Uliana Aleksandrovna (Russian: Юлиания Александровна, romanized: Yulianiya Aleksandrovna;[1] c. 1325[2] – 17 March 1391)[3] was a daughter of Alexander of Tver and Anastasia of Galicia, daughter of Yuri I of Galicia. She was the second wife of Algirdas, the grand duke of Lithuania.[4]
| Uliana of Tver | |
|---|---|
Wedding of Uliana and Algirdas, miniature from the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible (16th century)
| |
| Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania | |
| Reign | 1350 – May 1377 |
| |
| Born | c. 1325 |
| Died | 17 March 1391 (aged 65–66) |
| Spouse | Algirdas |
| Issue |
|
| House | Rurik |
| Father | Alexander of Tver |
| Mother | Anastasia of Galicia |
| Religion | Russian Orthodoxy |
After her father and eldest brother were murdered by Öz Beg Khan in 1339, Uliana was placed in care of Simeon of Moscow, who married Uliana's elder sister Maria in 1347.[2]
In 1349, Algirdas, the grand duke of Lithuania, sent an embassy to the Golden Horde, proposing to the khan Jani Beg to form an alliance against Simeon of Moscow; this proposal was not accepted and the envoys, including Algirdas' brother Karijotas, were imprisoned and held for ransom.[2] In 1350, Algirdas then concluded peace with Simeon and married Simeon's sister-in-law Uliana. Simeon first asked for the opinion of Metropolitan Theognostus whether a Christian lady could be married off to a pagan ruler. The same year, Algirdas' brother Liubartas married Olga, daughter of Konstantin Vasilyevich of Rostov and niece of Simeon.[2]
According to the research of Polish historian Jan Tęgowski, Uliana and Algirdas had eight sons and eight daughters, though other sources provide different data.[2] Uliana was undoubtedly frequently pregnant during her union with Algirdas, as she gave birth to at least 13 children:
It seems that the children, unlike children from Algirdas' first marriage with Maria of Vitebsk, were brought up in pagan culture.[2] Uliana's son Jogaila, and not Algirdas' eldest son Andrei of Polotsk, inherited the throne and became the grand duke of Lithuania in 1377. Uliana, as dowager grand duchess, appeared in national politics and was involved in the Lithuanian Civil War,[5] as well as an unsuccessful attempt to wed Jogaila with Sophia, daughter of Dmitry Donskoy, and convert him to Eastern Orthodoxy.[6][7] The plans failed when Jogaila converted to Roman Catholicism, married Jadwiga of Poland, and was crowned as the king of Poland (jure uxoris) in 1386.
There are conflicting claims about Uliana's last years and her burial place. One account claims that Uliana became a nun under the name Marina in the Monastery of the Holy SpiritinVitebsk and was buried there.[8] Another claim, based on a silver plaque discovered during an 1810 construction, has it that she was buried in the Cathedral of the TheotokosinVilnius.[9] The Nikon Chronicle recorded that she was an nun at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and was buried there.[10] The latest discovery was made during a restoration of the Transfiguration ChurchinPolotsk in March 2012. An inscription was found that recorded Uliana's death on the feast of Saint Alexius, which is March 17 in Eastern Orthodoxy.[3][11] On December 5, 2018, Uliania of Tver was canonized by the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.[12][13]