Staritsa Principality

one of the last appanage principalities in 16th-century Russia. Staritsa Principality consisted of several territories, which included the cities of Staritsa, Aleksin, and Vereia. It was given as an appanage by Ivan III to his younger son, Andrei, who did not rule the principality until 1519. After the death of Vasilii III, Andrei sought new patrimonial estates. When the government decided to liquidate his appanage, he raised a revolt (1537) and fled to Novgorod. Soon captured, he died in prison.

In 1541, Staritsa Principality was given to Andrei’s son, Vladimir Andreevich Staritskii; however, at the same time, many of the patrimonial estates in the principality were distributed to vassals of the grand prince. In 1566, Ivan IV persuaded Vladimir to trade most of his appanage for other lands, and the principality as such ceased to exist.

The 16th century was a period of intensive construction in Staritsa Principality; important structures from this period include the Rozhdestvenskii Cathedral in Vereia and the Uspenskii Monastery in Staritsa. The mother of V. A. Staritskii, Evfrosin’ia, organized a sewing workshop, which became famous for its high-quality work.