Biography

Canonization

Mikhail Yaroslavich in art

In literature

Mikhail Yaroslavich in heraldry

Mikhail Yaroslavich(1271-1318) - Prince of Tver (1282 or 1286-1318), in 1305-1318 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. He waged a continuous struggle with Novgorod and with the Moscow prince Yuri Danilovich. By order of Khan Uzbek, he was killed in the Golden Horde, after which the great reign passed to Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich.

Biography

Prince Mikhail was born after the death of his father Yaroslav Yaroslavich. In 1294, Mikhail Yaroslavich married the Rostov princess Anna Dmitrievna, later glorified by the Orthodox Church as the holy blessed princess Anna Kashinskaya.

The date of ascension to the Vladimir grand-ducal throne in various sources is interpreted as either 1304 or 1305. This is due to the fact that the Grand Duke of Vladimir Andrei Alexandrovich, who died in 1304, bequeathed the great reign to Mikhail, but the Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich also laid claim to the grand-ducal throne. Both Mikhail and Yuri went to the khan for trial. As a result, Mikhail received the khan’s charter in 1305 and, having arrived in Vladimir, was promoted by Metropolitan to the throne of the Great Reign.

In the correspondence between Michael and the Patriarch of Constantinople Niphon I (held in 1310-1314), the address was used Grand Duke of All Rus'- on currently, this is the first known use of such an address to the rulers of Rus'. It is assumed that the title of “All Rus'” was adopted in 1305, by analogy with the naming of Orthodox hierarchs.

Death

In 1317, another armed conflict occurred between Mikhail and Yuri Danilovich of Moscow, known as the Battle of Bortenev, as a result of which Yuri’s wife, Konchak (sister of Khan Uzbek, great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan, baptized Agathia), was captured by the Tver prince. Soon she died in Tver, and the struggle flared up with new strength. Both princes were forced to go to the Horde. Mikhail arrived to the khan later than his rival, which was the reason for his death: Yuri managed to turn Uzbek against the Tver prince.

The khan's trial took place, after which the prince was put in stocks. A month later, after much torment and bullying, Mikhail Tverskoy was killed by the people of Yuri Danilovich and Kavgady, a Tatar supporter of the Moscow prince. The coffin with the prince’s body was transported to Tver only a year later, after the conclusion of an agreement between Yuri and the son of Mikhail Yaroslavich Alexander. Prince Mikhail Tverskoy was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the city on the banks of the Volga.

Canonization

Mikhail Tverskoy canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the ranks of the faithful in 1549 at the second Makarievsky Cathedral in Moscow. In 1632, the discovery of the prince’s relics took place.

Mikhail Yaroslavich in art

On May 23, 2008, on the central square of Tver - Sovetskaya - a monument to Mikhail Yaroslavich - the heavenly patron of the city - was unveiled - the work of sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk. In the City Garden of Tver, near the Volzhsky Descent, a worship cross was erected for Mikhail Yaroslavich. At the confluence of the Tmaka and the Volga, the Church of Mikhail Tverskoy was erected.

In literature

• Dmitry Balashov. "The Great Table" (novel).

Mikhail Yaroslavich in heraldry

The crown depicted on the coat of arms of Tver symbolizes Mikhail Yaroslavich - the first head of state in Russian history, called the “autocrat”. The Tver banner on one side bears the image of the city's coat of arms, on the other - Mikhail Yaroslavich and the inscription "Mikhail Yaroslavich, patron of the city."

Karamzin N.M. "History of Russian Goverment"

Reference:

Tver Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich (was the nephew of Alexander Nevsky) showed himself to be a clever politician and an excellent military man. By force of intrigue and weapons, he claimed power over the Novgorod Republic, and at the same time, in 1305, he was able to receive from the khan a label for a great reign over all Russian lands. New status placed him above other rivals, but did not provide guarantees of safety.

At this very time, its ruler, the famous peacemaker prince, Saint Daniel of Moscow, died in Moscow. He became famous for relying on the development of the city, which significantly strengthened his principality. But his son Yuri was the complete opposite of his father. He plunged headlong into the abyss of civil strife, hastening to strengthen the peaceful success of Moscow with weapons and intrigue. Now Mikhail Tverskoy had to seriously think about how to get rid of his Moscow competitor.

Tver marched on Moscow twice, but Yuri was able to repel Mikhail’s troops. Several more times war between cities was prevented before bloodshed began. Meanwhile, Yuri received the strongest trump card in his hands: Princess Konchaka (baptized Agafya), the sister of the Horde Khan Uzbek, became his wife. Thus, the Moscow prince himself received the high title of gurgan, that is, son-in-law of the all-powerful Genghisid dynasty.

In the famous Battle of Bortenevskaya, her troops defeated the enemy: Yuri fled, and his wife and the prominent Tatar dignitary Kavgady were captured by the Tver people. It seemed that Mikhail could now negotiate with his enemies from new strong positions. Everything was going to the point that Tver would emerge victorious from the confrontation with Moscow, but the irreparable happened...

