Boris Godunov is a closet play by Alexander Puskin as a political critique of the tsar and an imitation of Shakespeare. Borís Godunóv ruled the Tsardom of Russia as de facto regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his reign, Russia descended into the Time of Troubles.