They placed him in a rough country sleigh and conducted him to Moscow. His attendant boyars were seized also, but in their haste the attackers forgot the two young princes, Ivan and Yuri, who had hidden, and when Ivan and his men had left the monastery the boys and those who were with them found refuge with Prince Ryapolovski in his village, Boyar Kovo. Later Ryapolovski and his brothers took the princes to Murom, and shut themselves up in the city, where a large force of warriors soon assembled.
February 14, Prince Ivan reached Moscow and lodged Vassili at Shemyaká’s court, where three days later his enemies blinded him, accusing him thuswise: “Thou didst bring Mongols to Russia, and give them land. Thy love for those enemies and their speech is beyond measure; thou givest gold, lands, and silver to them; thy oppression of churches is unsparing. Also thou didst blind Prince Vassili, son of Yuri.” Then they sent him, with his princess, to Uglitch. Sophia, his mother, they sent to Chuhloma.
Shemyaká began then to reign as Grand Prince in Moscow; his success was short-lived, however. Many princes would not recognize this new man. In Moscow not all the boyars took the oath, and soon complaints and indignation rose mightily against [[433]]him. His Galitch boyars and attendants seized the best places. People were not gratified when they saw that he was beginning to divide Moscow lands, consolidated with so much toil by preceding princes. Shemyaká soon felt his weakness, and determined to get Vassili’s sons into his power. At his request the nominated metropolitan, Iona, went to Murom and, by promising that Vassili should be liberated, persuaded the Ryapolovskis to surrender the little princes.
Not merely was Vassili not liberated, but his sons were imprisoned with him in Uglitch. A great movement began then throughout Moscow regions in favor of the imprisoned and blinded prince. It was agreed by the Ryapolovskis, by Obolenski, and others to meet at Uglitch, storm the town, and free Vassili. Some reached the place, but others were waylaid by Shemyaká’s warriors. Thereupon they attacked and defeated those warriors, and brought in fresh assistants. Seeing that more and more men were leaving him, Shemyaká listened at last to Iona, who ceased not to complain that he had been used as a tool in taking the sons of Vassili from Murom. “What can a man without eyesight do?” asked Iona. “Besides, his sons are little children. Bind him to peace by an oath, and the bishops.”
Shemyaká went to Uglitch with abbots, boyars, and bishops, freed Vassili from prison, and begged forgiveness. The blind man said that he had suffered for his sins; he showed great mildness, blaming only himself. Shemyaká, after taking an oath from Vassili that he would not seek power for himself or for his children, gave a great feast as evidence that they were reconciled. Vassili promised that he and his sons would live in distant Vologda. But barely was he free when the new oath was ignored, and the rôle changed completely. From Vologda Vassili went, as it were, on a pilgrimage to the Cyril Bailozero monastery. There many boyars and other men came to him, deserting his opponent. Trifon, the abbot of Bailozero, freed Vassili from the oath given his enemy, taking on himself the sin of breaking it. Then Vassili set out for Tver to obtain the co-operation of Prince Boris and make a league with him against Shemyaká. The alliance was made, and Boris betrothed his daughter to Ivan, Vassili’s eldest son.
Meanwhile those attendants of Vassili who had fled to Lithuania gathered their warriors and marched to free the Grand Prince, [[434]]but on the way they learned that he was already free. They met Mongol troops and fell to fighting. “Who are ye?” inquired the Mongols. “We are men of Moscow hastening to free Prince Vassili, our sovereign.” “We too,” replied the Mongols, “are going with our two princes, Kasin and Yagup, to rescue Prince Vassili in return for kindness.” Both parties now advanced to aid Vassili.
Shemyaká and Prince Ivan had despatched troops to block the Moscow road before the boyar Pleschyeff, sent by Vassili to Moscow. But Pleschyeff marched around Shemyaká’s troops very cleverly, and reached Moscow Christmas morning. The gates had just been thrown open for the Princess Julianna, a daughter-in-law of Vladimir the Brave. Vassili’s uncle, Pleschyeff, and his men rushed in behind her suite, and seized the Kremlin immediately. Learning that warriors were marching from Tver with Vassili, that other forces were hurrying from the west, and that the Kremlin was taken, Shemyaká and Ivan fled to Kargopol. At Vassili’s demand they now freed his mother, Sophia. They then begged for peace, and it was granted, but Shemyaká did not keep the conditions which he himself had put forward. He began at once to work against Vassili, who, when he had received undoubted proof of the perfidy, placed the question before the clergy.
Then in the name of all spiritual persons a letter was written to Shemyaká. It began by reminding him of the offenses of Yuri, his father; it recounted his own crimes, comparing him to Cain, the first murderer, and to Sviatopolk the Accursed. It reproached him with treason, with robber attacks on the Grand Prince; with the blinding of Vassili, and other offenses. In conclusion, it asked him to observe his own treaty, otherwise he would be cursed and deprived of communion.
Threatened not only with a curse, but with warriors of the Grand Prince, Shemyaká strengthened the treaty with a new oath. But soon he was false to this oath also, and renewed the civil war, which continued a number of years. At last Vassili’s troops, led by Obolenski, reached Galitch, now fortified strongly, and armed well with cannon. After a stubborn engagement Shemyaká was defeated and fled to Novgorod. Galitch yielded to Vassili, and in 1450 its citizens took the oath to him.
The battle of Galitch was the last struggle of note between [[435]]Russian princes. After that Shemyaká made a number of efforts. He marched against Ustyug and Vologda, but his acts were mere senseless destruction of property. At last, in Moscow, it was thought best to bring his intimates, by rewards, to abandon him. It is stated that he died in Novgorod in 1453, after eating a chicken which his own cook had poisoned. Vassili Baida came galloping to Moscow with news of his death. For this news he received a good office.