On April 15, 1212, in his capital city of Vladimir, after thirty-six years of reign, Vsevolod Yuryevich the Big Nest, the Grand Duke of Vladimir, died. Vsevolod was buried in the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral next to the brothers Andrei Bogolyubsky and Mikhail. All the “chicks of the big nest” were present at the funeral, except for the elder Constantine, who still referred to illness.
The death of Vsevolod served as a signal for the start of strife for his inheritance. Konstantin Vsevolodovich, the eldest son of Vsevolod, his seniority, taken away by his father in favor of his second son Yuri, was not going to yield, which he immediately announced, starting to call himself the Grand Duke. Yuri, using the last will of his father as a decisive argument, also began to call himself the Grand Duke. He agreed to cede the great Vladimir table to Constantine in exchange for the Rostov one, in accordance with the initial will of his father, but Konstantin insisted that he should own both Vladimir and Rostov, so the agreement did not take place. The existing situation did not suit either Konstantin or Yuri, it was impossible to agree, the tension grew.
1212 passed in political maneuvers and the formation of princely coalitions. Yuri was consistently and faithfully supported by Yaroslav, at the same time, Svyatoslav and Vladimir hesitated, but were at the court of Yuri in Vladimir, and there is no information about the position of fifteen-year-old Ivan. However, to all appearances, Ivan, apparently due to some of his personal characteristics, was not an active political figure, since in subsequent years he did not demonstrate any desire for power, being content with his small Starodub lot. Until 1213, the political situation was in a state of unstable equilibrium.
The first violation of this balance, which led to the beginning of open hostilities, was committed, oddly enough, by Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. What was the reason for his quarrel with Yuri is unknown, however, at the beginning of 1213 he unexpectedly left Vladimir, arrived in Rostov to Konstantin and began to incite him against the brothers. Yuri, having learned about Svyatoslav's departure, gathered troops, seized his inheritance (Yuryev-Polsky), imprisoning another brother there, Vladimir, and moved to Rostov. Constantine came out to meet him, for about four weeks the troops stood against each other, not daring to engage in battle, after which the brothers reconciled and dispersed. Svyatoslav returned to Yuryev, as a result of which Vladimir, the penultimate of the sons of Vsevolod, again became unmanned. According to his father's will, Vladimir got Moscow, however, it is known that in 1213 this small town was still in the possession of Yuri.
Leaving Yuryev, Vladimir retired to Volok-Lamsky, but he also did not stay there for a long time and, secretly enlisting the support of Constantine, unexpectedly captured Moscow with his retinue, expelling Yuri's governors from there, and began a war against Yaroslav, destroying the vicinity of Dmitrov. At the same time, Constantine began military operations against the Suzdal principality belonging to Yuri, capturing Soligalich and Kostroma, which was even subjected to ruin. Yuri and Yaroslav gathered troops and again approached Rostov, but this time the matter did not come to a battle, the parties managed to agree. As a result of the agreement, Vladimir returned Moscow to Yuri and went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny (now Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky). The Pereyaslavsky table was probably received by the Yuryevichs under an agreement with the Smolensk Rostislavichs, for non-interference in the struggle for Kiev and Galich, which the Rostislavichs at that time were successfully waging with the Chernigov Olegovichi. At the same time, apparently in order to strengthen the alliance with the Smolensk dynasty, the widowed by that time Yaroslav, married the daughter of Mstislav Udatny Rostislav.
As a result of this stage of civil strife, which ended in 1214, Vladimir Vsevolodovich left for the south, Svyatoslav sat firmly in Yuryev and, apparently, was satisfied with his position, Ivan did not show any political ambitions, and thus Konstantin was left without allies among siblings against the close-knit and friendly tandem of Yuri and Yaroslav. It was necessary either to attract allies on the side, or temporarily come to terms with the existing situation. Konstantin preferred the latter than he untied the hands of the warlike Yaroslav in the struggle he had begun for the Novgorod reign, which since 1209 belonged to Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny.
