Prince Dmitry Shemyaka: biography. Domestic and foreign policy of Dmitry Shemyaka
He was known as a man with unbridled energy: he was a cynic who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Who is he? The grandson of Dmitry Donskoy himself is Prince Dmitry Shemyaka. He was remembered not for his feats of arms and successful deeds in the management of specific principalities, but for the fact that he waged an endless struggle for the throne. Dmitry Shemyaka wanted to rule the entire Russian state, and not a separate part of it. At the same time, as already emphasized, in the means that he used to take the throne, the prince was not particularly picky. The paradox lies in the fact that he still managed to achieve his cherished goal and become the head of the Moscow principality. How did Dmitry Shemyaka manage to take the throne in the Russian capital? Let's consider this question in more detail.
Facts from the biography
Dmitry Shemyaka (years of life: 1420-1453) was the offspring of the Grand Duke of Moscow Yuri Dmitrievich.
Already from a young age, the prince nurtured the idea of putting on the "Monomakh's hat", despite the fact that his father was in good health. Young Dmitry Yurievich Shemyaka, whose brief biography is contained in almost any history textbook, began to participate in dynastic strife against enlisting the support of his older brother. The young prince provided full support to his father Yuri Dmitrievich when it came to claims to the throne. It should be noted that the struggle for the right to govern the state between the above-mentioned applicants was "tough": they occupied the throne alternately.
Father's death
When the Grand Duke Yuri Dmitrievich dies (it happened in 1434), his eldest son, Vasily Kosoy, sits on the throne. Dmitry Shemyaka took this news with undisguised annoyance; he was not happy with this state of affairs. Together with their younger brother Dmitry the Red, they help Vasily II overthrow his older brother and take the throne. In gratitude for such a service, Dmitry Shemyaka (years of reign: Galician principality - (1433-1450), Uglich principality - (1441-1447), Moscow - (1445-1447) receives destinies. He becomes the ruler of Rzhev and Uglich.
power struggle
However, after some time, Shemyaka turns into an ambitious prince: he decides to join the struggle for the throne, gathering around him numerous opposition from the boyars.
True, then he did not succeed in realizing his dreams, and he was forced to reconcile for some time with Vasily II. And yet, for many historians, it turned out to be a complete surprise that Dmitry Shemyaka was a Moscow prince for some time. Here's how it happened.
In 1445, a campaign was announced against the Golden Horde, whose soldiers violated the borders of Rus'. Having lost the battle near Suzdal, Vasily II was taken prisoner and, according to the norms of succession to the throne, Dmitry Yuryevich became his successor, albeit temporary, since he was the eldest of the descendants of Ivan Kalita.
Country governance
Sources testify that the Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow was an "incompetent" manager. Dmitry Shemyaka, whose foreign and domestic policy was limited solely to strengthening his own positions in power, did not lead the state entrusted to him to prosperity and prosperity.
All classes sometimes suffered from his short-sighted decisions: boyars, merchants, princes, wars. The so-called Shemyaki trials caused increased anger among the people. The upstart prince was a very rude and arrogant person, so the sentences that the justice he created had very few points of contact with justice.
The arbitrariness that the then representatives of Themis did was eloquently described in the satirical "Tale of the Shemyakinsky Court." It was during this period that such phenomena as bribery, extortion, excess of their powers by judges began to flourish as never before. The norms of ancient statutes were ignored, court decisions were often made contrary to common sense. The historian Karamzin considered the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy to be the culprit of the situation.
Such arbitrariness created all the prerequisites for a massive outflow of people from the capital. The number of those dissatisfied with the policy of Dmitry Yuryevich grew from day to day.
The foreign policy of Rus' during the reign of Shemyaka also did not meet the requirements of the time. The Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow, in order to seize the throne, did not pay a ransom for the captive Vasily II, but in order to retain power, he tried to be pleasing to the Khan of the Golden Horde. He also enlisted the support of his brother-in-law - the Grand Duke of Lithuania Svidrigaila Olgerdovich, ignoring the political interests of the Novgorod Republic.
The confrontation continues
After some time, Vasily II manages to free himself from Tatar captivity by paying a huge ransom. Upon learning of this, Shemyaka Dmitry Yuryevich was not going to give up his positions and hurried to block his opponent's path to the "white stone". Having met Vasily in the Trinity Monastery, the Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow deprived him of the ability to see and exiled him to Uglich.
But soon Shemyaka freed his relative and gave him the possession of Vologda. Supporters and associates of Vasily II began to come to this city, who after some time gathered a massive army and moved to the capital to win back the throne. And he succeeds. Dmitry Yuryevich handed over to the Grand Duke Uglich, Rzhev and the Bezhetskaya volost. In addition, he pledged to return the money from the state treasury and no longer claim the throne. However, in the future, he repeatedly violated these promises.
The throne is lost
From 1447, Shemyaka Dmitry Yuryevich took control of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod land, and from 1451 to reigned in But here he did not stay long. He again began to hatch ambitious plans to expand the boundaries of his reign. Dmitry Yuryevich with his army moved down the Dvina and occupied Ustyug without much resistance. However, not all the inhabitants of this city were happy with the Grand Duke, knowing full well that his influence in power was fading away every day. But Shemyaka still wanted to rule people, even in a single principality, so he brutally cracked down on the Ustyuzhans, who showed disobedience towards him.
