Troubles as grand prince and rivalry with Moscow (1847) While he seemed secure in the throne, being the legitimate heir and having been confirmed by the khan in
Sarai, Grand Prince Mikhail suffered a series of setbacks as grand prince which led to him losing the grand princely office for both himself and, in some ways, ultimately for his descendants. He was, like most Grand Princes of Vladimir, accepted as
Prince of Novgorod the Great in 1309, but fought with Novgorod, going so far as to withdraw his lieutenants (namestniki) and cut off grain shipments into the city in 1312. While he was on decent terms with
Tokhta Khan, and initially with his successor,
Uzbeg Khan (Mikhail paid homage on Uzbeg's accession to the throne in 1313 and remained in
Sarai until 1315), he eventually lost influence to
Yury of Moscow, who gained influence in Novgorod while the grand prince was away in Sarai. Mikhail did manage to finally take control of the city in 1316 with Mongol aid, but the following year Uzbeg Khan gave the
yarlik or patent of office of the Grand Prince of Vladimir to Yury, who also married Uzbeg's sister. After granting Yury the iarlyk or patent of office, the Khan sent his army under the Mongol general Kavgadii to help Yuri in his struggle with Mikhail Yaroslavich. On 22 December 1317 Mikhail defeated Yuri at a village called Bortenevo from Tver. Mikhail captured Yuri's wife, who was the Khan's sister. When she died in Mikhail's custody, he was blamed for her death, although it seems unlikely that he would have killed her knowing how much it would hurt him politically for such little gain. He released Kavgadii, who returned to Sarai and accused Mikhail of murdering the Khan's sister, withholding tribute, and warring against his Mongol overlord. As a result, Mikhail was summoned to the Horde by the
Khan and executed on 22 November 1318.
Relations with the Church (1896) Mikhail also alienated the Church, particularly
Metropolitan Petr (ruled 1308–1326). When
Metropolitan Maksim died in 1305, Mikhail nominated another candidate, but Petr was consecrated by the
Patriarch of Constantinople. Petr sided with Moscow and opposed Mikhail on several occasions. In 1309, he appointed David as
Archbishop of Novgorod and David was instrumental in the argument that led Mikhail to withdraw his lieutenants and cut the grain supplies to the city. In 1314, Novgorod called on Yury to be named grand prince and for Mikhail to be deposed. Thus the support of the Church aided Yury to Mikhail's detriment. Despite his having been unfavored by the
Russian Orthodox Church during his lifetime, the Church later declared Mikhail a saint because of his piousness during his summons by the Khan which he knew was to certain death and because his relics, when transported to his hometown, were discovered to be
incorrupt. == Family and children ==