Russian Vasily Dmitriyevich
born 1371
died February 1425, Moscow
Grand prince of Moscow (1389–1425).
After helping the Tatar khan Tokhtamysh fight Timur , he succeeded his father as grand prince of Moscow and Vladimir. He enlarged his realm to include Nizhny Novgorod and Murom in the central Volga region, but his efforts to expand westward brought him into conflict with Lithuania and Novgorod. He prepared to fight Timur in 1395, but the Mongol leader withdrew from Russian lands without a battle. Vasily kept his state independent until the Tatars reasserted control in 1408.