As soon as Yuri appeared in Vladimir, Dmitri, Michael’s eldest son, took possession of Tver in accordance with the will of his father. Then he sent his younger brother, Alexander, to Yuri, to ask for the body of his father. Yuri refused at first to deliver it, but he at last consented, and the body was taken back to Tver.
Boris, Yuri’s brother, died in Moscow soon after this, as did also Afanasi, whom Yuri had settled in Novgorod, so that of Daniel’s sons only Yuri and Ivan were living. When Yuri returned from the Horde as Grand Prince, he gave his inherited lands, as it seems, to Ivan. In 1320, Ivan went to do homage to Uzbek; till [[309]]that time he had never seen him. In that year Tver had three marriages of princes: Alexander and Constantine found brides among Russians, but Dmitri took a daughter of Gedimin, the Lithuanian Grand Prince. This connection with Gedimin brought Dmitri into intimate relations with an enemy of Russia, and made it more difficult still for Tver to be friendly with Vladimir. Dmitri did not wish to see Yuri, or approach him, or even hear his name mentioned. Outspoken and direct, irrepressible and passionate the name Terrible Eyes had been given Dmitri, and it described him clearly.
Yuri’s first move as Grand Prince was a quarrel with Ryazan, undertaken to punish one of its princes. That labor finished, he moved on Dmitri. The task was “to take his honor,” as the phrase ran in those days.
Expeditions were made then, as they had been made earlier, to impose peace “with dread and trembling.” Minor princes performed certain acts at the coronation of a Grand Prince. If not to show submission, at least to recognize that he was their superior. The Grand Prince made a treaty with each minor prince, causing him at the same time to kiss the cross to observe it. When the Khan gave a patent to an important prince, minor princes led his horse in the ceremony of installation.
Yuri, of course, was not seeking a service of this kind, but as Dmitri had not ranged himself with princes who acknowledged his headship, Yuri now led his warriors to attack Tver. When Dmitri heard of this campaign against him, he made no move, but begged his friend Varsonofi, the bishop, to save him from every discussion with Yuri. He agreed to all terms in advance, so as to avoid meeting him. The bishop persuaded the Grand Prince to withdraw from the country, after receiving a solemn declaration from Dmitri that he would not strive to be Grand Prince.
The chief mark of subjection in a minor prince at that time was to pay the Khan’s tribute, not at the Horde, but to the Grand Prince. Yuri insisted on this, and if negotiations with the bishop were protracted, it was only because of discussions on that subject; but Dmitri in the end agreed to that also, and promised to send to Yuri two thousand grievens, which he had collected from Tver as a tribute. Dmitri sent this money to Yuri that year (1321). The following year he went to the Horde for confirmation as senior [[310]]heir to the Tver principality. He took gifts to the Khan and rendered homage as usual; then, unable to restrain himself, he told the Khan all that was troubling his spirit. Disregarding the ceremony which was binding on every one, he explained to Uzbek how Kavgady and Yuri had calumniated his father, condemned him, and killed him in his innocence. The Terrible-Eyed Dmitri explained everything with respect and submission. Moreover, his coming to the Horde was a mark of his faithfulness. He might refer to this, and, of course, he was not silent; he said that he submitted to the will of the Khan; that he acknowledged the primacy of Yuri, the proof of which was that he had given him the tribute of Tver, those two thousand grievens which Yuri had not paid at the Horde, as was shown when officials sought for an account of them.
Yuri perhaps had no thought of withholding this tribute; circumstances may have prevented his going immediately to the Horde with it, for soon after he received the money he was forced to hasten to Novgorod, and farther, since at that time he was fighting fiercely against the Swedes and the Germans of Riga, and he had not yet returned from that distant campaigning. Still, as was thought at the Horde, it was not the right way to act, and command was given straightway to summon Yuri. To Dmitri Uzbek was more gracious than he had ever been to any prince. Surprised by his daring speech, the Khan gave him honor. Mongol magnates, in view of this, were full of respect for him, and his success was immediate. Yuri was summoned once more to the Horde. Dmitri received his patent, not as Prince of Tver, but as Grand Prince, and the Khan sent his envoy, Svinche Buga, and a Mongol detachment of warriors to install the new favorite. Such double rule under Mongol direction was not a new thing.
From the winter of 1322 to that of 1324, no man among the Russians knew positively whether Yuri or Dmitri was Grand Prince. Both ruled in the Khan’s name, and each held his patent. Yuri, meanwhile, was defending Novgorod against Swedes, and meeting also Tver regiments led against him by Alexander, a brother of the Terrible-Eyed Dmitri. Yuri defeated the Swedes at that point where the Neva flows out of Lake Ladoga, and made a “permanent peace” with them. When he had finished with the Swedes, he prepared to assuage the Khan’s anger. Some time before he had begged his brother, Ivan, to defend him at the [[311]]Horde. No man was better fitted to do this than Ivan, and he succeeded. It is true that when he came home to Moscow the Khan’s envoy came also to confirm the summons to Yuri, but in every case Yuri’s safety at the Horde seemed more than likely.
Though satisfied by the news which Ivan brought, Yuri still hesitated over the risks of the journey. He made repeated inquiries of friends at the Horde as to what might await him, and learned that he could go with good chances of security. He did not go empty-handed, moreover, knowing well that success at Sarai was connected at all times with an abundance of silver and gold. He went at the same time with envoys from Novgorod. Dmitri had beset all the roads to the Volga; he was determined to prevent Yuri’s visit to the Horde. Hence the Grand Prince was forced to go by Vyatka to Perm, thence down the Kama to the Volga, and thus he reached Sarai finally.
In 1325, when most men knew not what had happened to Yuri, news came that he was in good health at the court of his brother-in-law. Dmitri, astonished that his enemy had escaped unpunished, set out for the Horde to work against him. All were now waiting in Russia to see which of the two men would come back as Grand Prince; neither came. First Yuri’s corpse was brought to Moscow November 21, 1325, and it was learned that Dmitri and Yuri, having been summoned to Uzbek’s presence, had met in his palace. Dmitri could not restrain himself. He drew his sword instantly, and Yuri fell, slain by the avenging hand of Michael’s son. “A deed like this done near the eyes of the Khan, and almost in his presence, is not to be pardoned!” cried the Mongols. Uzbek ordered all to be silent. When news of this order came to Russia, men thought that Yuri’s death had been pleasing to Uzbek. But when they learned later that it had happened without the Khan’s desire or knowledge, Dmitri’s friends were greatly troubled.