In Russian history, this descendant of the Moscow Grand Dukes family 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 Shemyak. He was remembered not by feats of arms and successful deeds in the management of specific principalities, but by the fact that he waged an endless struggle for the throne. Dmitry Shemyaka wanted to rule the whole Russian state, and not its separate part. 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 is that he still managed to achieve his cherished goal and become the head of the Moscow principality. How was Dmitry Shemyaka able 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.
From a young age, the prince had hatched the idea of putting on a "Monomakh hat", despite the fact that his father was in good health. Young Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka, whose brief biography is contained in almost any history textbook, began to participate in dynastic feuds against Vasily the Second (Dark), with the support of his older brother Vasily Kosy. The young prince provided full support to 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 applicants was "tough": they occupied the throne alternately.
Father's death
When the Grand Duke Yuri Dmitrievich dies (this 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 Red, they help Vasily the Second to overthrow his older brother and take the throne. In gratitude for such a service, Dmitry Shemyaka (reign: Galician principality - (1433-1450), Uglich principality - (1441-1447), Moscow - (1445-1447) receives inheritance. 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, he did not succeed in realizing his dreams then, and he was forced to come to terms with Vasily the Second for a while. Nevertheless, for many historians it turned out to be a complete surprise that Dmitry Shemyaka was for some time the Prince of Moscow. This is how it happened.
In 1445, a campaign was announced against the Golden Horde, whose soldiers violated the borders of Russia. Having lost the battle of Suzdal, Vasily the Second was captured and, according to the rules of succession to the throne, Dmitry Yuryevich became his successor, albeit temporary, since he was the eldest of the descendants of Ivan Kalita.
Country management
Sources indicate that the Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow was a "mediocre" manager. Dmitry Shemyaka, whose foreign and domestic policy was reduced solely to strengthening his own positions in power, did not bring the state entrusted to him to prosperity and prosperity.
From his short-sighted decisions, sometimes all classes suffered: boyars, merchants, princes, wars. Increased anger among the people caused the so-called Shemyaki courts. The upstart prince was a very rude and arrogant man, so the sentences that the judgments he created had had very few points of contact with justice.
The arbitrariness committed by the then representatives of Themis was eloquently described in the satirical Tale of the Shemyakinsky Court. It was during this period that phenomena like bribery, extortion, and abuse of power by judges began to flourish as never before. The norms of ancient charters were ignored, court decisions were often made contrary to common sense. The historian Karamzin considered the situation of the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy to blame.
Such arbitrariness created all the prerequisites for the mass outflow of people to begin from the capital. The number of dissatisfied with the policy of Dmitry Yuryevich grew day by day.
The foreign policy of Russia during the reign of Shemyaki also did not meet the requirements of the time. The Grand Duke Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow, in order to take possession of the throne, did not pay a ransom for the prisoner Vasily the Second, and in order to maintain power, he tried to be pleasing to the Khan of the Golden Horde. He also enlisted the support of his brother-in-law, Grand Duke of Lithuania Svidrigaila Olgerdovich, ignoring the political interests of the Novgorod Republic.
The confrontation continues
After some time, Vasily the Second manages to free himself from the Tatar captivity by paying a huge ransom. Having learned about this, Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka was not going to give up his positions and hastened to block his opponent’s path to the “white stone”. Having met Vasily in the Trinity Monastery, the Grand Duke Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow deprived him of the ability to see and exiled to Uglich.
But soon Shemyaka freed his relative and placed Vologda in his possession. Supporters and associates of Vasily the Second began to come to this city, who after some time gathered a massive army and moved to the capital to win the throne. And he succeeds. Dmitry Yuryevich handed over to the Grand Duke Uglich, Rzhev and 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
Since 1447, Shemyaka Dmitry Yuryevich took control of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod land, and in the period from 1451 to 1453 he reigned in the Novgorod Republic. But here he did not stay long. He again began to carry out ambitious plans to expand the boundaries of his reign. Dmitry Yuryevich with his army moved down the Dvina and without any particular resistance occupied Ustyug. However, far from all the inhabitants of this city were glad to see the Grand Duke, realizing that his influence in power was dying away every day. But Shemyaka still wanted to control people, even in a single principality, so he brutally cracked down on the Ustyuzhans, who showed disobedience to him.
Moreover, he applied the most terrible measures of intimidation to them: some were killed by putting a stone on his neck and throwing him into the river. Local residents did not want such arbitrariness to occur on their land, and asked for help from the notches and vychezhan, since the territory in which they lived was administratively owned by Ustyug. One way or another, but Dmitry Yurievich managed to ultimately conquer the Old Russian city. After this victory, he ordered the Vyatchans to rob the princely volosts located on the territory of the Vychegod-Vymsk land.
Anathematization
The atrocities and atrocities that occurred at the behest of the Grand Duke of Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow, could not but outrage the representatives of the clergy. According to some sources, in 1450 Prince Dmitry Shemyaka was excommunicated, in support of which a “damned letter” was written. This document was signed by Perm Bishop Pitirim. However, to this day, historians have been debating whether Dmitry Donskoy’s grandson was really anathema, since the sources on this issue are contradictory. In particular, Metropolitan Jonah in a letter to Archbishop Ephrimios wrote that the prince "excommunicated himself."
Why Shemyaka?
So, we figured out how Dmitry Shemyaka came to power. Why was such a nickname attached to the Grand Duke Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow? This question is no less interesting for the reader.
There are several versions on this score. 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 from “Shemyaka” (they called one who possessed tremendous power). But the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy “became famous” thanks to other qualities: cunning, cruelty, treachery and lust for power. For the sake of his own interests, Dmitry Shemyaka was ready for anything. The nickname that he received among the people was spread in lands where the Galician princes had great authority. It is possible that Prince Alexander A. Shakhovsky himself began to wear it after he became related to Shemyaka. Sources testifies that in 1538 Ivan Shemyaka Dolgovo-Saburov lived, whose genealogy began in Kostroma. In 1562, Shemyak Istomin-Ogorelkov was mentioned: his ancestors were Vologda. In 1550, Vasily Shemyak worked in Russia, who had his own saltworks. In the XVI century, according to sources, people with the name of Shemyak also lived on the territory of the Novgorod Republic.
Wife and kids
The Grand Duke Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moskovsky married Sofya Dmitrievna, who was the daughter of Zaozersky Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich. Father-in-law Dmitry Shemyaki was a descendant of the Holy Prince Fedor the Black. Historical documents indicate that the wedding of the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy with Sofia Dmitrievna took place no earlier than 1436. In marriage they had a son, Ivan Dmitrievich. This happened in Uglich not earlier than 1437. After 12 years, the offspring settled with his mother in the St. George Monastery.
Sofya Dmitrievna also gave birth to a daughter, Maria. Subsequently, she married Alexander Chartorysky and stayed to live 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 attempts to become the governor of a strong and independent principality, the capital of which should be Ustyug, also failed. The Grand Duke Uglitsky, Galitsky and Moscow was very afraid of revenge for his deeds on the part of Vasily the Second, to whom Novgorod patrons of Dmitry Yuryevich fell into disgrace. For some time they “turned a blind eye” to the numerous atrocities 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 Russia again, but the inhabitants were already tired of internecine wars and strife: everyone wanted peace and quiet. Metropolitan Jonah corresponded with Bishop Euthymius, in which he repeatedly requested that Dmitry Yuryevich abandon all attempts to return the throne to his hands and once and for all make peace with Vasily the Second. But, unfortunately, she did not have positive results: Shemyaka did not want to make any concessions. But he was soon punished for his atrocities.
