Imposture is a common historicala phenomenon that is characterized by the misappropriation of the name or identity of another person with the purpose of deceiving and obtaining certain benefits. To truly understand the meaning of this term, it is necessary to turn to historical events.
Etymologically, "imposture" is a term,which can be literally revealed as "to call yourself to the kingdom." This explains the nature of the theft of personalities, not just famous people, but representatives of royal blood. The term was actively used until the 30s of the XX century. In subsequent stages, he appears only in historical works. It can be said that to date linguists refer to the term "imposture" as historical.
The history of Russia is characterized by a periodicthe appearance in society of individuals who pretended to be rulers to destabilize the internal situation in the state. The classic century of imposture is considered to be the beginning of the 17th century, when the Russian state experienced the so-called troubled times. The official suppression of the Rurik dynasty in 1598 gave grounds for the emergence of personalities who pretended to be the surviving descendants of Ivan the Terrible. Imposture during the Time of Troubles is characterized by the appearance of false sovereigns, who recognized themselves as the real Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of Ivan IV.
False Dmitry I, in the people Grishka Otrepyev, becamethe first known impostor in Russia, and also the only one who managed to sit on the Russian throne. Almost the whole year he managed to remain a legitimate ruler. Subsequently, people began to notice the strangeness of the king's actions: he behaved "not in a royal way". The situation was aggravated by the wedding of False Dmitriy with the Polish princess Marina Mniszek, who was a Catholic by faith, and therefore could not occupy the Russian throne. The totality of the facts led to the fact that in May 1906 the "lying king" was brutally murdered by the conspiracy of the boyars.
In the sequel, two more known attempts were made to call himself Tsar Dmitri, but these False Dimitries did not have such success as the first impostor.
With the establishment of the Romanov dynasty, the phenomenonimposture for a time ceased to exist. However, after the death of Peter III on the throne ascended his wife Catherine II, who was not the legitimate heiress of the Russian throne. This fact led to the emergence of the impostor Emelian Pugachev, who pretended to be the surviving husband of the empress. As in the Troubles, the ordinary people believed the impostor and rebelled against official authority. It was a real peasant war, which nevertheless ended in the defeat and death of the impostor. The image of Emelian Pugachev was used in the well-known work of Russian literature "The Captain's Daughter". Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in all colors described a bloody peasant war led by an impostor.
Pugachev was not the only character with whomCatherine II had to face Empress. In historiography, there appears such a person as Princess Tarakanova, who allegedly was the daughter of the deceased Elizabeth I, a legitimate representative of the Romanov dynasty. There are different versions on the question of whether she really was an impostor or not. The girl's fate ended sadly, she died in prison.
Many researchers of Russian culture andhistory notes that there is a direct connection between the appearance of impostors and the national character of the inhabitants of Russia. Historians-culturologists claim that there is a desire of the Russian population for the deification of power in the person of the tsar, the messenger of God. The monarchy in Russia has historically evolved over the centuries, which as a result has rooted the feeling of subordination and dependence of the people on the power given from above. In the eyes of the ordinary population, the ruler looked like an inviolable and divine figure that would save the state from any misfortunes. The suppression of the same dynasty seemed to be the destruction of the entire world order of Russia, so the appearance of "legitimate" heirs was perceived positively by the population. Thus, imposture is a feature of the Russian character.
Impersonation is not only a Russian phenomenon,it is inherent in the history of other countries in the world. For example, in the history of France appears an impostor who posed as Louis XVII. His nurse and minister of justice recognized him as a true monarch, but society and the court did not believe him and expelled him from France. An interesting fact is that the imposture of this historical personage is questionable, and his ancestors still insist on recognizing Louis XVII as the true representative of the Bourbon dynasty.
Cases of imposture are also characteristic of historyPortugal, England, Scotland, Persia, Macedonia and many other countries. As we see, counterfeit monarchs appeared not only in Russia, but also abroad.
