Maria Yaroslavna of Borovsk (''Мария Ярославна'' in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

) (1418–1484) was a Grand Princess consort of Muscovy; she was married to

Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...

Vasily II of Moscow Vasily Vasiliyevich (russian: Василий Васильевич; 10 March 141527 March 1462), also known as Vasily II the Blind (Василий II Тёмный), was the Grand Prince of Moscow whose long reign (1425–1462) was plagued by the ...

.Мария Ярославна / Назаров В. Д. // Маниковский — Меотида. — М. : Большая российская энциклопедия, 2012. — С. 144—145. — (Большая российская энциклопедия : � 35 т./ гл. ред. Ю. С. Осипов ; 2004—2017, т. 19). — ISBN 978-5-85270-353-8. She was the daughter of Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Maloyaroslavets, and Maria, granddaughter of

Fyodor Koshka Fedor Andreevich Kobylin, byname "Koshka" ("the Cat") (russian: Фёдор Андре́евич Кобылин (Ко́шка)) (died 1407), was the youngest son of Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla and progenitor of the Romanov dynasty and Sheremetev family. ...

Biography

Maria Yaroslavna became the Grand Princess in 1433 after her marriage to

. Two years later the sons of

Yury of Zvenigorod 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 ...

, Vasily Kosoy and

Dmitry Shemyaka Dmitriy Yurievich Shemyaka (Дмитрий Юрьевич Шемяка in Russian) (died 1453) was the second son of Yury of Zvenigorod by Anastasia of Smolensk and grandson of Dmitri Donskoi. His hereditary patrimony was the rich Northern to ...

, usurped the throne and she was exiled to Galich. With great difficulty, she managed to return to Moscow. On February 12, 1446,

with Ioann of Mozhaysk and

Boris of Tver Boris of Tver or Boris the Great (ca. 1399–February 10, 1461) was a Grand Prince of Tver from April 22, 1426 to his death. Biography Domestic and foreign politics The year 1425 was devastating for the Principality of Tver. After the sudden ...

attacked Moscow. Maria Yaroslavna was captured and put into prison. On February 16, 1446, she was sent into exile to

Uglich Uglich ( rus, У́глич, p=ˈuɡlʲɪtɕ) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River. Population: History The city was first documented in 1148 as ''Ugliche Pole'' (''Corner Field''). The town's name is though ...

, together with her husband. In later years, together with her mother-in-law

Sophia of Lithuania Sophia of Lithuania (1371–1453), also known as Sofia Vitovtovna, was a Grand Princess consort of Muscovy by marriage to Vasili I of Russia. She was regent of Muscovy during the minority of her son from 1425 to 1434. Life She was the daughter ...

, Maria played a significant role in the principality. In order to ingratiate herself with the church, in 1450 she exempt the

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...

from taxes, and the

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (russian: Кирилло-Белозерский монастырь), translated into English as White Lake ranslation of the town name of BeloozeroSt. Cyril's Monastery, used to be the largest monastery and the stron ...

in 1471. After her husband's death she inherited

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...

and Poshekhonye, and some other lands. In 1480 she blessed her son

Ivan III of Russia Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...

to fight against Khan Ahmed. The fasti mention her as a wise, reasonable woman, and that even as adults, her children sought her advice. Maria Yaroslavna took the veil under name Marfa in 1482, died in 1484. At first, she was buried in Starodevichy Convent of the Moscow Kremlin. In 1929 her remains were moved to the

Cathedral of the Archangel The Cathedral of the Archangel (russian: Архангельский собор, Arkhangel'skiy sobor) is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It is located in Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia between the Gr ...

Children

Maria Yaroslavna had 10 children: *Yury Bolshoy (lit. 'Yury the Big') (1437—1441); *

Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his bl ...

, the

Grand Prince of Moscow This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mo ...

in 1462-1505; *Yury Vasilyevich of Dmitrov (1462 — 1473), prince of

Dmitrov Dmitrov ( rus, Дмитров, p=ˈdmʲitrəf) is a town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Moscow Canal. Population: History Dmitrov ...

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. ( rus, Можа́йск, p=mɐˈʐajsk) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to th ...

, and Serpukhov; *Andrey Bolshoy (lit. 'Andrew the Big') (1446—1493), prince of

Zvenigorod Zvenigorod (russian: Звени́город) is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: History The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a hydronym (cf. the Zvinech, Zvinyaka, Zveniga Rivers) ...

, and

; *Simeon (1447—1449); *Boris (1449—1494), prince of Volotzk and Ruza; *Anna (died before 1501); *Andrew Menshoy (lit. 'Andrew the Young'), prince of

Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as a major transport hu ...

; *Dmitry (1455 — before 1461); *Mariya (died in 1465).

References

, - , - , - {{authority control 1418 births 1484 deaths Russian royal consorts 15th-century Russian women 15th-century Russian people