Moreover, he applied the most fierce measures of intimidation to them: some were killed by putting a stone around their neck and throwing them into the river. The locals did not want such arbitrariness to happen on their land, and asked for help from the Vymychis and Vychegzhans, since the territory on which they lived was administratively owned by Ustyug. One way or another, but Dmitry Yuryevich eventually managed to conquer the ancient Russian city. After this victory, he ordered the Vyatches to plunder the grand ducal volosts located on the territory of the Vychegodsko-Vymsky land.
Anathematization
The atrocities and atrocities that were committed at the behest of the Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galicia and Moscow, could not but outrage the representatives of the clergy. According to some sources, in 1450, Prince Dmitry Shemyaka was excommunicated from the church, in confirmation of which a “cursed letter” was written. This document was signed by the Permian. However, until now, historians have been debating whether the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy was really anathematized, since the sources on this issue are contradictory. In particular, Metropolitan Jonah, in a letter to Archbishop Ephrimius, wrote that the prince "excommunicated himself from the church."
Why Shemyaka?
So, we figured out how Dmitry Shemyaka came to power. Why was such a nickname attached to the Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galician and Moscow? This question is of no less interest to the reader.
There are several versions of this. One of them is based on the fact that the word "Shemyaka" is akin to the Tatar-Mongolian "Chimek", which means an outfit or decoration. Another interpretation of the word says that "Shemyaka" is an abbreviation for "Sheemyaki" (they called someone who had great strength). But the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy "became famous" thanks to other qualities: cunning, cruelty, deceit and lust for power. For the sake of observing their own interests, Dmitry Shemyaka was ready for anything. The nickname that he received among the people was widespread in the lands where the Galician princes had great authority. It is possible that Prince Alexander Andreevich Shakhovsky himself began to wear it after he became related to Shemyaka. Sources testify that in 1538 Ivan Shemyaka Dolgovo-Saburov lived, whose genealogical roots began in Kostroma. In 1562 Shemyak Istomin-Ogorelkov is mentioned: his ancestors were Vologda residents. In 1550, Vasily Shemyaka worked in Rus', who had his own salt pan. In the 16th century, according to sources, people with the name Shemyaka also lived on the territory of the Novgorod Republic.
Wife and kids
The Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow married Sofya Dmitrievna, who was the daughter of Zaozersky Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich. The father-in-law of Dmitry Shemyaka was a descendant of the Holy Prince Fyodor Cherny. Historical documents testify that the wedding of the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy with Sofya Dmitrievna took place no earlier than 1436. In marriage, they had a son, Ivan Dmitrievich. It happened in Uglich not earlier than 1437. After 12 years, the offspring settled with his mother in the St. George's Monastery.
Sofya Dmitrievna also gave birth to a daughter, Maria. Subsequently, she married Alexander Czartoryski and stayed in Veliky Novgorod. Her death was unexpected: she was buried in the winter of 1456 in the Yuriev Monastery.
last years of life
The final stage of the life period of the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy has not been thoroughly studied, since historical documents do not contain comprehensive information about this. His grandiose plans were not destined to be realized to the maximum extent: he could not stay on the throne in Moscow, and his attempts to become the governor of a strong and independent principality, the capital of which was to be Ustyug, also failed. The Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow was very afraid of revenge for his deeds from Vasily II, who also fell into disgrace with the Novgorod patrons of Dmitry Yuryevich. For some time they "turned a blind eye" to the numerous excesses of the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy, preferring not to interfere in the confrontation between Moscow and Ustyug. Shemyaka himself did not stop thinking about becoming the sole ruler of Rus' again, but the inhabitants were already tired of strife and strife: everyone wanted peace and quiet. He corresponded with Vladyka Evfimy, in which he repeatedly asked that Dmitry Yuryevich stop all attempts to return the throne to his own hands and once and for all make peace with Vasily II. But, unfortunately, she did not have positive results: Shemyaka did not want to make any concessions. But soon he was punished for his atrocities.
Death
The news that the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy had died "came" from the capital of the Novgorod Republic to the "white stone" in the summer of 1453. The chronicles say that this news was told by a clerk named Vasily, who bore the nickname "Trouble." It is noteworthy that after that he was elevated to the clerkship. Why did Dmitry Shemyaka die? A number of documents testify that the Grand Duke was poisoned. What is known about this circumstance? Sources report that the poisonous potion from the capital was delivered, as they say now, by "the confidant of Vasily II" - the clerk Stepan the Bearded. He was a smart man and fulfilled his mission properly. Some sources write that the Bearded gave the poison to the boyar Ivan Kotov, others: to the posadnik Boretsky. Further, the cook of Dmitry Yuryevich was found, to whom the poison was transferred. The only thing left was to present the potion to Shemyaka, which was done. The brewer served his master the chicken. Twelve days the Grand Duke was overcome by "pain", after which he finally died. Examination of the remains of Dmitry Shemyaka confirms that he died of poisoning.
A certain part of historians is sure that the death of the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy is the work of the Novgorod boyars, who at all costs wanted to settle their conflict with Vasily II. For the Novgorod nobility, the Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow, who began to lose authority and positions in power, very soon became objectionable.
One way or another, but the unexpected death of the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy raised many questions in society. The fact that he had been poisoned in such a dastardly manner caused an uproar. From the prince-usurper Dmitry Shemyaka almost instantly turned into a martyr, whom the enemies defeated in an unfair battle.
Later, with undisguised annoyance, his distant relative, Andrei Mikhailovich Kurbsky, would write about the unjust reprisal against the Grand Duke.
