First World War.com - Who's Who - Grigory Rasputin What's New Who's Who - Grigory Rasputin Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin (1872-1916) was the infamous 'holy man' whose ability to heal the Tsar and Tsarina's son Alexis led to his being adopted as a supreme mystic at court. Growing in influence to the point where he effectively dictated policy he was eventually assassinated by a group of court conspirators in December 1916. Sponsored Links Born in 1872 at Pokrovskoye in Siberia to a peasant family, Rasputin's limited education left him without the ability to either read or write. Even at a young age he earned himself such a reputation for devoted debauchery that his actual name of Grigory Yefimovich Novykh was replaced with the surname 'Rasputin' - Russian for 'debauched one'. Having undergone a form of religious conversion while aged 18 Rasputin embraced the Khlysty sect.

Happily for Rasputin (given his reputation) the sect preached the notion that the closest relationship to God could best be achieved while exhausted from prolonged sexual engagements. Rasputin married at age 19, to Proskovia Fyodorovna, who bore him four children. Unsettled, Rasputin left his wife and travelled, variously to Greece and Jerusalem, where he established a reputation (self-created) as a holy man. Winding up in St. Petersburg in 1903 Rasputin met up with the the Bishop of Saratov, Hermogen. Since the Romanov court at that time was dabbling in mysticism Rasputin was recommended in 1905 by Hermogen to the royal couple. However Rasputin's rise to royal influence dates from his summons to the royal palace in an attempt to try and prevent their son Alexis's continuing loss of blood (as a haemophiliac). Where all others had failed Rasputin succeeding in stemming the boy's loss of blood - probably through hypnotism - and Rasputin's reputation as a mystic healer was sealed by the immense gratitude of the Tsar and (especially) the Tsarina.

Careful to maintain his pretence of being a humble if mystically talented peasant while in the royal couple's presence, Rasputin however lost no time in indulging his voracious sexual appetite outside the court. He shortly afterwards hit upon the satisfying discovery that sexual contact with his own body imbued a healing effect upon women. The Tsar, informed in detail of Rasputin's scandalous conduct, initially dismissed the 'mad monk' from court; however the influence of his wife, Alexandra, ensured his rapid recall. Thereafter both Nicholas and Alexandra declined to give credence to further reports of Rasputin's misbehaviour; indeed, Alexandra positively discouraged criticism of 'our friend'. Since news of Alexis's condition was not allowed to be made general knowledge the public at large, unaware of Rasputin's chief role as a healer at court, assumed that he was actively seducing Alexandra. Salacious details of his general conduct, fed and (if it were possible) exaggerated by his many ill-wishers, became the subject of public scandal. Rasputin's influence continued into wartime. Alexandra sought his opinion on a variety of policy matters.

Rasputin, generally ready to offer advice, occasionally offered advice on Russian military strategy, although such advice never proved beneficial. In one sense Rasputin's presence, while generally damaging public perception of the Romanovs, nevertheless benefited the Tsar. Military calamities were often attributed by the Russian public to Rasputin's baleful influence: as such it therefore deflected direct criticism away from the Tsar himself. However with the Tsar's decision to take personal command of his army from the front (thereby reliving his uncle, Grand Duke Nikolai , of the role), disaster beckoned. Not only was the Tsar thereafter directly associated with the fruits of his army's efforts (which continued its extended poor run), but in his absence domestic governance of political affairs was effectively left in the hands of the Tsarina and Rasputin (with the Prime Minister, Boris Sturmer , ever willing to defer to the Tsarina's wishes).

With Rasputin offering advice on the appointment (and dismissal) of public and church officials, and rumour spreading that the Tsarina and Rasputin were in the pay of the Germans, a group of nobles at court, led by Felix Yusupov , determined to resolve the appalling damage inflicted by Rasputin upon the monarchy by arranging his murder. Yusupov invited Rasputin to dine at his home on 29 December 1916 where he was given poisoned wine and cakes. Alarmed at Rasputin's apparent immunity to the poison Yusupov shot him in panic ("A shudder swept over me; my arm grew rigid, I aimed at his heart and pulled the trigger.", Lost Splendor, 1953). After a brief period of collapse Rasputin recovered and managed to escape into the courtyard, where he was again shot (by another conspirator, Vladimir Purishkevich). Finally, presumably to make quite sure of the matter, Rasputin's body was dropped through a hole in the Neva river, where he finally died by drowning. His corpse was later discovered on the Neva's banks.