I must say that as a Novgorod prince Mstislav showed himself from the best side. He was active and successful in military endeavors. Almost every year, he went on campaigns to the Baltic States "for chud", which significantly slowed down the process of the conquest of the Baltic lands by German and Danish feudal lords. Both those and others were forced to suspend their expansion in the eastern Baltic. The Novgorodians were very pleased with their prince, however, Mstislav himself with his position as an "invited prince", whose power was significantly limited by the boyars and the veche, undoubtedly, was a burden. Therefore, having received an invitation from the Polish king to join the struggle for Galich, one of the richest cities in southern Russia, occupied at that time by the Hungarians, he immediately agreed and, despite the persuasions of the Novgorodians, in 1215 left Novgorod with the words: in Russia, and you are free in princes "-" I have business in Russia, and you are free in princes. " His campaign was successful and Galich, with the support of the local population, he managed to capture.
The Novgorodians began to look for a new prince and drew attention to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who had already established himself as an active and warlike prince, which, in fact, the Novgorodians needed. In favor of Yaroslav was also evidenced by the fact that he was the son-in-law of Mstislav, who was so beloved by the Novgorodians. May 03, 1215 Yaroslav solemnly enters Novgorod, joyfully greeted by the population and local clergy.
However, the joy of the Novgorodians was short-lived. As before in Ryazan, Yaroslav immediately showed his tough political grasp and desire for autocracy without taking into account the peculiarities of the Novgorod mentality. The first thing Yaroslav began with was the arrests of the Novgorod boyars, who were opponents of the "Suzdal party" in Novgorod, with their further deportation to Tver and Pereyaslavl, where they were held in prison. The Novgorodians rose at the veche and destroyed the houses of some of Yaroslav's supporters, after which they came to the prince himself with a demand to release some of the detainees and hand over the princely supporters to punishment. Yaroslav refused, and the riots in Novgorod intensified so much that he, fearing for his life, was forced to leave the city. And in this situation, the stubborn and firm character of Yaroslav again manifested itself - instead of returning to his patrimony, as many princes did before and after him, he continued to fight for this capricious and willful city.
The methods of this struggle have been unchanged since the time of Andrei Bogolyubsky - the capture of Torzhok, the detention of all Novgorod merchants in the Vladimir land and the food blockade of Novgorod, which sooner or later forced the Novgorodians to accept the conditions of the Suzdal prince, since Novgorod could not feed itself on its own. Yaroslav did the same, taking advantage of yet another crop failure in the cold and poorly agricultural Novgorod region. Torzhok was captured, Novgorod merchants were detained and placed in different cities under lock and key, ambassadors sent from Novgorod and offering Yaroslav to return, and to reign "in all the will of Novgorod" were also sent "to iron". Grain prices in the city immediately rose, and famine began. However, the Novgorodians were in no hurry to surrender.
Again they sent an embassy to Mstislav Udatny and again he came to their aid. Leaving part of the squad in Galich, he immediately hurried to Novgorod, on the way getting in touch with Yaroslav's brothers - Konstantin and Yuri, so that they would influence his brother, as well as with Yaroslav himself. Konstantin verbally supported Mstislav and the Novgorodians, while Yuri unconditionally supported Yaroslav. Yaroslav himself refused to fulfill the requirements of his father-in-law, answering him something like "Novgorod is the same fiefdom for you as it is for me, but with you, as with a relative, I have nothing to do with it." Making sure that diplomatic methods could not humble Yaroslav, Mstislav gave the order to the Novgorodians to gather the army, and he himself began to form an anti-Suzdal coalition.
On February 11, 1216, Mstislav Udatny arrived in Novgorod, and on March 1, he already began a campaign against Yaroslav, who at that time was in Torzhok. In Novgorod, his brother Vladimir Mstislavich, who was then the prince of Pskov, joined Mstislav, the united squad of brothers bypassing the "Sereger" way (through the modern Lake Seliger) held by Yaroslav Torzhok, that is, proceeding to Rzhev (modern Rzhev) a little further west. At this time, the Toropets parish, the domains of Mstislav Udatny were already ravaged by the troops of the Vsevolodovichs led by Svyatoslav and even with the participation of the seven-year-old Prince Vasilko Konstantinovich, whom his father Konstantin Vsevolodovich, despite the fact that he himself was in a quarrel with his brothers, sent them to help.
At the time of the arrival of Mstislav and his brother near Rzhev, this town was under siege, which Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich led against a small garrison headed by voivode Yarun, however, having learned about the approach of Mstislav, he preferred to lift the siege and retreat without a fight. Mstislav, having united with the Yarun garrison, moved down the Volga towards Zubtsov.
