Ivan II of Moscow

(1326 - 1359), prince of Moscow and grand prince of Vladimir.

In the 1340s Lithuania encroached into western Russia and challenged the Golden Horde for control of Russian towns. Thus the prince of Moscow and other princes had to establish relations with both foreign powers. Ivan's elder brother Simeon and father Ivan I Danilovich "Kalita" ("Moneybag") had collaborated with the Tatars to promote Moscow's interests against princely rivals and against Lithuania. Ivan, a weak ruler under whose reign Moscow's authority declined, charted a different course. After Simeon died in 1353, Ivan traveled to Saray, where Khan Jani-Beg, against the objections of Novgorod and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod, gave him the patent for the grand princely throne of Vladimir. Later, however, he was persuaded to establish cordial relations with Lithuania and to decrease Moscow's subordination to the khan. He formed a treaty with pro-Lithuanian Suzdal, arranged a marriage alliance with Lithuania, and prevented Tatar envoys from entering Muscovite lands. His change of policy kindled serious opposition. Many of his councilors fled to pro-Tatar Ryazan, thus weakening Moscow's internal solidarity. Metropolitan Alexei also sided with the defectors. When the khan himself challenged Ivan, he yielded to the pressure. In 1357 he submitted to Berdi-Beg, the new khan, and was reconciled with his disgruntled boyars. But he failed to increase Moscow's territories, and Novgorod ignored him. Moreover, in the testament he issued before his death, he confirmed the practice of hereditary appanages, which his brother Simeon had first espoused, and which further fragmented the Moscow principality. He died on November 13, 1359.

Bibliography

Fennell, John L. I. (1968). The Emergence of Moscow 1304 - 1359. London: Secker and Warburg.

Martin, Janet. (1995). Medieval Russia 980 - 1584. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

—MARTIN DIMNIK

Ivan II of Moscow
Grand Prince of Moscow
Ivan the Fair
Reign	1353 – 1359
Predecessor	Simeon of Moscow
Successor	Dmitri Donskoi
Spouse	Fedosia of Bryansk Alexandra Velyaminova
Issue
Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoi Liuba Ivanovna Ivan Ivanovich of Zvenigorod Maria Ivanovna
Father	Ivan I
Mother	Helena
Born	30 March 1326(1326-03-30) Moscow
Died	13 November 1359 (aged 33) Moscow
Burial	Cathedral of the Archangel Michael

Ivan II Ivanovich the Fair (Иван II Иванович Красный in Russian) (30 March 1326 – 13 November 1359) was the second son of Ivan Kalita who succeeded his brother Simeon the Proud, who died of the Black Death, as Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1353. Until that date, he had ruled the towns of Ruza and Zvenigorod.

Contents 1 Reign 2 Marriages and children 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Reign

Upon succeeding his brother and because of increased civil strife among the Golden Horde, Ivan briefly toyed with the idea of abandoning traditional Moscow allegiance to the Mongols and allying himself with Lithuania, a growing power in the west. This policy was quickly abandoned and Ivan asserted his allegiance to the Golden Horde.^[1]

Contemporaries described Ivan as a pacific, apathetic ruler, who didn't flinch even when Algirdas of Lithuania captured his father-in-law's capital, Bryansk.^[2] He also allowed Oleg of Riazan to burn villages on his territory. However, Orthodox churchmen aided consolidating the power of the Grand Prince. He received much aid from the capable Metropolitan Alexius. Like his brother, Ivan II was not as successful as his father or grandfather with regards to territorial expansion. Nevertheless, he was able to annex areas southwest of Moscow, including the areas of Borovsk, and Vereya.

He is buried in the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael in Moscow.

Marriages and children

Ivan was married twice. In 1341, Ivan married his first wife Fedosia Dmitrievna of Bryansk. She was a daughter of Dmitry Romanovich, Prince of Bryansk. She died childless in Autumn, 1342.

Ivan remained a widower for three years. In 1345, Ivan married his second wife Alexandra Ivanovna Velyaminova. She was a daughter of Vasily Velyaminov, a mayor of Moscow. They had at least four children:

• Dmitri Donskoi (12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389). His successor in the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
• Liuba Ivanovna. Assumed the name "Anna" following her marriage to Dmitry Mikhailovich, Prince of Volhynia (d. 1399). Her husband was a son of Karijotas.
• Ivan Ivanovich, Prince of Zvenigorod (c. 1356 - October, 1364).
• Maria Ivanovna.

See also

• Rulers of Russia family tree

Regnal titles
Preceded by Simeon	Grand Prince of Moscow 1353–1359	Succeeded by Dmitri Donskoi
Russian royalty
Preceded by Simeon	Heir to the Russian Throne 1340–1348	Succeeded by Dmitri Donskoi

References

1. ^ Janet Martin (1995). Medieval Russia, 980-1584. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521368324. 
2. ^ Alfred Rambaud, Edgar Saltus (1902). Russia. P. F. Collier & Son. pp. 146, 147.  [1]

External links

• His listing , along with his children, in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.

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