As an attempt to salvage the credibility of the monarchy Yusupov's bold move came too late; if anything, the murder of Rasputin removed a buffer between the royal family and their critics: no longer could the nation's ills be attributed to the mad monk who had prophesised his own demise. Click here to read Stanislaus de Lazovert's account of Rasputin's assassination. Sponsored Links Saturday, 22 August, 2009 Michael Duffy The financial cost of the war is said to have amounted to almost $38 billion for Germany alone; Britain spent $35 billion, France $24 billion, Russia $22 billion, USA $22 billion and Austria-Hungary $20 billion. In total the war cost the Allies around $125 billion; the Central Powers $60 billion. - Did you know? Rasputin | Define Rasputin at Dictionary.com Rasputin [ra-spyoo-tin, -tn; Russian ruh-spoo-tyin] /ræˈspyu tɪn, -tn; Russian rʌˈspu tyɪn/ Spell 1.

Grigori Efimovich [gri-gawr-ee i-fee-muh-vich;; Russian gryi-gaw-ryee yi-fyee-muh-vyich] /grɪˈgɔr i ɪˈfi mə vɪtʃ;; Russian gryɪˈgɔ ryi yɪˈfyi mə vyɪtʃ/ (Show IPA), 1871–1916, Siberian peasant monk who was very influential at the court of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra. 2. any person who exercises great but insidious influence. Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for Rasputin Expand British Dictionary definitions for Rasputin Expand noun 1. Grigori Efimovich (ɡriˈɡɔrij jɪˈfiməvitʃ). ?1871–1916, Siberian peasant monk, notorious for his debauchery, who wielded great influence over Tsarina Alexandra. He was assassinated by a group of Russian noblemen Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for Rasputin Expand acquired name (Russian, literally "debauchee") of Grigory Yefimovich Novykh (c.1872-1916), mystic and faith healer who held sway over court of Nicholas II of Russia. His nickname is from his doctrine of "rebirth through sin," that true holy communion must be preceded by immersion in sin. His name used figuratively in English from 1937 for anyone felt to have an insidious and corrupting influence.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Rasputin is murdered - Dec 30, 1916 - HISTORY.com Rasputin is murdered Publisher A+E Networks Sometime over the course of the night and the early morning of December 29-30, 1916, Grigory Efimovich Rasputin, a self-proclaimed holy man, is murdered by Russian nobles eager to end his influence over the royal family. Rasputin, a Siberian-born muzhik, or peasant, who underwent a religious conversion as a teenager and proclaimed himself a healer with the ability to predict the future, won the favor of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra through his ability to stop the bleeding of their hemophiliac son, Alexei, in 1908. From then on, though he was widely criticized for his lechery and drunkenness, Rasputin exerted a powerful influence on the ruling family of Russia, infuriating nobles, church orthodoxy, and peasants alike. He particularly influenced the czarina, and was rumored to be her lover.

When Nicholas departed to lead Russian forces in World War I, Rasputin effectively ruled the country through Alexandra, contributing to the already-existing corruption and disorder of Romanov Russia. Fearful of Rasputin’s growing power (among other things, it was believed by some that he was plotting to make a separate peace with the Germans), a group of nobles, led by Prince Felix Youssupov, the husband of the czar’s niece, and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Nicholas’s first cousin, lured Rasputin to Youssupov Palace on the night of December 29, 1916. First, Rasputin’s would-be killers gave the monk food and wine laced with cyanide. When he failed to react to the poison, they shot him at close range, leaving him for dead. A short time later, however, Rasputin revived and attempted to escape from the palace grounds, whereupon his assailants shot him again and beat him viciously. Finally, they bound Rasputin, still miraculously alive, and tossed him into a freezing river. His body was discovered several days later and the two main conspirators, Youssupov and Pavlovich were exiled.

Not long after, the Bolshevik Revolution put an end to the imperial regime. Nicholas and Alexandra were murdered, and the long, dark reign of the Romanovs was over. Related Videos Rasputin rotten > Library > Biographies > Historical > Rasputin Rasputin You really have to make an effort to get your name thoroughly synonymous with evil and debauchery. It doesn't just happen spontaneously. It takes a special kind of person to be a Vlad the Impaler , or a Pope Innocent III , or a Rasputin. Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born a Siberian peasant in 1872, which is not the kind of background that usually lends itself to great success in life. Despite the fact that he could barely read, Rasputin managed to rise to a position of nearly unprecedented power on the basis of personal charisma, evil genius, body odor, sexual profligacy and being hard to kill. Nice work if you can get it. The young Rasputin did a brief stint in a Siberian monastery, but wisely determined that he could do better making up his own religion.

