Editing Ivan II of Moscow (section)

==Reign==
Upon succeeding his brother and because of increased civil strife among the [[Golden Horde]], Ivan briefly toyed with the idea of abandoning traditional Moscow allegiance to the [[Mongols]] and allying himself with [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]], a growing power in the west. This policy was quickly abandoned and Ivan asserted his allegiance to the Golden Horde.<ref>{{cite book | title=Medieval Russia, 980–1584 | author=Janet Martin| publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]| year=1995| isbn= 0-521-36832-4}}</ref>

Contemporaries described Ivan as a pacific, apathetic ruler, who didn't flinch even when [[Algirdas|Algirdas of Lithuania]] captured his father-in-law's capital, [[Bryansk]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Alfred Rambaud, Edgar Saltus |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_N0UhpH1Lh9wC |title=Russia |publisher=P. F. Collier & Son |year=1902 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_N0UhpH1Lh9wC/page/n152 146], 147}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=N0UhpH1Lh9wC&pg=PR3&dq=Alfred+Rambaud,+Edgar+Saltus]</ref> He also allowed Oleg of [[Riazan]] to burn villages on his territory. However, [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] churchmen aided in consolidating the power of the Prince of Moscow. He received much aid from the capable [[Metropolitan Alexius]]. Like his brother, Ivan II was not as successful as his father or grandfather with regard to territorial expansion. Nevertheless, he was able to annex areas southwest of [[Moscow]], including the areas of [[Borovsk]], and [[Vereya, Naro-Fominsky District, Moscow Oblast|Vereya]].

He is buried in the [[Cathedral of the Archangel Michael]] in [[Moscow]].