● Orthodox Memorial Day: May 15, October 19
● Name means: Son of the (from Greek earth goddess) Demeter (from Greek – Russian)
● Tsarevich (Crown Prince) of Moscow
● Born in 1582 in Moscow, Russia
● Died May 15, 1591 in Uglich, Russia
Dimitri, the son of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, was born through his seventh marriage, despite the
Russian Orthodox Church allowing only three marriages. Consequently, Dimitri’s claim to the
throne was disputed. After the death of his father, Dimitri’s older half-brother, Feodor, took
charge of the government. However, the true power resided in his brother-in-law, Boris Godunov.
Feodor remained childless, which opened the possibility of Dimitri inheriting the throne. To
prevent this from happening, Godunov exiled Dimitri along with his mother to Uglich, where he
died under tragic circumstances from a stab wound.
Years after, an individual appeared Moscow, claiming to be Dimitri. The curious speculations
suggest that his name was Grigory Otrepyev, a former monk from the Moscow monastery of
Chudov. Others believed that he was an agent of the Jesuits or the Polish king. In 1605, during a
time of great instability in the Russian Empire, he seized the throne after a civil war against Boris
Godunov. Under the influence of his Polish wife, Marina, Dimitri invited numerous Catholic
Poles into the country. This influx of foreigners was not welcomed by all, and on May 17, 1605,
a violent pogrom erupted in Moscow targeted against the Poles. Vasily Shusky, the instigator of
the attack, stormed the Kremlin, captured and tortured Dimitri to his death. Afterward, he was
coronated as the next tsar on May 19.