Yuri II. Grand Duke of Vladimir

● Orthodox Remembrance Day: 4 February
● Name means: (Georg): the country man (Greek)
● Born on 26 November 1188
● Died on 4 March 1238
Yuri II. Vsevolodovich was grand duke of Vladimir from the Rurikid family from 1218. He was the
son of Vsevolod Yuryevich.
Shortly before his death in 1211, Vsevolod Yuryevich called a meeting of nobles, clergy and city
citizens, from which he wanted to have a breach of the seniority principle approved: his son Yuri
was to succeed him. However, this did not succeed. After Vsevolod’s death, his older brother
Constantine seized power. Yuri had to flee. Only after Constantine’s death in 1218 was he able
to take over the reign. In 1221 he founded Nizhny Novgorod. Yuri’s rule was marked above all by
efforts to secure the position of power that his father had fought for for the Principality of
Vladimir. Yuri was able to secure the rule of Novgorod, lead successful campaigns against the
Volga Ulgars and assert his supremacy on several Russian princes. At the beginning of March
1238, he fell while trying to stop the Tatars advancing throughout Russia on the Sit River.
Vladimir also fell under the rule of the Tatars. Thus, the short heyday of the Grand Duchy was
over for the time being. The Russian northeast disintegrated again after Yuri’s death, with the
exception of the brief restoration of central power under Alexander Nevsky. His younger brother
Yaroslav II succeeded Yuri II.