Andrey Bolshoy

Who was Andrey Bolshoy?

Andrey Vasilyevich Bolshoy, nicknamed Goryai, was the third son of Vasili II of Russia who transformed his capital in Uglich into a major centre of political power and ensured the town's prosperity for two centuries to come.

After the death of his father in 1462, Andrey Bolshoy inherited the cities of Uglich, Zvenigorod, and Bezhetsk. His relations with his older brother, Ivan III of Moscow, were cordial at first. It was ten years later that the death of their brother, the childless Yury of Dmitrov, led to bad blood between the two. Ivan III appropriated Yury's appanage for himself, rather than sharing it with his brothers. At last he granted some of Yury's lands to his other brothers, except Andrei Bolshoy, who had been coveting them more than others.

Another conflict between the two brothers was triggered by the right of boyars to leave their own prince for the courts of other princes. Ivan III would only allow such practice if a boyar were to move to Moscow. In 1479, one displeased boyar, Prince Lyko-Obolensky, left the Moscow Kremlin and settled at the court of his brother Boris, ruler of Volokolamsk.