Konstantin Vasilyevich of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod was a Suzdal prince of the mid-14th century and the founder of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod Grand Principality. He received Nizhny Novgorod and Gorodets from Khan Uzbek, who carved these lands out of the Grand Principality of Vladimir, and moved his capital there around 1350, giving rise to an independent state that existed from 1341 to 1392.[1]
Politics and Governance
Contemporaries described Konstantin Vasilyevich as a ruler who "reigned honestly and sternly, protecting his fatherland from powerful princes and from the Tatars."[1] The main thrust of his policy was resistance to Muscovite expansion: after the death of Ivan Kalita, the Moscow princes were not yet strong enough to swallow the Suzdal appanage, but dependence on Moscow weighed heavily on the city. Moving the capital to Nizhny Novgorod — farther from Moscow and closer to the Volga — was a deliberate political decision.[1]
The borders of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod Principality encompassed the entire Volga Region from Yuryevets in the north to the Suza River in the south, ran along the Klyazma River, and took in the northern part of the former Vyaznikovsky uyezd, as well as the Suzdal and Shuya uyezds. The principality included Suzdal, Nizhny Novgorod, Gorodets, Berezhets, Yuryevets, and Shuya.[1]
Nizhny Novgorod under Konstantin Vasilyevich
Konstantin Vasilyevich was the first of the Suzdal princes to establish himself in Nizhny Novgorod and to appreciate the advantages of the Volga trade route. Under him, extensive settlement of land began in the city, and construction stretched in a long strip along the banks from the Pechersky Monastery. Stone construction in Nizhny Novgorod, including the building of a stone cathedral, is associated with the name of Konstantin Vasilyevich.[1]
Calamities of the Era
During the reign of Konstantin Vasilyevich, the Suzdal lands lived through an epidemic of the "Black Death" — a terrible plague in which the sick spat blood and died within two or three days. Chroniclers reported that entire families vanished in a single day and there was not enough time to bury the dead. The epidemic and Mongol-Tatar raids wiped out most of the townspeople. The Suzdalians' trade with the Bulgars, who supplied grain in lean years as well as Eastern goods, ceased; stone construction in Suzdal came to a standstill for a long time.[1]
Legacy
Konstantin Vasilyevich had four sons: Andrey, Dmitry (Foma), Boris, and Dmitry, nicknamed Nogot ("Fingernail"). After their father's death, Andrey Konstantinovich became head of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod Principality and granted appanages to his brothers: Dmitry (the eldest) received Suzdal. In 1359, taking advantage of the youth of Grand Prince Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow, Dmitry Konstantinovich and his brother Andrey obtained from the Horde the yarlyk (patent of authority) for the Grand Principality of Vladimir, but he could not hold it against the Moscow armies and returned to the Suzdal appanage.[1]
Sources
- religion.wikireading.ru — Konstantin Vasilyevich, Prince of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod. Suzdal. History. Legends. Traditions