Background
He was the third and best-loved son of Vsevolod III and Maria Shvarnovna. His father wanted Yuri to inherit Rostov and his elder brother Konstantin to succeed him in Vladimir.
He was the third and best-loved son of Vsevolod III and Maria Shvarnovna. His father wanted Yuri to inherit Rostov and his elder brother Konstantin to succeed him in Vladimir.
He first distinguished himself in the battles against Ryazan in 1208. The latter, however, declared that he would rule both towns or nothing at all. Thereupon Vsevolod disinherited Konstantin and passed the throne to Yuri.
Having gained Vladimir, Konstantin sent Yuri to rule Rostov and Yaroslavl.
Two years later Konstantin died, and Yuri was allowed to return to Vladimir. During his reign in Vladimir, Yuri waged several wars against Volga Bulgaria and founded the fortress of Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga River to secure the area from Bulgarian attacks.
When the Mongols first approached Russia in 1223, he sent a small unit against them, but it arrived too late to take part in the disastrous Battle of the Kalka River. When the Mongols returned in 1237, Yuri treated their envoys with disdain.
Likewise, he did not help Ryazan when Batu Khan laid siege to that city.
His own capital, however, was the next in line. Yuri"s sons were soundly defeated near Kolomna, and Yuri himself could barely escape to Yaroslavl. Yuri himself was killed on 4 March 1238, in the Battle of the Sit River, whereby vast Mongol hordes defeated the army of Vladimir-Suzdal.
