Vasily II of Moscow
Vasily Vasilyevich II the Blind (Russian Василий II Васильевич Тёмный; * March 10, 1415 in Moscow, † March 27, 1462 ibid ) was in 1425 the Russian Grand Prince of Moscow (Russian великий князь московский - Veliky Knyaz Moskovsky ).
He was the youngest and only surviving son of his predecessor Vasily Dmitrievich I.. First, he had to two cousins , Vasily the squint and Dimitri Jurjewitsch Shemyaka (Russian Дмитрий Юрьевич Шемяка ) help thinking that its about her father Yuri of Zvenigorod ( Prince of Galich - Merskij ) the situation of the only 10 -year-old Grand Duke of the part maternal grandfather was Vytautas the Great support, used for their own throne claims. Yuri won in 1430 by Vytautas ' death, the permission of the Golden Horde under Khan Ulugh Mehmed, Moscow take. The Khan supported him for political reasons no further, but Yuri nevertheless managed in 1433 with an army Moscow by treachery of the boyars Ivan Wsewolschski (Russian Иван ( Иоанн ) Дмитриевич Всеволжский ) take on Vassily and to imprison the Grand Duke. Yuri took the Grand Duke title, forgave his nephew Vasily II and gave him the town of Kolomna what this exploited to address in return for his uncle. Yuri left Moscow under abdication because of the uncertain situation of the Moscow government and moved to his native Lithuania. The Traitor Wsewolschski was blinded on the orders Wassilis. Months later sold Juris sons ( Vasili and Dimitri ) Vasily II of Moscow, who went to the Golden Horde. Yuri died in 1434, Vasily the squint occupied the Kremlin and was proclaimed to the Grand Duke. His brother Dimitri Shemyaka had his own plans and conspired with the rightful Vasily II against his own brother, whom they could sell in 1435 from the Kremlin. He was captured and blinded, what his interests zunichtemachte throne.
Vasily II reigned unchallenged to 1439 and had it now, after the collapse of the Golden Horde with the attacks of the Tatars Nachfolgekhanate ( Khanate of Kazan, Khanate of Crimea and Astrakhan Khanate ) do. In 1439 he left his capital on the run from the siege by Khan Ulugh Mehmed the Khanate of Kazan. 1445 Vasily II was ransomed the prisoners and only through a large ransom from his Russian subjects in the same year after a severe defeat against the Khan. Dimitri Shemyaka was now Lord in Moscow and saw his opportunity to stay Grand Duke. In revenge, because of the glare Wsewolschskis by Vasily he let this also take the eyesight in 1446 and banished to Uglich. Since then, Vasily II had the nickname of " the blind " (Russian Тёмный - Tjomny ), exactly the "dark seer ". He had still a lot of strong friends who supported him at all times, what Vasily II ausnützte when Dimitri called him from Uglich to Vologda and gave him the city for alimony. From this new position out of the " blind " his rightful throne recaptured and his followers. Vasily II succeeded in 1453 to defeat his cousin Dimitri, who fled to Novgorod, where he was poisoned by Moscow agents through a fish dish. His children fled to Lithuania. Vasily II is said to have the messenger of the news of his death rewards and ennobled by princely tradition.
In his 37- year reign, which was marked by devastating struggles within the family and with the Tartars and cost him his eyesight, he strengthened by the removal of existing small principalities the power of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and created in 1448 by the election Jonas (Russian Иона; * (?) in Soligalitsch, † March 23, 1461 in Moscow) for the first Moscow metropolitans one by the Patriarch of Constantinople Opel independent and autonomous russian Orthodox Church, which was recognized in 1451 by Konstantin Opel.
Vasily II was married to Mary of Borovsk that the successor Ivan Vasilyevich bore him, the. Than Ivan III was in the last five years of his father's reign co-regent, and after him came to the throne in 1462.