The Dismemberment of Mad Emperor Yuri was the climax and end of Yuri Vorbarra's Civil War where "the Mad Emperor" Yuri Vorbarra was violently and graphically executed by his cousin Ezar Vorbarra in retaliation for Yuri's tyranical rule as Emperor of Barrayar and for Yuri Vorbarra's Massacre where members of Yuri's and Ezar's own Vorbarra family were killed. To ensure that Piotr Vorkosigan's son Aral (whose claim to the Imperium was arguably better than Ezar's) would never wish to claim his position, Ezar gave Aral the first cut.