YURI VLADIMIROVICH

(d. 1157), prince of Suzdalia and grand prince of Kiev; nicknamed "Long-arms" ("Dolgoruky") probably because he meddled in the affairs of distant Kiev.

Yuri's father Vladimir Vsevolodovich "Monomakh" gave him Suzdalia as his patrimony. In 1125 Yuri moved his capital from the older Rostov to Suzdal, probably to gain more freedom from the well-established boyar families. He also asserted Suzdalia's independence from Kiev, which was ruled by his eldest brother Mstislav. In consolidating his rule, he founded new towns and fortified existing ones such as Pereyaslavl Zalessky, Dmitrov, Yurev Polsky, Galich, Zvenigorod, and perhaps Kostroma. He appropriated Moscow from a local boyar. He campaigned against the Volga-Kama Bulgars to gain control of the trade route from the Caspian Sea, and he attempted to assert his influence over Novgorod's Baltic trade. Yury, who began the tradition of building churches in Suzdalian towns in 1152, is credited with erecting some five churches. After his brother Mstislav died in 1132, he became the champion of the Monomashichi against the Mstislavichi (rival dynasties) for control of Kiev. That is, in keeping with the system of lateral succession to Kiev allegedly drawn up by Yaroslav Vladimirovich "the Wise" in his so-called testament, Yuri held that Monomakh's younger sons had prior claims over their nephews, Mstislav's sons. In his many battles against the latter, he was supported by the princes of Chernigov and the Polovtsy. In 1155, after his elder brother Vyacheslav died in Kiev, Yuri successfully seized the town. However, he was unpopular with the Kievans, and they poisoned him. He died on May 15, 1157.

See also: boyar; grand prince; mstislav; vladimir monomakh

bibliography

Hellie, Richard. (1987). "Yurii Vladimirovich Dolgorukii." The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, ed. Joseph L. Wieczynski, 45:73–76. Gulf Breeze, FL: Academic International Press.

Martin, Janet. (1995). Medieval Russia 980–1584. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Martin Dimnik