Yuri Dolgoruki
Encyclopedia
- Yuri I redirects here. For the king of Galicia-Volhynia, see Yuri I of Galicia.
Prince Yuri I Dolgorukiy , also known as George I of Rus', (c. 109915 May 1157) was the founder of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and a key figure in the transition of political power from Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
to Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal
The Vladimir-Suzdal Principality or Vladimir-Suzdal Rus’ was one of the major principalities which succeeded Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century and lasted until the late 14th century. For a long time the Principality was a vassal of the Mongolian Golden Horde...
following the death of his elder brother Mstislav the Great
Mstislav I of Kiev
Mstislav I Vladimirovich the Great was the Grand Prince of Kiev , the eldest son of Vladimir II Monomakh by Gytha of Wessex...
. He reigned as Velikiy Kniaz (Grand Prince
Grand Prince
The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns...
) of Kiev from September 1149 to April 1151 and then again from March 1155 to May 1157.
Activities in Rostov and Suzdal
Yuri was the sixth son of Vladimir Monomakh. Although his birthdate is uncertain, some chronicles report that Yuri's elder brother, ViacheslavViacheslav I of Kiev
Viacheslav Vladimirovich , Prince of Smolensk , Turov , Pereyaslavl , Peresopnitsa , Vyshgorod and Grand Prince of Kiev ....
, said to him: "I am much older than you; I was already bearded when you were born." Since Viacheslav was born in 1083, this pushes Yuri's birth to c. 1099/1100.
In 1108, Yuri was sent by his father to govern in his name the vast Rostov-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal
The Vladimir-Suzdal Principality or Vladimir-Suzdal Rus’ was one of the major principalities which succeeded Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century and lasted until the late 14th century. For a long time the Principality was a vassal of the Mongolian Golden Horde...
province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
in the north-east of Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
. In 1121, he quarrelled with the boyars of Rostov
Rostov
Rostov 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:...
and moved the capital of his lands from that city to Suzdal
Suzdal
Suzdal is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: -History:...
. As the area was sparsely populated, Yuriy founded many fortresses there. He established the towns of Ksniatin in 1134, Pereslavl-Zalesski and Yuriev-Polski in 1152, and Dmitrov
Dmitrov
Dmitrov is a town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Moscow Canal. Population: -History:...
in 1154. The establishment of Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
, Kostroma
Kostroma
Kostroma is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns, it is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers...
, and Vologda
Vologda
Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...
is also popularly assigned to Yuri.
In 1147, Yuri Dolgoruki had a meeting with Sviatoslav Olgovich
Sviatoslav Olgovich
Sviatoslav Olgovich , Prince of Novgorod Novhorod-Siversky , Bilhorod Kyivsky and Chernihiv...
in a place called Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In 1156, Yuri fortified Moscow with wooden walls and a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
. Although the settlement probably existed earlier, Dolgoruki is often called "The Founder of Moscow".
Struggle for Kiev
For all the interest he took in fortifying his Northern lands, Yuri still coveted the throne of KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. It is his active participation in the Southern affairs that earned him the epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
of Dolgorukiy, "the long-armed". His elder brother Mstislav of Kiev died in 1132, and "the Rus lands fell apart", as one chronicle put it. Yuri instantaneously declared war on the princes of Chernigov, enthroned his son in Novgorod, and captured Pereyaslav of the South. The Novgorodians, however, betrayed him, and Yuri avenged by seizing their key fortress, Torzhok
Torzhok
Torzhok is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, famous for its folk craft of goldwork embroidery. Population: Torzhok has twenty-two large and medium-sized industrial enterprises. Two of them are especially significant...
.
In 1147, Dolgorukiy resumed his struggle for Kiev and two years later he captured it, but in 1151 he was driven from the capital of Rus by his nephew Iziaslav. In 1155, Yuri regained Kiev once again. His sudden death, however, sparked anti-Suzdal
Suzdal
Suzdal is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: -History:...
ian uprising in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Yuri Dolgoruki was interred at the Saviour Church in Berestovo, Kiev, but his tomb is empty
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
.
Marriages and children
The Primary ChroniclePrimary Chronicle
The Primary Chronicle , Ruthenian Primary Chronicle or Russian Primary Chronicle, is a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113.- Three editions :...
records the first marriage of Yuri on 12 January 1108. His first wife was a daughter of Aepa Ocenevich, Khan of the Cumans
Cumans
The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...
. Her paternal grandfather was Osen. Her people belonged to the Kipchaks
Kipchaks
Kipchaks were a Turkic tribal confederation...
, a confederation of pastoralists and warriors of Turkic origin.
His second wife Helena survived him and moved to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Her paternity is not known for certain but Nikolay Karamzin was the first to theorise that Helena was returning to her native city. She has since been theorised to be a member of the Komnenos
Komnenos
Komnenós or Comnenus was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire , who halted the political decline of the Empire from c.1081 to c.1185.-Origins:...
dynasty which ruled the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
throughout the life of Yuri. She has been tentatively identified with Helena Komnene, a daughter of Isaac Komnenos
Isaac Komnenos (d. 1152)
Isaac Komnenos or Comnenus was the third son of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Empress Irene Doukaina.-Life:He was the brother of Emperor John II Komnenos and the historian Anna Komnene...