Early in life, he established a name for himself by employing an apparent power to heal the sick and see the future. Rasputin was well on track to a life of obscurity as the big fish in an exceedingly small pond, when the Virgin Mary intervened. According to his daughter, the Black Virgin of Kazan (a purportedly miraculous Russian icon) appeared to Rasputin and inspired him to make the move from rural witch doctor to power behind the throne. It was the last time the words "Rasputin" and "virgin" would appear in the same sentence without the word "defile" in there somewhere. Rasputin traveled to St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, and set up shop as a healer. At the time, Tsar Nicholas II was afflicted with a sickly heir, a hemophiliac subject to uncontrollable bleeding named Alexis. Uncontrollable bleeding was not generally considered a good quality in Russian royalty at the time, so the Tsar had two major priorities as far as his only heir was concerned: First, stop the bleeding, and second, keep it quiet.

The answer to both these problems came in the form of the "mad monk," the only person to successfully treat the bleeding. Rasputin pulled off this feat using his "healing powers," which many attributed to hypnosis. There's nothing that wins you political favor like holding the life of the royal offspring in your hands, especially when the family wants to hush it up. By 1908, Rasputin had firmly won himself a place in the royal palace of the Romanovs. At the same time, he won a place in the bed of Tsarina Alexandra. While it would be easy to dismiss the long-rumored affair as a matter of expediency between a mother and the only man able to treat her dying son, there's some evidence to the contrary. Recently uncovered documents revealed intimate correspondence between the mad monk and the Tsarina, full of endearments which seemed to speak of true love. Unfortunately for the Tsarina, the fire that Rasputin ignited in her heart and/or loins would not be her exclusive royal property. Between his renowned personal magnetism and his reputed 13-inch penis, Rasputin was a much sought-after sexual commodity.

Fortunately for the ladies of Russia, he was also a readily accessible commodity. Perhaps foreshadowing the rise of Communism in his native land, Rasputin made a point of distributing the wealth. Rumors of Rasputin's orgies date back as early as 1900, when he was still living in Siberia. According to some historians, he belonged to an obscure religious sect known as Khlysty, or possibly to an even more obscure and extreme movement. He preached the quite sensible notion that in order to be properly saved one first had to sin prodigiously. Rasputin reportedly entertained somewhere between hundreds and thousands of women, from all walks of life. In addition to the Tsarina, Rasputin was said to be screwing the Tsar's four young daughters as well. He reportedly had his way with the Tsar's chambermaids too. None of this seemed to trouble the Tsar inordinately, presuming he knew about it. Rasputin became a valued political adviser to the throne. His power and his sexual antics provoked great jealousy among other members of the Romanov's court, which set the stage for his downfall. Apparently if you're a crazy monk with intense B.O.

who's fucking everyone in sight while becoming one of the most powerful people in the country, people will talk. Between the scandal and the power-mongering, it was inevitable that the Mad Monk would piss off the Russian nobility. Many of Rasputin's enemies suspected that his powerful position had been won through some mysterious power of hypnotism . The hypnotic power was supposedly at the root of his apparent healing ability, in addition to its clear utility in wowing the ladies. In 1915, the Tsar traipsed off to command Russian troops fighting in World War I , leaving Tsarina Alexandra "in charge" with Rasputin as her primary adviser. The virtual abdication to Rasputin was the final straw for a cabal of Russian nobles, who decided to take matters into their own hands and assassinate the Mad Monk.

You would think that Rasputin's enemies would come from the highest and noblest strata of Russian society, but most of the upright Russians were off at war, leaving the task to gay transvestite Prince Felix Yusupov (who some claimed was himself fucking Rasputin), his fag-hag best buddy Duke Dmitri, a loud-mouthed member of the Parliament, an injured soldier and a doctor (whose primary utility to the plot was that he was the only one who could drive). The plot itself was fairly simple. Its execution, however, would be legendary in its difficulty. If you thought the Terminator was hard to kill... well, granted, the Terminator was pretty hard to kill. But so was Rasputin, which is my point. It seemed so easy. Felix would invite Rasputin to his house on the pretext of letting the Mad Monk have his Mad Way with the Prince's wife. Then, Felix would poison Rasputin. What could possibly go wrong? The trouble began right off the bat when Mrs. Felix, perhaps not enamored of her life as the spouse of a gay transvestite, refused to assist in the pretext part. The plotters decided they would just pretend she was there instead.

