Scene i takes place in the palace in the Kremlin. Shuisky tells the assembled noblemen that he saw Boris who seemed to be having a mad fit. He was shouting “Away! Away!” and waving his arms. Just at that moment Boris enters doing just that. He does not seem to notice any of the boyars who are standing there. Shuisky manages to persuade him to sit down on his throne. Shuisky then says that there is a holy man outside who has something to say to everyone. The man is let in. It is Pimen. He tells a strange story. It is about a shepherd who was blind. He had a dream in which he was told to go to the tomb where the murdered Tsar’s son Dimitri lies buried. He went there and prayed. Immediately he was able to see. Boris becomes terribly distressed at this story. He calls for light, he collapses in the arms of the boyars, and he sends for his son Fyodor. Boris asks to be left alone with him. He then says goodbye to his son and tells him to take good care of the Russian people. Monks behind the scene pray for the soul of Boris. Boris dies.