After some rivalry with Dmitry of Moscow, he was installed by the Khan of the Golden Horde as the Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1360.
During his reign, he repeatedly quarreled with the Novgorod Republic over the raids of Novgorodian pirates who looted his own capital and Tatar markets along the Volga River.
Joining his army with Dmitry's, he led an allied assault on Volga Bulgars and Mordovia.
In 1377, the allied armies were defeated by the Tatars at the Battle on Pyana River, because (as the chronicler put it) they were too drunk to fight.
However, in 1382, Dmitry Konstantinovich took the side of Khan Tokhtamysh in taking over Moscow and sent his sons to serve in the Tatar army.