Yuri Vasilievich (Юрий Васильевич; 30 October 1532 – 24 June 1563) was the only brother of

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

. He was born

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

, and was thus never considered to be a candidate as heir to the Russian throne. He ruled the appanage principality of

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 ...

on the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

. Yuri was the second son of

Vasily III of Russia Vasili III Ivanovich (russian: Василий III Иванович, 25 March 14793 December 1533) was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name ...

and

Elena Glinskaya Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya (russian: Елена Васильевна Глинская; 1510 – 4 April 1538) was the Grand Princess consort of Russia, as the second wife of Grand Prince Vasili III and de facto regent of Russia for 5 consecutiv ...

. He was a year and a half old when his father died of a leg

abscess An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pressed. The area of redness often extends b ...

, and six when his mother was apparently poisoned. According to letters written by his older brother Ivan, the two children customarily felt neglected and offended by the mighty

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 from the Shuisky and Belsky families. Unlike his brother who spent his spare time in learning

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Yuri was apparently only interested in food and games including ice-skating. Yuri accompanied his brother during the latter's coronation as

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

, and was later given a private residence with servants. On 16 June 1552, during the Russo-Kazan war, Yuri was given full charge of state affairs while his brother accompanied the army to

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

. Yuri was married on 3 November 1547 to Princess Ulyana of

Palekh Palekh (russian: Па́лех) is an urban locality (a settlement) and the administrative center of Palekhsky District of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia. Population: Painting Palekh has a very long history in Russian iconography, the art of painting R ...

(Paletskaya) and had a son, Vasili, in 1559. The child died 11 months later. Yuri died three years later from natural causes. His wife was sent to the

Novodevichy Convent Novodevichy Convent, also known as Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery (russian: Новоде́вичий монасты́рь, Богоро́дице-Смоле́нский монасты́рь), is probably the best-known clois ...

. Yuri's property was inherited by his elder brother.

References

* Troyat, Henri ''Ivan le Terrible''. Flammarion, Paris, 1982 * de Madariaga, Isabel ''Ivan the Terrible''. Giulio Einaudi editore, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuri Of Uglich 1532 births 1563 deaths Rurik dynasty Rurikids People from Uglich Deaf royalty and nobility 16th-century Russian people People of Byzantine descent Deaf people from Russia