Grand Prince of Moscow
Yury Dmitrievich
(26 November 1374 in
Pereslavl-Zalessky
? 5 June 1434 in
Galich
), also known as
George II of Moscow
,
Yury of Zvenigorod
and
Jurij Zwenihorodski
, was the second son of
Dmitri Donskoi
. He was the Duke of
Zvenigorod
and
Galich
from 1389 until his death. During the reign of his brother
Vasily I
, he took part in the campaigns against
Torzhok
(1392),
Zhukotin
(1414), and
Novgorod
(1417). He was the chief orchestrator of the
Muscovite Civil War
against his nephew,
Vasily II
, in the course of which he twice took
Moscow
, in 1433 and 1434.
[1]
Family matters
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By his wife, Anastasia, the daughter of
Yury of Smolensk
, Yury had three sons ?
Vasily Kosoy
,
Dmitry Shemyaka
, and
Dmitry Krasny
. The marriage to Anastasia made him the brother-in-law of
?vitrigaila
,
Grand Duke of Lithuania
.
The Nativity Cathedral built by Yury in Zvenigorod ca. 1405.
Inheritance and claims
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At his father's death, Yury received in
appanage
the towns of
Zvenigorod
,
Ruza
, and
Galich
.
Upon his brother's death, Yury immediately asserted his claim to the throne of
Muscovy
against that of Vasily's son,
Vasily II
. He referenced the old house law of the
House of Rurik
, whereby the senior throne in the dynasty passed from brother to brother, rather than from father to son. He also interpreted in his favour the testament of
Dmitry Donskoy
, written at the time when Vasily had been unmarried and childless.
[1]
Treaty with Vasily II
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]
In 1430, Yury and his nephew decided that the issue would be settled in the
Golden Horde
. The
Khan
supported the claim of Vasily II, but allowed Yury to take the appanage of his deceased younger brother, Peter of
Dmitrov
. This decision did not fully satisfy Vasily, who took Dmitrov by force and expelled Yury's governor from the town in 1432. In response, Yury rallied his forces and advanced on
Pereslavl-Zalessky
. Vasily II was defeated on the bank of the
Klyazma River
and fled to
Kostroma
. After that, Yury entered
Moscow
in triumph and proclaimed himself Grand Duke.
[1]
Instead of imprisoning his nephew, Yury allowed him to settle in
Kolomna
and rule the town as his appanage. This show of magnanimity cost him dearly, as scores of Muscovite
boyars
and noblemen fled to Vasily's court in Kolomna. This shift in momentum impelled Yury to conclude a treaty with Vasily, whereby the uncle renounced his claims to Moscow, promised to deny assistance to his sons, and exchanged Dmitrov for other territories. Vasily returned to Moscow, while Yury withdrew to Galich.
[1]
Further conflicts
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The following year, Kosoy and Shemyaka defeated Vasily II on the banks of the Kus River. The grand prince was informed that Yury's troops had been seen among his enemies and decided to punish him for this treachery. In winter 1434, he set Galich ablaze, but Yury had escaped northward to
Belozersk
. On 16 March, the armies of the uncle and the nephew clashed between
Rostov
and Pereslavl. Vasily's army was roundly defeated and he sought refuge in
Nizhny Novgorod
.
On 31 March 1434, on the
Bright Week
Wednesday, Yury again entered Moscow, where he captured Vasily's family and treasury. He was preparing a new campaign against Vasily when he died suddenly, on 5 July 1434, succeeded by his eldest son, Vasily Kosoy.
[1]
References
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]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Соловьев, Сергей Михайлович.
"2"
.
История России с древнейших времен
(in Russian). Vol. 4
. Retrieved
December 20,
2011
.
External links
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]