The Posthumous Papers of the Hermit, Fedor Kusmich

There were strange tales about the old hermit, Fedor Kusmich, who appeared in Siberia in the year 1836, and lived there in various places during the space of twenty-seven years. Even before he died it used to be said of him that he concealed his indentity⁠—that he was no other than the Emperor Alexander I , but after his death these tales spread and came to be more firmly believed. That he positively was Alexander I was considered a fact not only among the commoner people, but also in the highest circles; and even in the royal family in Alexander III ’s lifetime. It was also believed by the learned historian, Shilder, who wrote a history of his reign.