Mikhail was the son of Grand Prince
Yaroslav III of
Russia, and came to the Grand Prince's throne in
1304 on the death of his cousin
Andrei III. He had previously been
prince of the city of
Tver, and it was not a foregone conclusion that he would be the next Grand Prince. On Andrei's death, Mikhail and his cousin the later
Yuri III of
Moscow both went to see the
Mongols who ruled over Russia to ask to be confirmed as Grand Prince. Mikhail got there first and gave a lot of gifts to the Khan, and received the title (the Mongols didn't much care who ruled as long as they got their tribute).
Yuri was never completely happy with this, and eventually rose up against Mikhail in 1317. Yuri was defeated at the battle of Bortenevo, but Mikhail made the mistake of capturing Yuri's wife, the Khan's sister, and keeping her as a hostage. When she died in captivity, the Mongols were suddenly willing to support Yuri, and they defeated Mikhail and executed him. Yuri III became Grand Prince.