Yury Dmitrievich (; 1374 – 1434), also known as George II of Moscow, Yury of Zvenigorod and Jurij Zwenihorodski (), was the second son of

Dmitry Donskoy Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (; 12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389) was Prince of Moscow from 1359 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1363 until his death. He was the heir of Ivan II. He was the first prince of Moscow to openly challenge Mongol ...

. He was the Duke of

Zvenigorod Zvenigorod () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Moscow Oblast of western Russia. In 2010 it had a population of about 16,000. History The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a ...

and Galich from 1389 until his death. During the reign of his brother

Vasily I Vasily I Dmitriyevich (; 30 December 137127 February 1425) was Grand Prince of Vladimir and Moscow from 1389. He was the heir of Dmitry Donskoy, who reigned from 1359 to 1389. He entered an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1392 a ...

, he took part in the campaigns against

Torzhok Torzhok () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 highway (Russia), M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The ...

(1392), Zhukotin (1414), and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

(1417). He was the chief orchestrator of the

Muscovite Civil War The Muscovite War of Succession, or Muscovite Civil War, was a war of succession in the Grand Duchy of Moscow (Muscovy) from 1425 to 1453. The two warring parties were Vasily II of Moscow, Vasily II, the son of the previous Grand Prince of Mosco ...

against his nephew,

Vasily II Vasily II Vasilyevich (; 10 March 141527 March 1462), nicknamed the Blind or the Dark (), was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1425 until his death in 1462. He succeeded his father, Vasily I, only to be challenged by his uncle Yuri of Zvenig ...

, in the course of which he twice took Moscow, in 1433 and 1434.

Family

By his wife, Anastasia, the daughter of

Yury of Smolensk Yury Svyatoslavich () or Georgy Svyatoslavovich (; died 1407) was the prince of Smolensk and Bryansk (1386–1395; 1401–1404) whose life was spent in vain attempts to fend off aggression by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Reign In 1386, a war bro ...

, Yury had three sons —

Vasily Kosoy Vasiliy Yuryevich Kosoy (the Squint) (; 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 the son of Yury Dmitrievich and Anastasia of Smo ...

Dmitry Shemyaka Dmitriy Yurievich Shemyaka () (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 town Galich-Mersky. When his uncle prince Vasily I of ...

, and

Dmitry Krasny Dmitriy Yurievich Krasny (; died September 22, 1440) was a Russian nobility, Russian nobleman, the youngest son of Yury of Zvenigorod and Anastasia of Smolensk, and grandson of Dmitry Donskoy. He was the appanage prince of Galich-Mersky and took ...

. 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 This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Inheritance and claims

At his father's death, Yury received in

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

the towns of

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

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality 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 mosch ...

against that of Vasily's son,

. He referenced the old house law of the

House of Rurik A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

, 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

, 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'' ( 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 division of ...

. The

Khan Khan may refer to: * 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 various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

supported the claim of Vasily II, but allowed Yury to take the appanage of his deceased younger brother, Peter of

Dmitrov Dmitrov () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Dmitrovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Mosc ...

. 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 Pereslavl-Zalessky (, ), formerly known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, or simply Pereyaslavl, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Moscow–Yaroslavl road and on the southeastern shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo at the mouth of the ...

. Vasily II was defeated on the bank of the

Klyazma River The Klyazma (, ''Klyaz'ma'' or ''Kliazma''), a river in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo and Vladimir Oblasts in Russia, forms a left tributary of the Oka.

and fled to

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

. After that, Yury entered

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in triumph and proclaimed himself Grand Duke. Instead of imprisoning his nephew, Yury allowed him to settle in

Kolomna Kolomna (, ) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva River, Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the fir ...

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 feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

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 Belozersk (), known as Beloozero () until 1777, is a town and the administrative center of Belozersky District in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the southern bank of Lake Beloye, from which it takes the name, northwest of Vologda, the admi ...

. On 16 March, the armies of the uncle and the nephew clashed between

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

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, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

. On 31 March 1434, on the

Bright Week Bright Week, Pascha Week or Renewal Week () is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to (but not including) the following Sunday, which is k ...

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.

Ancestry

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 Daniilovichi family 14th-century Russian nobility Medieval Russian military personnel 14th-century military personnel 15th-century military personnel