principality · Poland, Lithuania and Russia

Principality of Kostroma

1246 CE – 1276 CE (approx.) · capital Kostroma

A short-lived Volga appanage whose only prince, Vasily, rose to become grand prince of Vladimir.

Origins

Kostroma on the Volga was a town of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. In 1246, after the death of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, his youngest son Vasily received Kostroma as his own appanage.

Rule and society

Vasily of Kostroma was an active prince who fought the Lithuanians and the Novgorodians. In 1272 he became grand prince of Vladimir with the approval of the Golden Horde, ruling from Kostroma rather than moving to Vladimir. The principality was a small Volga land with little else recorded.

Decline and legacy

Vasily died in 1276 without sons, and Kostroma passed back to the grand princes of Vladimir. It later became part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The Ipatiev Monastery near the town later played a part in the election of Michael Romanov in 1613.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Vladimir-Suzdal 1157 CE – 1331 CEPrincipality of KostromaVladimir-Suzdal 1157 CE – 1331 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Kostroma. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kostroma
MLA
“Principality of Kostroma.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kostroma. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Kostroma.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kostroma.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Kostroma’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kostroma (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