MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin inspected the open sarcophagus of Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy on Thursday after restoration work at the Cathedral of the Archangel in the Kremlin revealed well-preserved human remains previously thought to be buried elsewhere in the church.
Putin lit a candle inside the frescoed cathedral and listened as specialists outlined the evidence identifying the skeleton as that of the 14th-century prince, RIA news agency reported. The Russian Orthodox Church said the remains are almost complete, belonging to a man just under 180 cm tall who died between the ages of 35 and 45, details that match historical accounts of Donskoy, who died in 1389 at about 39.
Dmitry Donskoy is a key figure in medieval Russian history, credited with expanding Muscovy, commissioning the first stone Kremlin, and defeating a Mongol force near the Don River in 1380. The Cathedral of the Archangel, long the burial site of tsars and princes, has yielded the unexpected find during conservation work by the southern wall, prompting renewed interest from historians in the location and preservation of Russia’s early rulers.