The name of Timofey Akundinov, who pretended to be the son of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, stands alone in the list of Russian impostors. Akundinov, having fallen victim to tavern swindlers, began to look for money to win back. A chance conversation with a friend prompted Akundinov to the idea of becoming an impostor. Well, then, having declared himself as the son of Vasily Shuisky, although he was born six years after the death of the king, the false John was forced to “play” on the conditions that he created for himself: to seek military assistance from the Polish king, the Turkish sultan, later even the Pope! Akundinov managed to gain the trust of Hetman Khmelnitsky, become a favorite of the Swedish Queen Christiania and convince the Serbian rulers that he was really a king. However, the actions of the new impostor did not go unnoticed by the Russian government. The Romanov dynasty, having established itself on the throne relatively recently, was very sensitive to the attempts of impostors to pass themselves off as Russian tsars... And, as a result, a long-term hunt was organized for Akundinov...