Princess Konchaka-Agafya did not remain in captivity for long; she was surrounded in Tver by truly royal attention. It was expected that she would soon go home to her brother, but suddenly, completely unexpectedly and suddenly, the khan’s sister died. Rumors spread about her poisoning.

Realizing that this threatened disaster not only for him, but for the whole of Tver, Prince Mikhail hurried to the Horde. Apparently, even then he understood that he was unlikely to return home. And so it happened: the blame for the death of the princess was placed entirely on him, there could only be one sentence - death.

The Tver residents managed to plan and prepare Mikhail’s escape; he was offered to leave the Khan’s headquarters and hide. But it was here that the moment of truth came for the prince.

Rus' remembered well what the Horde raids were. The former capital, brilliant Kyiv, still lay in ruins, although more than half a century had passed. Old Ryazan and Kozelsk turned into sinister cities the dead, where not a single person remained, not even children.

The Horde was already far beyond the Terek and the Cherkassy mountains, near the Iron Gates, or Derbent, near the Yassy city of Tetyakova, taken by our Princes in 1277 for Khan Mangu-Timur. Kavgadiy approached the Tsar every day with imaginary evidence that the Grand Duke was a convicted villain: Uzbek, young, inexperienced, was afraid of being unfair; finally, deceived by the consent of the unscrupulous judges, like-minded Georgievs and Kavgadyevs, he approved their verdict.

Mikhail knew and was not horrified; Having listened to Matins (for the Abbot and two Priests were with him), he blessed his son, Constantine; instructed him to tell his mother and brothers that he was dying their tender friend; that they, of course, will not abandon the faithful Boyars and his servants, who at the throne and in prison expressed equal zeal for the Tsar. The decisive hour was approaching. Michael, taking the Psalter from the priest and unfolding it, read the words:my heart is confused within me, and the fear of death attacks me. His soul involuntarily shuddered. The abbot told him: “ Sovereign! In this same Psalm, so well known to you, it is written: cast your sorrow upon the Lord." The Grand Duke continued: who will give me a krill like a pigeon? and I’ll fly and rest... Touched by this living image of freedom, he closed the book, and at that very moment one of his Youths ran into the headquarters with a pale face, saying in a trembling voice that Prince Georgy Daniilovich, Kavgadiy and many people were approaching the tent. “I know why,” answered Mikhail and immediately sent his young son to the Queen, named Bayalini, being confident of her pity. Georgiy and Kavgady stopped near the tent, in the square, and dismounted from their horses, dispatching the murderers to commit lawlessness.

All the princely people were dispersed: Michael stood alone and prayed: The villains threw him to the ground, tortured him, and beat him with their heels. One of them, named Romanets (hence, Christian Faith), plunged a knife into his ribs and cut out his heart. The people broke into the headquarters for robbery, which was allowed by the Mughals in this case. - George and Kavgady, having learned about the death of the Holy Martyr - for our Church rightly recognizes him as such - mounted their horses and rode up to the tent. Mikhail's body lay naked. Kavgady, looking fiercely at George, said to him: “ He is your uncle: will you leave his corpse to be desecrated?» Servant Georgiev covered it with his clothes.

The coffin with the prince's body was transported to Tver only a year later, after the conclusion of an agreement between Yuri Danilovich Moskovsky and with son of Mikhail Yaroslavich Alexander .

Prince Mikhail Tverskoy was buried in Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral on the banks of the Volga. The cathedral itself was blown up on the night of April 3–4, 1935. In 1937, a square with a sculpture of Stalin and Lenin in the middle was laid out in its place. In October 1941, a German cemetery was established here, which was liquidated after the liberation of the city. After the war, the square was restored, and in the middle of it a monument to Kalinin was erected.

Congratulations from the Governor of the Tver Region Andrei Shevelev on the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Blessed Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy

Information taken from websites
"Runeverse" And "Russian line"

History of the Tver region Vorobiev Vyacheslav Mikhailovich

§ 8. THE REIGN OF MIKHAIL YAROSLAVICH

§ 8. THE REIGN OF MIKHAIL YAROSLAVICH

Rice. 15. Icon "The Savior on the throne, with Michael and Xenia standing before him." From the Chronicle of George Amartol. Beginning of the 14th century

Prince Mikhail began life statesman early. In 1288, he showed his independence by not wanting to go to Vladimir to greet Grand Duke Dmitry Alexandrovich, who received the khan's label. Dmitry and his army invaded the Tver lands, ravaged the outskirts of Kashin and burned Ksnyatin. In 1294, Dmitry, deprived of the Vladimir throne and expelled from his inheritance, sought protection in Tver. Mikhail accepted him and, with the help of Bishop Andrei, reconciled him with the new prince.

Rus' continued to be rocked by civil strife. The princely congresses of 1296 in Vladimir and 1300 in Dmitrov, in which Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy took part, also did not lead to agreement. In the quarrels of the Great Prince of Vladimir Andrei Gorodetsky with contenders for the throne, the Tver prince supported his opponents. After Andrei's death in 1304, Mikhail, as the eldest among the descendants of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, became the main contender for the grand ducal throne. Yuri Danilovich Moskovsky, Mikhail’s nephew, made the same claims, but was not successful. With the rise of Mikhail Yaroslavich, Tver acquired dominance in North-Eastern Rus'. However, Moscow did not stop its struggle for supreme power. In an effort to weaken his opponent, Michael twice, in 1305 and 1308, made campaigns to Moscow, which ended unsuccessfully.