At Zubtsov, their cousin, Prince Vladimir Rurikovich Smolensky with an army of Smolyans, and nephew Vsevolod Mstislavich with a Kiev squad, joined Mstislav and Vladimir. Less than four years ago, in the summer of 1212, a coalition of Smolensk Rostislavichs in the same composition (the only difference is that in 1216 his son Vsevolod appeared instead of Mstislav Romanovich, who was sitting in Kiev) defeated the aggregate army of Chernigov Olgovichi under the leadership of Vsevolod Chermny, and captured Kiev.
The united army moved along the Volga to Tver, subjecting, according to the customs of that time, everything in its path to ruin. Not far from Tver, the first military clash of the parties took place - a small guard detachment of Yaroslav was defeated by the vanguard of Mstislav's troops, from the captured Mstislav received information that, fearing to be cut off from the capital of his principality - Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslav left Torzhok, which was the army of the Smolensk coalition already bypassed from the south, and, leaving small garrisons in it and Tver, hastily moved to join the brothers. The army of Mstislav, without stopping at Tver, passed down the Volga to Ksnyatin (now the village of Sknyatino, Kalyazinsky district, Tver region), ruining the lands belonging to Yaroslav. In Ksnyatyn, Mstislav had to make a decision - whether to continue moving eastward into the Rostov principality, the patrimony of Konstantin Vsevolodovich, or turn south and attack Pereyaslavl directly, the patrimony of Yaroslav. The decision depended on the position of Constantine, to whom Mstislav offered assistance in removing Yuri from the Vladimir table in exchange for military and diplomatic support.
The decision to support Mstislav, probably, was not easy for Konstantin - he had to support his second cousin nephew, whom Konstantin Mstislav was familiar with, and even a representative of another clan of Rurik-monomashiches against his brothers. Nevertheless, considerations of political expediency prevailed, and Konstantin announced to Mstislav his support for his enterprise. April 09, 1216 Mstislav approached Rostov and joined with Constantine. The anti-Suzdal coalition was fully assembled and ready for a general engagement.
A week later, on April 17, the rested combined army set out on a campaign in the direction of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.
The younger Vsevolodovichs did not behave so actively with the beginning of hostilities. Svyatoslav and Yaroslav, who retreated from Rzhev and Torzhok, united with Yuri near Vladimir. There, the Murom prince joined them, as well as boyar squads from all over the Vladimir-Suzdal land, excluding the Rostov inheritance. One gets the impression that all the energy of the younger Vsevolodovichs was aimed at gathering the largest possible army, which included both the city army and the peasant militia. The strength turned out in terms of numbers so impressive that the younger Vsevolodovichs were not at all afraid of a collision with the anti-Suzdal coalition. What gave them such firm confidence in their superiority is not entirely clear, since they were opposed by the united squads of Novgorod, Pskov, the entire Smolensk principality, the squads of the Kiev prince and the prince of Rostov. Nevertheless, both Yuri and Yaroslav felt quite confident, they refused any negotiations with their opponents and just ran into a fight. According to some reports, on the eve of the decisive battle, the Vsevolodovich princes spent the whole night brawling, dividing the inheritance of their opponents not yet defeated, they were so sure of their victory.
So, the army of Mstislav first moved south-west of Rostov towards Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and then, after Mstislav learned that Yaroslav was in Vladimir, turned south. The Vsevolodovich army moved north from Vladimir. They met not far from Yuryev-Polsky, where the troops of the warring princes met more than once both before and after 1216.
Even immediately before the battle, both Mstislav and Konstantin tried to negotiate with the younger Vsevolodovichs in order to avoid a battle, sending ambassadors to all together and to each separately, but Yaroslav and Yuri were already in the mood for battle and rejected all proposals.
