Yuri Dolgoruky

Yuri Dolgoruky 1090-s – 1157 — Prince of Rostov and Suzdal, Grand Prince of Kiev in 1149, 1150 and after 1155.

History

The Prince of Kiev Vladimir Monomakh sent his youngest son Yuri to reign in the Rostov-Suzdal province. Yuri actively engaged in improvement of his inheritance. He founded several towns, laid the foundation for the wooden walls of Moscow which later became the capital of Russia. In addition, he built churches in Vladimir, Suzdal, and on Kideksha, contributing to the spread of Orthodoxy in this region where Christianity had little influence at that time.

Prince Yuri had great political ambitions, which is reflected in the nickname Dolgoruky given to him by his descendants — his contemporaries did not give him the name. In the 1130s, he joined the political struggle for the great reign of Kiev. Yuri allied with the Prince of Novgorod-Severskiy Svyatoslav II of Kiev, with whom he met in a borderline town of Moscow in 1147. It is in this context that Moscow is first mentioned in the chronicles. Yuri Dolgoruky seized Kiev twice but was driven from it every time. After taking the throne of Kiev for a third time, the conqueror did not get along with the people of Kiev, and, most likely, was poisoned at a feast by boyars. After the death of Yuri Dolgoruky, Kievites looted his court.

Yuri’s son, Grand Prince of Vladimir Andrey Bogolyubsky, moved the capital of the province from Rostov to Vladimir and made Vladimir-Suzdal Principality the strongest of all. These achievements would not have been possible without the active efforts to strengthen the North-Eastern Russia that Yuri Dolgoruky had taken.

The Stone

The image of the Prince created by the artists reflects the hero’s confidence and determination: the figure of Yuri Dolgoruky stands firmly on a large quartzite boulder elevated among green grass of uvarovite. This effect is enhanced with the calm palette, which is, though, not without a certain solemnity.

To stress the Prince’s militancy, the carvers surrounded him with numerous pieces of weaponry; he is wearing a helmet and a chainmail of golden pyrite with a metallic sheen. The impression from the full dress is emphasized with the bright red jasper cloak. The same material was used for making his boots, their tops decorated with fine inlaid grey jasper. The border on the hem of his shirt is made of calico reddish cream jasper that shades the bright cloak and boots. Much attention is paid to the execution of the shield: its face is made of bright pink rhodonite of rare quality and decorated with images of the sun. The carvings on the other side of the shield (jasper with silver and gold plating) simulates a set of thin boards that add particular strength to this protective armour element.