Yuri Dolgoruki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Yurij Dolgoruky)
Jump to: navigation, search
Monument to Yuriy Dolgorukiy in Moscow.
Monument to Yuriy Dolgorukiy in Moscow.

Yuri Dolgoruki (Russian: Юрий Долгорукий), also known as George I of Russia, (c. 1099May 15, 1157) was a key figure in the transition of political power from Kiev to Vladimir-Suzdal following the death of his elder brother Mstislav the Great. He reigned as Veliki Kniaz (Grand Prince) of Kiev from September 1149 to April 1151 and then again from March 1155 to May 1157.

Yuri, or rather George in English, was the sixth son of Vladimir Monomakh. Although his birthdate is uncertain, some chronicles report that Yuri's elder brother, Viacheslav, 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 province in the north-east of Kievan Rus'. In 1121, he quarrelled with the boyars of Rostov and moved the capital of his lands from that city to Suzdal. 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 in 1154. The establishment of Tver, Kostroma, and Vologda is also popularly assigned to Yuri.

In 1147, Yuri Dolgoruki had a meeting with Sviatoslav Olgovich in a place called Moscow. This first mention of Moscow is considered the traditional date of the city's founding. In 1156, Yuri fortified Moscow with wooden walls and a moat.

For all the interest he took in fortifying his Northern lands, Yuri still coveted the throne of Kiev. It is his active participation in the Southern affairs that earned him the sobriquet of "Dolgoruki", i.e., "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.

In 1147, Dolgoruki 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, sparkled anti-Suzdalian uprising in Kiev. Yuri Dolgoruki was interred at the Saviour Church in Berestovo, Kiev, but his tomb is empty.

Muscovites have cherished Yuri's memory ever since and represented his patron saint, Saint George slaying a dragon, on the city's coat of arms. In 1954, a monument to him was erected on Moscow's principal avenue. Dolgoruki's image was stamped on a medal "In commemoration of Moscow's 800th anniversary", introduced in 1947. The nuclear submarine Yuri Dolgoruki is named after him.

Preceded by
Iziaslav II
Grand Prince of Kiev
1155-1157
Succeeded by
Iziaslav III
Preceded by
Vladimir Monomakh
Prince of Rostov and Suzdal Succeeded by
Andrei Bogolyubsky
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.