In Russian, самозванец (samozvanets), "impostor" (our translation), is the pretender who proclaims himself to be someone he is not, from сам, "himself," and звать, "to call." When Pyotr says he will release Ivan Tsarevich, Stavrogin asks, surprised, «Самозванца?», and recognizes the plan. Marya Timofeyevna had earlier called him an impostor and recalled Grishka Otrepyev, the false Dmitry who was proclaimed accursed in seven cathedrals.
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