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In 1598, Ivan the Terrible’s feeble-minded son Fedor died, ending the
hereditary dynastic line of Riurik. Boris Godunov, a nobleman who had been
acting as regent, was elected to rule. His short reign (1598-1605) was plagued
by famines in which thousands died. In 1604, a pretender to the throne claimed
to be Ivan the Terrible’s son Dmitry who actually had died as a child. This
“False Dmitry” marched on Muscovy with Polish support and seized power from
Boris Godunov, only to be deposed the following year. Muscovy’s chaotic
political situation invited both popular rebellion and Polish invasion. It was
not until 1612 that the Russians were able to unite and expel the Poles from
Moscow. This victory led to the election in 1613 of a new line of Russian
rulers—the Romanovs.
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