Yury Dmitrievich (26 November 1374 in

Pereslavl-Zalessky Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Mosc ...

– 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 Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...

. He was the Duke 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 Galich from 1389 until his death. During the reign of his brother

Vasily I Vasily I Dmitriyevich ( rus, Василий I Дмитриевич, Vasiliy I Dmitriyevich; 30 December 137127 February 1425) was the Grand Prince of Moscow ( r. 1389–1425), heir of Dmitry Donskoy (r. 1359–1389). He ruled as a Golden Horde ...

, he took part in the campaigns against Torzhok (1392), Zhukotin (1414), and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

(1417). He was the chief orchestrator of the Muscovite Civil War against his nephew,

Vasily II 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 ...

, in the course of which he twice took

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, in 1433 and 1434.

Family matters

By his wife, Anastasia, the daughter of

Yury of Smolensk Yury Svyatoslavich or Georgy Svyatoslavovich (russian: Юрий Святославович or Георгий Святославович) was the last sovereign ruler of the Principality of Smolensk and Bryansk (1386–95, 1401–04) whose life was ...

, Yury had three sons —

Vasily Kosoy Vasiliy Yuryevich Kosoy (the Squint) (russian: Василий Юрьевич Косой; ca. 1401–1448) was prince of Zvenigorod from 1421. He continued his father's claim on the title of Grand Prince of Moscow in 1434. Life Vasily Kosoy was t ...

, Dmitry Shemyaka, and Dmitry Krasny. The marriage to Anastasia made him the brother-in-law of

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

Inheritance and claims

At his father's death, Yury received in appanage the towns of

, Ruza, and Galich. Upon his brother's death, Yury immediately asserted his claim to the throne of

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...

against that of Vasily's son,

. He referenced the old house law of the

House of Rurik The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

, 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.

Treaty with Vasily II

In 1430, Yury and his nephew decided that the issue would be settled in the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

. The

Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

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

. Vasily II was defeated on the bank of the

Klyazma River The Klyazma (, ''Klyaz'ma''), a river in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo and Vladimir Oblasts in Russia, forms a left tributary of the Oka.Kostroma. After that, Yury entered

in triumph and proclaimed himself Grand Duke. 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

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

s 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.

Further conflicts

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 Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. 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.

References

External links

*
Biography of George II of Moscow
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yury Dmitrievich 1374 births 1434 deaths 15th-century Grand Princes of Moscow People from Pereslavl-Zalessky Grand Princes of Moscow Rurik dynasty Rurikids 14th-century Russian people 15th-century Russian people Medieval Russian military personnel 14th-century military personnel 15th-century military personnel