These bulletins began to make a sensation, and the young monk, now twenty-two years of age, found ready believers among those who fancied they saw a resemblance to his mother, the late Tsarina Mary. He claimed certain marks of identity on his person, and the royal seal and the diamond cross were considered ample proofs that the young man was no impostor. It is probable that many were not over-particular in examining his claims because anything was preferable to the reign of Boris.
The Jesuits espoused his cause and became his most zealous adherents, and the Pope's Nuncio promised the aid of the Holy Father, provided, of course, that when the young man became czar he would further the interests of the Church of Rome. The Poles were ready to help him, for hatred of Moscow, and the Cossacks of the Don flocked to the Pretender's standard to avenge many wrongs at the hands of the tyrant. Ukraine declared for him, and soon he had an army of fifty thousand men with which he appeared on the Russian frontier.
Previous article Next article
From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
