Dmitrii Shemiaka

Dmitrii Shemiaka

 

Born 1420; died 1453. Prince of Galich-Kostroma in Galicia. Son of Prince lurii Dmitrievich; grandson of Dmitrii Ivanovich Donskoi.

Beginning in 1436 he led the opposition of appanage princes and boyars to the centralizing policy of the grand prince of Moscow. In 1446, having captured and blinded Vasilii II Vasil’evich, he assumed the throne of the grand prince. But he was soon forced to relinquish it, since he did not receive the support of the military service class in Moscow. Later he tried unsuccessfully to fight Vasilii II. He died in Novgorod (poisoned, according to some sources).