Shemyaka has continued to plot against his cousin despite several peace treaties.

He had suffered a series of defeats in 1450 and 1452 that force him to seek refuge in Novgorod.

Here, on July 17, 1453, he was poisoned while eating a dinner of chicken in the Gorodishche, the princely compound south of the Market side of the city, his cook having been bribed by Muscovite agents.

Delighted at the news, Vasily II ennobles a herald who had first brought him the message of Shemyaka's death.

Nikolai Karamzin will famously write in his history that the grand prince showed "indecent joy" at the news of his rival's untimely demise.

Galicia, meanwhile, is rejoined to Muscovy.