. The identification would make her a granddaughter of Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
and Irene Doukaina
Irene Doukaina
Irene Doukaina or Ducaena was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, and the mother of the emperor John II Komnenos and of the historian Anna Komnene.-Succession of Alexios and Irene:...
.
Yuri had at least fifteen children. The identities of the mothers are not known for certain
- The following are considered elder children and usually attributed to the first wife.
- Rostislav YuryevichRostislav YuryevichRostislav Yuryevich was the Prince of Novgorod and Pereyaslavl, oldest son of Yuri Dolgoruky, and brother of Andrei Bogolyubsky.- Biography :...
, Prince of PereyaslavlPereiaslav-KhmelnytskyiPereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi is a town located where Alta River flows into Trubizh River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Raion , the town itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
(d. 6 April 1151). - Ivan Yuryevich, Prince of KurskKurskKursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
(d. 24 February 1147). - Olga Yuryevna (d. 1189). Married Yaroslav OsmomyslYaroslav OsmomyslYaroslav Osmomysl was the most famous Prince of Halych from the first dynasty of its rulers, which descended from Yaroslav I's eldest son. His sobriquet, meaning "Eight-Minded" in Old East Slavic, was granted to him in recognition of his wisdom...
. - Andrei I Bogolyubsky (c. 1111 - 28 June 1174).
- Maria Yuryevna. Married Oleg Sviatoslavich, Prince of Novhorod-SiverskyiNovhorod-SiverskyiNovhorod-Siversky is a historic city in the Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Novhorod-Siversky Raion, and is situated on the bank of the Desna River, 330 km from the capital, Kiev, and 45 km south of the Russian border. Current estimated population:...
. - Sviatoslav Yuryevich (d. 11 January 1174).
- Yaroslav Yuryevich (d. 12 April 1166).
- Gleb of KievGleb of KievGleb Yuryevich , Prince of Kursk , Kanev , Pereyaslavl and Grand Prince of Kiev . Son of Yuri Dolgoruky....
(d. 1171). - Boris Yuryevich, Prince of BelgorodBelgorod KievskyBilhorod Kyivsky was a city-castle of Kievan Rus' on the right bank of Irpin River. The city was quite prominent in the 10th-12th centuries but ceased to exist after 1240 destruction of Kiev by the Mongols. Currently there is a small village of Bilohorodka, Kiev Oblast near the location of the...
and TuraŭTurauTuraŭ or Turaw is a town in the Zhytkavichy Raion of Homiel Province of Belarus and the former capital of the medieval Principality of Turov and Pinsk.-History:...
(d. 12 May 1159). - Mstislav Yuryevich, Prince of Novgorod (d. 1166).
- Vasilko Yuryevich, Prince of SuzdalSuzdalSuzdal is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: -History:...
(deposed in 1161).
- Rostislav Yuryevich
- The following are considered youngest and typically attributed to the second wife
- Mikhail of VladimirMikhail of VladimirMikhalko Yuryevich , Prince of Torchesk , Vladimir and Suzdal and Grand Prince of Kiev ....
(d. 20 June 1176). - Vsevolod the Big Nest (1154 - 12 April 1212).
- David Yuryevich.
- Yaropolk Yuryevich.
- Mikhail of Vladimir
Ancestors
Memorials
Muscovites have cherished Yuri's memory as the legendary founder of city. His patron saint, Saint GeorgeSaint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
appears on the coat of arms of Moscow
Coat of arms of Moscow
The Coat of Arms of Moscow depicts a horseman with a spear in his hand slaying a basilisk and is identified with Saint George and the Dragon. The heraldic emblem of Moscow has been an integral part of the Coat of Arms of Russia since the 16th century...
slaying a dragon. In 1954, a monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
to him designed by sculptor Sergei Orlov
Sergei Orlov (sculptor)
Sergey Mikhailovich Orlov was a Russian painter, ceramicist and sculptor specializing in depicting Russian historical figures.Orlov worked in ceramics and porcelain for decades until his first large-scale commission, the 1954 equestrian statue of Yuri Dolgorukiy on Tverskaya Street, which he won...
was erected on Moscow's Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street , known as Gorky Street between 1935 and 1990, is the main and probably best-known radial street of Moscow, Russia. The street runs from the central Manege Square north-west in the direction of Saint Petersburg and terminated at the Garden Ring, giving its name to Tverskoy District...
, the city's principal avenue, in front of the Moscow municipality.
Dolgoruki's image was stamped on a medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
"In commemoration of Moscow's 800th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
", introduced in 1947.
The nuclear submarine Yuri Dolgoruki
RFS Yury Dolgoruky
K-535 Yuriy Dolgorukiy is the first SSBN submarine of the Borei class of the Project 955 that is being built for the Russian Navy. Named after the founder of Moscow Yuri Dolgoruki, it was laid down on 2 November 1996 and was first planned to enter service in 2001.However, the SS-N-28 missile that...
is named after him.