The battle, which received the name "Lipitskaya battle" or "Battle of Lipitsa" in history, took place on April 21, 1216. The battle itself has been repeatedly described in the literature, it makes sense only to say that the army of the younger Vsevolodovich, despite the fact that it was located on the heights and occupied The positions specially fortified with stakes could not withstand a frontal attack by the troops of the anti-Suzdal coalition, and were defeated. First, the joint forces of Mstislav, Vladimir Rurikovich and Konstantin defeated the regiment of Yaroslav. Seeing the defeat of Yaroslav's forces and his flight from the battlefield, Yuri's army was demoralized and after the first blows also fled. The victory of Mstislav and Konstantin was complete, Yuri and Yaroslav, who had lost most of their squads, took refuge, respectively, in Vladimir and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and, embittered by the defeat, Yaroslav ordered to "kill" all the prisoners of Novgorod held in Pereyaslavl. It is believed that during the flight, Yaroslav threw his helmet and chain mail in the forest, where many years later, already in the 19th century. found a peasant woman, while collecting nuts. Now these items are kept in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.
On April 26, the winners approached Vladimir, Yuri entered into negotiations with his brother, during which he refused the great reign and agreed to accept Gorodets-Radilov on the Volga as his inheritance.
On May 1, Constantine and his comrades-in-arms were already at the walls of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. For two days, Konstantin and Yaroslav negotiated peace. On May 03, Yaroslav left the city, personally met with his brother and concluded an agreement with him, according to which he recognized Constantine as the Grand Duke, renounced any claims to Novgorod, compensated for all the losses caused to Novgorodians and released the surviving prisoners of Novgorod merchants home "With goods". In exchange for the fulfillment of these conditions, the winners left Yaroslav his war-tattered Pereyaslavl principality within its former borders.
Yaroslav Mstislav Udatny set a special condition for the conclusion of peace - a condition that is certainly offensive, clearly dictated not by political interests, but by personal reasons. Mstislav accused Yaroslav of treating his wife, his daughter Princess Rostislava, in an unworthy manner, neglecting her, openly having concubines, and insisted on her return. Yaroslav was forced to comply with this requirement, returning his wife to his father-in-law. Subsequently, he repeatedly asked Mstislav to return her, but for some time these requests were not satisfied. The chronicles do not indicate the exact date of Rostislav's return to Yaroslav's court, but presumably this could have happened no later than 1218, since Yaroslav's first son Fyodor Yaroslavich was born, approximately, already in 1219. Opinion that in 1218 Yaroslav entered into a third marriage, not waiting for the return of Rostislav by his father, does not have sufficient grounds. Most researchers believe that the mother of all the children of Yaroslav, including Alexander Nevsky (born in 1220 - 1221), was precisely Princess Rostislav, the daughter of Mstislav Udatny.
The Lipitsk battle of 1216 put an end to the princely strife in the Vladimir-Suzdal land. A year later, in 1217, Konstantin Vsevolodovich, being the Grand Duke, and probably anticipating his imminent death, returned the Suzdal reign to his brother Yuri, recognized him as his heir and obliged his children - Vasilko, Vsevolod and Vladimir to obey his uncle in everything, as the eldest in the family. Konstantin endowed his children with inheritances from the Rostov principality - Vasilka got Rostov, Vsevolod got Yaroslavl, and Vladimir got Uglich.
On February 2, 1218, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Konstantin Vsevolodovich, nicknamed by the chroniclers the Wise or the Good, died after a long illness. On the Vladimir throne again, this time without any conflicts and reservations, Yuri, who owned, as before, Suzdal, entered. Yaroslav continued to own the Pereyaslavl principality, which included, in addition to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, the city of Zubtsov, Tver and Dmitrov. Svyatoslav owned Yuryev-Polsky - a small principality, but densely populated. Vladimir Vsevolodovich, who returned from Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny in 1217, took Starodub, and Ivan, who had been sitting there before, returned to the court of Yuri in Vladimir. As we have already noted, this prince did not show any political ambitions and was entirely in the will of his older brothers. Only in 1238, after the Mongol invasion, he again received the Starodub principality from the hands of his brother Yaroslav and will reign in it until his death in 1247.
The internal political situation in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality from 1216 and in the next twenty years, up to the Mongol invasion, remained stable. The most active representatives of the Yuryevich family, Yuri and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, realized their political ambitions exclusively outside their possessions. Yuri mainly fought with the Volga Bulgaria for influence in the Middle Volga region, while Yaroslav showed himself most actively in the north-west of Russia - in the struggle for the Novgorod reign, as well as in military campaigns against Lithuania and the German, Swedish and Danish colonialists in the Baltic.
