Aleksandr of Tver

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Aleksandr Mikhailovich (7 October 1301 – 29 October 1339) was Prince of Tver, Grand Prince of Vladimir (1326–1327), and later Grand Prince of Tver (1338–1339). He was the son of Mikhail of Tver and Anna of Kashin.

Aleksandr first appears in records in 1319, when he and his brother brought their father’s body to Vladimir to see Yury of Moscow and to arrange peace. In 1322 he helped his brother Dmitry gain the grand princely patent, and he pressed Özbeg Khan to receive the tribute from Tver, after a dispute with Yury of Moscow over the tribute.

In 1326–1327, Aleksandr became grand prince after Dmitry was executed on the Khan’s orders. His rule faced a brutal test in 1327 when Tatars under the baskak Shevkal settled in Tver and terrorized the city. The people rose up, killed the Tatar party, and the massacre brought swift reprisals from Özbeg’s forces. Ivan I of Moscow led a punitive campaign into Tver, and Aleksandr fled to Pskov. For his role in the crackdown, Ivan was rewarded with the title of grand prince, while Vladimir and the Volga lands went to Aleksandr of Suzdal; Novgorod and Kostroma went to Ivan. Pskov welcomed Aleksandr and refused to hand him over to the Russians.

Aleksandr briefly faced excommunication in Pskov, and he left for Lithuania after promising to return. He came back to the north and west in waves, attempting to regain his throne. In 1338 he returned to Tver, calling his wife and children back from Pskov. He sent his son Fyodor to Sarai as an envoy, while Ivan went to the khan to press his case. Although warned by church leaders, Aleksandr went to the Horde.

At Sarai, Aleksandr was pardoned and allowed to return to Tver, but he soon went back to seek support to reestablish his rule. In the autumn of 1339 he and his son Fyodor were executed there by order of Özbeg. His death marked the end of a 35-year struggle between Moscow and Tver and helped hasten the fragmentation of Tver into smaller districts.

Aleksandr was married to Anastasia of Galicia, daughter of Yuri I of Galicia. They had eight children, including Mikhail II of Tver and Uliana of Tver; Fyodor, his son who accompanied him to Sarai, was also among those who died with him.