Yaroslav III was the son of Grand Prince
Yaroslav II of
Russia, and succeeded his brother
Alexander Nevsky to the
throne in
1263 on Alexander's death. Before that he had been prince of the city of Tver, where his
descendants continued to rule. The people of
Novgorod, probably Russia's foremost city at the time, recognized Yaroslav as their prince shortly after he had received confirmation of his title from the
Mongol overlords of Russia. However, by
1270, the people of Novgorod rebelled against Yaroslav, who threatened to bring in Mongol troops to subdue them. The
Orthodox Church leader Cyril, managed to mediate and bring affairs to a peaceful conclusion.
During the reign, the invasions from the north and west continued as they had in Alexander's reign; in 1268 Yaroslav's brother Sviatoslav managed to defeat the Lithuanians at Rakovor, bringing a little respite to Russia. Yaroslav died in 1271 and was succeeded by his brother Vasily.