By the end of the 13th century. Tver became one of the centers of Volga trade, the sale of bread and various raw materials to Novgorod, Pskov, Lithuania, and Smolensk land. It was a crowded trading city. Travel fees the ships and carts with goods provided a large income to the princely treasury.

According to established tradition, the Grand Duke of Vladimir was also the Prince of Novgorod. Relations between Novgorod and Tver were complex. These closest neighbors and trading partners were often at odds. During conflicts with Novgorod, the Tverites blocked passage along Mologa and Tvertsa and intercepted merchants with grain. The Novgorodians, having experienced a “strong hunger,” made concessions to Tver.

Mikhail's desire to subjugate Novgorod caused discontent among the Novgorodians. In 1305, Mikhail unsuccessfully insisted on annexing part of the Novgorod lands that belonged to his predecessors, the Grand Dukes of Vladimir, to Tver. In 1312, the Tver prince recalled his governors from Novgorod and stopped the export of grain to the north. Novgorod, which had recently experienced a severe fire and lost its grain supplies, sued for peace.

Trying to weaken the Tver principality, the Novgorodians turned to Moscow for help. A serious conflict broke out after the death of Khan Tokhta of the Golden Horde in 1313 and the rise to power of Khan Uzbek. Mikhail Yaroslavich went to the Horde to get a label for the great reign. On next year The Novgorodians drove out the Tver governors, burned the Tver villages on the left bank of the Volga and turned to Yuri of Moscow for support. Returning from the Horde in 1315 with a label, Mikhail set out on a campaign against Novgorod. In the decisive battle near Torzhok, the Novgorodians were defeated, and the city was devastated. Mikhail imposed a huge tribute of 12 thousand on Novgorod. hryvnia silver The following year, unrest in Novgorod forced Mikhail to undertake a new campaign. It turned out to be a serious setback for the Tverites and erased the results of their recent victory.

During the period of Mongol-Tatar rule, the main force uniting the disparate Russian lands was the Orthodox Church. In the activities of the Great Prince of Vladimir, her support always remained vital. Tverskaya was founded around 1271 diocese. The main centers of spiritual life in Tver and its surroundings were Cathedral Saint Savior Transfiguration, built in 1285-1290, and the monasteries: Sophia women's monastery, men's Assumption Otroch (at the confluence of the Tvertsa River and the Volga) and Bogoroditsky over the Stream on the river. Shoshe, south of Tver.

In December 1305 he died in Vladimir metropolitan Maksim. Mikhail Tverskoy nominated his successor abbot Gerontia. However, the head of the Russian church was Hegumen Peter, a native of Southern Rus'. Prince Mikhail's attempts to achieve the removal of the metropolitan were unsuccessful and worsened Tver's relations with the new head of the church. Yuri Moskovsky supported Peter, who moved from Vladimir to Moscow. This event significantly increased the authority of the Moscow princely house, but had a negative impact on Tver. For example, when Michael in 1311 was going to march with an army to Nizhny Novgorod In order to secure the lands along the Oka and Middle Volga, the Metropolitan banned this campaign.

In the summer of 1317, Yuri of Moscow managed to obtain a label from the Horde for the great reign of Vladimir. His position strengthened after his marriage to Konchak, the sister of Khan Uzbek. The Tver prince's desire for independence and his active policy to expand the territory of the principality seemed dangerous to the khan. Mikhail did not dare to oppose the khan’s decision, but he did not agree to an alliance with Yuri. “Brother! If the king gave you a great reign, then I will surrender to you, but do not intercede in my fatherland,” the chronicler quotes Michael’s appeal to Yuri.

But the Moscow prince, having secured the support of the Novgorodians, moved to Tver. Mikhail took retaliatory action. He defeated the Novgorod detachment near Torzhok and made peace with Novgorod. Then the Tverites turned towards the Moscow army and the Tatar detachment of Ambassador Kavgady that was following with it. On December 22, 1317, in the battle of Bortenevo, Mikhail’s troops completely defeated the Moscow regiments. It is not known exactly where Bortenevo was located. Yuri fled to the Horde, Kavgady, Konchak and the Suzdal princes, who were allies of the Muscovites, were captured. Mikhail did not want a conflict with the Horde and accepted the prisoners as guests. Unfortunately for him, the khan's sister suddenly died in Tver. Yuri accused the Tver prince of disobeying the khan's will, poisoning Konchaka, and got Mikhail summoned to the Horde. His failure to appear or flight would have led to the devastation of the Tver lands.

Despite the boyars' entreaties not to leave Tver, Mikhail went to the Horde. There he was tried, put in stocks and, after much bullying, killed on November 22, 1318 in the presence of Yuri of Moscow and Kavgady. The remains of the prince were brought home and buried in the Tver Transfiguration Cathedral. Martyrdom the prince, who protected the Tver land from the Tatar raid, was not forgotten in Rus'. In 1549 he was canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.