Dmitry Krasny

According to the old testament of Dmitry Donskoy, written when his eldest son Vasily I had no children, Yury was to receive the throne of the Grand Duchy.

The author of the biography of his father believed that Dmitry Krasny was born in 1421,[3] but known historian Zimin suggested that at 1425 (when Yury start the open struggle for power) he had "four young, but already independent sons at the age of 20-24".

[5] However, a study of the remains of the older brother (Dmitry Shemyaka) showed that he was most likely born around 1413 (at the time of his death in 1453, he was about 40 years old).

Historians note that in this case the elder brothers of Dmitry Krasny were not mentioned, which may indicate their independent role or even the beginning of the confrontation with their father.

[7] At the famous feast in 1433, when a quarrel over the belt occurred, only older brothers were present again; thus, the father and youngest son (Dmitry Krasny) were opposed to them at that time.

However, Kosoy and Shemyaka were not satisfied; they killed boyar Morozov, the initiator of the peace agreement with Vasily, and left Moscow.

[9] In 1434 an open clash happened and the combined forces of Yury with his sons prevailed over Vasily II.

[11] Yury sat on the throne of the Grand Duchy in Moscow, and two Dmitry (Shemyaka and Krasny) were sent in pursuit of Vasily II.

But along the way, the word got round that their father had died (he was at the head of the state only for two months), and Vasily Kosoy, the eldest of the brothers, declared himself ruler.

[12] Under an agreement with Vasily II, Dmitry Krasny received the important cities of Galich and Vyshgorod (according to the will of his father, Yury of Zvenigorod) and also Bezhetsky Verkh.

[15] In 1439 Ulugh Muhammad, who settled in Kazan, struck back; he plundered the outskirts of Moscow and burned Kolomna.

However, he suddenly came to life and the next two days he read out loud prayers and sang psalms but talked with people around him off the mark.

The Abbot of the Trinity Monastery reconciled them, and Shemyaka received Galich and Vyshgorod (possessions of Dmitry Krasny under an agreement in 1434), but now Vasily II was in charge of the Bezhetsky Verkh.

[18] Dmitry Krasny was glorified as a "faithful prince" by the Russian Orthodox Church, but at the beginning of the 20th century he was forgotten.