As Nizni was merely an adjunct of Suzdal, Nizni and Gorodets were subjected to Alexis, the Suzdal bishop. The metropolitan separated the Novgorod district from the Suzdal diocese, and declared it as belonging to the metropolitan directly. But Boris communicated with Olgerd, his father-in-law, and, having well-wishers in Tver, showed resistance to the metropolitan, and would not yield Nizni to his elder brother. In view of this disobedience, the metropolitan summoned Sergius of Radonej, the abbot of the Troitsa monastery, and sent him to declare to Boris that he must go with Dmitri and his brother to have their dispute adjudged by the Grand Prince of Moscow.
The mild Sergius, who obeyed the command sorrowfully, was forced to bear another burden also: in case Boris would not obey he was to close the Nizni churches. The mildness of Sergius, his continual avoidance of quarrels and disturbance, frequent in his day, was well known, and if he did not refuse these difficult tasks it was clear to all that the disobedience of Boris was beyond measure.
Boris was unbending. He would not go to Moscow; he would not yield to his brother. So troops were moved from Moscow against him; and because he refused to obey the Church order the churches in Nizni were closed to all people. Dmitri, his brother, at the head of troops sent from Moscow and his own troops, approached Nizni in great force. But the affair did not come to blows. Boris came out to meet his brother, repented, and was forgiven. The Grand Prince did not take all from him; he left Gorodets, and took Nizni, joining it again to Suzdal. Soon after this the Nizni See was restored to the Suzdal bishop.
Boris lived peacefully afterward, a faithful subordinate to his brother, and to Suzdal. The Nizni prince remained friendly to Dmitri of Moscow, who shortly after married Yevdokiya, daughter [[351]]of the Nizni prince. Through respect for his future father-in-law, Dmitri did not wish to invite the bride to Moscow for the wedding, and as Grand Prince of all Russia he did not care to visit Suzdal, hence the ceremony took place in Kolomna, with all the rich display of that time. The country rejoiced greatly at this marriage, which strengthened the union of Nizni and Suzdal with Moscow.
But barely had Moscow won agreement with Suzdal and the principalities attached to it, when a long and stubborn struggle began with Tver, which at that time had come to an alliance with Olgerd.
During Dmitri’s reign Moscow had no such inveterate foe as was Olgerd, except, perhaps, Mamai the Mongol. And Olgerd, in his struggle with Moscow, had a devoted assistant in Tver, where reigned Michael, brother of Julianna, whose son, Yagello, was Olgerd’s favorite offspring. After countless blood-spilling struggles with each other for possession of petty districts, during which two towns, Tver and Kashin, were subjected to ruin repeatedly, and after the plague, which brought death to many thousands of people, there remained two rivals for the headship of Tver. The first was the only surviving son of the martyr, Michael, Vassili, then an old man; the second was Michael, a grandson of the martyr, and son of the ill-fated Alexander. This Michael was born in Pskoff, as we remember, where the Bishop of Novgorod was his godfather; through his sister, Julianna, he was brother-in-law of Olgerd. At first the small town of Mikulin was Michael’s single possession, and for a long time he was called Mikulinski. But he had now become strong through places left to him by his brothers. He had also received by will from Simeon, his cousin, the town of Dórogobuj, with its dependencies. This he received to the detriment of Vassili, his uncle, and Yeremi, Simeon’s own brother. This cousin and uncle turned now to Moscow for redress, and Dórogobuj became the cause of great trouble.
Kalitá and his successors had been more inclined to Constantine and Vassili, the younger sons of Michael the Martyr. Both elder sons, the Terrible-Eyed Dmitri and Alexander, had been always incurably hostile to Moscow. Terrible-Eyes left no children, but the sons of Alexander had inherited the pride of their father, and his hatred of Moscow. [[352]]
Michael, on becoming Prince of Tver, found no quarrels between the two principalities. Dórogobuj caused the first trouble. Vassili was prince in Kashin; he had been prince in Tver after the death of his elder brother, Constantine, but was forced to yield that place to Michael, his nephew. When he, with another nephew, Yeremi, turned to Moscow for justice against Michael, the question was left to Alexis the metropolitan, who deputed Vassili, the Tver bishop, to settle it. But Vassili’s decision brought hostility instead of peace. Resting on the fact that Michael had taken Dórogobuj not by force, but by the will of the late prince, the bishop recognized it as Michael’s lawful property, and decided against Yeremi and Vassili.
The baffled heirs took advantage of Michael’s visit to Lithuania, and made a new complaint in Moscow. They demanded that the bishop be called to account for judging unjustly. The inheritance, they said, did not belong to Simeon in such fashion that he could dispose of it absolutely. Only a portion belonged to him, and that portion, besides, was connected with conditions. Simeon’s uncle and his brother, Yeremi, claimed their rights with insistence. The bishop was summoned to Moscow, where it was settled that his decision was irregular, and he was forced to pay damages to the princes. Troops were then given to instate Yeremi and Vassili in that part of the property adjudged to them. But instead of peacefully taking possession of this property, they moved against Tver and demanded a ransom. They got no ransom, and could not take Tver, hence they plundered the country about it unmercifully. Michael, the Tver prince, returned from Lithuania with assistance from Olgerd, and marched directly on Kashin, where he seized the wives of the two princes with their relatives and many boyars. Vassili and Yeremi begged for peace, which was granted, and all, including Michael, treated with Dmitri of Moscow concerning it. But a year later, 1367, Yeremi set aside his oath to Michael of Tver, and went to Moscow. The princes complained that Michael oppressed and deceived them. The introduction of a Lithuanian force, and the crushing of the Kashin prince, an adherent of Moscow, but most of all, perhaps, the active and unbending pride of Prince Michael, were displeasing to the Grand Prince of Moscow. Though the Tver prince had discussed peace in company with Yeremi and Vassili, he had attacked Kashin, and [[353]]thus belittled the allies of Moscow, forgetting that those allies had Moscow troops at their command.
Moscow might have answered with war, but another course was thought better. It seemed well to connect with this settlement all the Tver princes, and in giving a part of the inheritance to Michael to let him have as much as Simeon had a right to bequeath, and give the remainder to Yeremi and Vassili, who had struggled so stubbornly for their rights. Moreover, by thus doing justice, Moscow would somewhat weaken the Tver prince, which was the real point of the question. The complainants being allies, or rather subordinates of Moscow, Michael of Tver did not oppose this division, and agreed to visit Moscow. The Grand Prince invited him, and the metropolitan declared that they awaited him in peace and good-will for a general discussion.