веках''. Moscow, 1988.
*[[Ruslan Skrynnikov]]. ''Лихолетье. Москва в XVI-XVII веках''. Moscow, 1988.
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{{Succession box|
{{Succession box|
before=[[Feodor I of Russia|Feodor I]]|
before=[[Feodor I of Russia|Feodor I]]|
title=[[List of heirs to the Russian throne|Heir to the Russian Throne]] |
title=[[List of heirs to the Russian throne|Heir to the Russian throne]] |
years=1584–1591|
years=1584–1591|
after=[[Feodor II of Russia|Feodor II]]
after=[[Feodor II of Russia|Feodor II]]
Line 76: Line 78:


{{Tsarevich of Russia}}
{{Tsarevich of Russia}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsarevich Of Russia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsarevich of Russia}}
[[Category:1582 births]]
[[Category:1582 births]]
[[Category:1591 deaths]]
[[Category:1591 deaths]]
[[Category:Unsolved murders in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Unsolved murders in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Passion bearers]]
[[Category:Passion bearers]]
[[Category:Russian tsarevich]]
[[Category:Tsareviches of Russia]]
[[Category:Russian Orthodox child saints]]
[[Category:Russian Orthodox child saints]]
[[Category:Russian saints]]
[[Category:Russian saints]]
[[Category:16th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:16th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:16th-century Russian people]]
[[Category:16th-century Russian nobility]]
[[Category:Russian children]]
[[Category:Russian children]]
[[Category:Murdered royalty]]
[[Category:Murdered Russian royalty]]
[[Category:Murder in 1591]]
[[Category:Heirs presumptive]]

Revision as of 22:31, 13 June 2024

Dmitry Ivanovich
Tsarevich of Russia
Tsarevich Dmitry by Mikhail Nesterov (1899)
Born29 October [O.S. 19 October] 1582
Moscow, Russia
Died15 May 1591(1591-05-15) (aged 8)
Uglich, Russia
Burial
HouseRurik
FatherIvan IV of Russia
MotherMaria Nagaya
ReligionRussian Orthodox
Dmitry of Uglich
Icon of St. Dmitry, 18th Century
the Wonderworker, Slain Crown Prince or Pious Crown Prince
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
FeastMay 15/ 28

Dmitry Ivanovich (Russian: Дмитрий Иванович; 29 October [O.S. 19 October] 1582 – 15 May 1591)[1] was the youngest son of Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible. He was the tsarevich (heir apparent) for close to seven years of his half-brother Feodor I's reign (though his legitimacy as an heir could have been contested by the Russian Orthodox Church). After his death, he was impersonated by a number of imposters to the throne, during the Time of Troubles.

Life

Dmitry was the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible by his last wife Maria Nagaya, and their only child together.[2] Ivan died in 1584, and was succeeded by Dmitry's older brother, Feodor I. Feodor was sickly and weak, and the country was governed by a regency council. This was headed from 1586 by Boris Godunov, Feodor's brother-in-law and Malyuta Skuratov's son-in-law.

In 1584, Godunov sent Dmitry, and his mother and her brothers, into internal exile in the tsarevich's appanage of Uglich. On 15 May 1591, Dmitry died there under mysterious circumstances.

As a result, when Feodor I died childless in 1598, Dmitry, the only other possible Rurikid heir, was also dead, and Godunov claimed the throne.

It was widely believed at the time that Godunov got rid of Dmitry to clear the way for his own eventual succession.[3]

Death theories

Depiction of Dmitry's death by Pavel Pleshanov

Russian chroniclers and later historians offered two possible scenarios of what could have happened to Dmitry. The first theory is that Dmitry was killed by order of Boris Godunov, the assassins making it look like an accident (this version was supported by the prominent 19th-century historians Nikolai Karamzin, Sergei Soloviev, Vasily Klyuchevsky and others). Critics of this version point out that Dmitry was Ivan's son from his last marriage, and thus illegitimate by Russian Orthodox canon law, which allows a maximum of three marriages. This would make any claim of Dmitry's for the throne dubious at best. Modern scholarship tends to exonerate Boris of any role in the prince's death.[4]

Palace in Uglich Kremlin, where Dmitry died

The second theory is that Dmitry stabbed himself in the throat during an epileptic seizure, while playing with a knife (this version was supported by historians Mikhail Pogodin, Sergei Platonov, V. K. Klein, Ruslan Skrynnikov and others). The detractors of this scenario assert that, since during an epileptic seizure the palms are wide open, the self-infliction of a fatal wound becomes highly unlikely. However, the official investigation, done at that time, asserted that the tsarevich's seizure came while he was playing a svaika game or with a knife (v tychku) and thus holding the knife by the blade, turned toward himself. With the knife in that position, the version of self-inflicted wound on the neck while falling forward during seizure appears more likely.

There is also a third version of Dmitry's fate, which found support with some earlier historians, such as Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Ivan Belyaev, and others. They considered it possible that Godunov's people had tried to assassinate Dmitry, but killed somebody else instead and he managed to escape. This scenario explains the appearance of impostors, sponsored by the Polish nobility (see False Dmitry). However, most modern Russian historians consider the version of Dmitry's survival improbable, since it is hardly possible that the boy's appearance was unknown to his assassins. Also, it is well known that many Polish nobles who supported False Dmitry I did not believe his story themselves.

Aftermath

The Church of St. Demetrius on Blood in Uglich commemorates his death

The death of the tsarevich roused a violent riot in Uglich, instigated by the loud claims of Dmitry's mother Maria Nagaya and her brother Mikhail that Dmitry was murdered. Hearing this, enraged citizens lynched 15 of Dmitry's supposed "assassins", including the local representative of the Moscow government (dyak) and one of Dmitry's playmates. The subsequent official investigation, led by Vasily Shuisky, after a thorough examination of witnesses, concluded that the tsarevich had died from a self-inflicted stab wound to the throat. Following the official investigation, Maria Nagaya was forcibly tonsured as a nun and exiled to a remote convent.

However, when the political circumstances changed, Shuisky retracted his earlier claim of accidental death and asserted that Dmitry was murdered on Boris Godunov's orders. On 3 June 1606, Dmitry's remains were transferred from Uglich to Moscow and his cult soon developed. In the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church, he is venerated as a "Saint Pious Tsarevitch", with feast days of 19 October, 15 May and 3 June. In the 20th century, some Russian and Soviet historians have given more credit to the conclusions of the first official investigation report under Shuisky, which ruled Dmitry's death to be an accident.[5]

Cultural references

The story of murder is presumed in Aleksandr Pushkin's play Boris Godunov, made into an opera by Modest Mussorgsky.

References

  1. ^ The name is also translated as Demetrius or transliterated in numerous other ways. See Dmitry.
  2. ^ Ray, Michael. "Dmitry Ivanovich". Encyclopedia Britannica
  3. ^ Hahn, Gordon M. (2021). The Russian dilemma : security, vigilance and relations with the West from Ivan III to Putin. Jefferson. ISBN 978-1-4766-4434-9. OCLC 1289513805.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Vernadsky, George (1954). The death of the Tsarevich Dimitry. Oxford University Press. ASIN B0007JWDNG.
  5. ^ "RUSSIA...Dmitry on the Blood | Travel Blog". travelblog.org. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

Bibliography

  • Sergey Platonov. Очерки по истории смуты в Московском государстве XVI-XVII вв. Moscow, 1937.
  • Ruslan Skrynnikov. Лихолетье. Москва в XVI-XVII веках. Moscow, 1988.
Russian royalty
Preceded by Heir to the Russian throne
1584–1591
Succeeded by