Rasputin and Felix made their rendezvous on the evening of December 16, 1916. Felix offered Rasputin a selection of poisoned pastries. Rasputin declined, saying they were too sweet. Whoops! Then, Felix offered him some poisoned wine. Rasputin refused that as well. Piqued, Felix excused himself and left the room, to consult with his co-conspirators. When he came back, much to his relief, Rasputin was eating the poison pastries and decided to wash them down with the poison wine. Felix sat back gleefully and waited for the poison to kick in. And he waited. And waited. The evening stretched on and on, with no sign of the fast-acting poison's effects. Incapable of making a decision on his own, Felix again left the room to consult with his cronies. Since the subtle approach didn't appear to be working, Felix scored a gun from one of his friends and returned to Rasputin, and BANG! Point blank, one shot, and Rasputin hit the ground.

After checking to be sure the monk was dead, Felix and his cohort celebrated with a few rounds of non-poisoned wine, then returned to fetch the body for disposal. Alas, this just wasn't Felix's night. The dead Rasputin sprang up from the floor when his body was disturbed and attempted to strangle the prince, who FREAKED OUT, MAN! Felix fled, while one of his co-conspirators (the loud-mouthed member of parliament) took off after Rasputin, who was dashing out of the building screaming that he would tell the Tsarina about this atrocity. Loud-mouth emptied his entire pistol in Rasputin, missing the first few shots before scoring a hit in the back. Rasputin stopped running, but didn't fall. Loud-moth shot him in the head. This time, he actually fell, but he kept crawling away. The legislator kicked Rasputin in the head. Still no luck. The conspirators pulled the monk's body inside to avoid the scrutiny of a policeman who had heard the shots. Once inside, the newly encouraged Felix beat Rasputin's head to pieces with a barbell.

After wrapping his body in canvas, the plotters were dismayed to discover that Rasputin was STILL breathing. At this point, the plotters apparently decided to hack off the Mad Monk's 13-inch love tool, although this may be apocryphal. Finally, they tied him up and threw him in the river. When his body was found a few days later, he appeared to have been STILL alive underwater and clawing to get out of the ropes. There was also enough water in his lungs to support this premise, and three bullets lodged in various regions of the body. Within a year of the murder, the entire Romanov family had joined Rasputin in the great beyond, a development that some attributed to a dying curse while others chalked it up to the political ramifications of a bunch of royal fuckers murdering a peasant (albeit a powerful and freaky one). It didn't help that the killers were punished only with exile. All these stories beg the obvious question: What the fuck? When one looks at the actual murder plot, two words come to mind: "needlessly elaborate." Why the elaborate charade of offering up Felix's wife?

Why not just invite him over, since Felix and Rasputin were purportedly friends. Why not just poison him at the court, or in his own home? Why did the autopsy reveal there was no poison in Rasputin's blood when he died? Why not just shoot him in the first place? Why not just drown him in the first place? And what's up with the severing of his manly attribute? The stack of improbabilities and non sequiturs might lead some people to think that the story has been hideously overblown. There's a reasonable amount of historical backup for a lot of it, but the actual events of the murder itself are largely extracted from the accounts of the perpetrators, who may have sought a supernatural explanation for their own blatant incompetence. Short of setting the Wayback Machine for 1916, there isn't much chance of getting a more complete account. The primary physical evidence, Rasputin's dismembered penis, has proven as elusive as the man himself. According to his daughter, Rasputin's maid was present at the murder (a fact omitted from the historical accounts) and retrieved the organ in question (which the autopsy report did not list as missing) after the deed was done.

Like the Shroud of Turin , Rasputin's cock then appears to have traveled the world as the subject of some sort of weird veneration, only instead of the Knights Templar , this relic was guarded by a group of French ladies of leisure, who were presumably possessed of entirely too much time on their hands. Marie Rasputin, the monk's daughter, apparently caught wind of these odd rituals and took possession of the, ah, let's call it a memento of her father. It then disappeared, only to resurface in 1994 with a few of Marie's manuscripts which were picked up by a California man at a sale of abandoned property. The object was resold at auction for several hundred dollars, and resurfaced the next year in the possession of a British woman who gave it up for scientific testing. It turned out to be a sea cucumber. Ah well, it was a nice story anyway...

Grigory Rasputin - Biography - IMDb Grigory Rasputin Biography Showing all 14 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (1) | Trivia (5) | Personal Quotes (1) Overview (5) 6' 4" (1.93 m) Mini Bio (1) Gregory Rasputin was one of Russia's most controversial and mysterious figures who posed as a "holy man" and destroyed the political image and reputation of Russia's Emperor Tsar Nicholas II and his family through a series of political manipulations, disgusting scandals and treachery, provoking a huge wave of public anger and helping the communists to prepare the disastrous Russian revolution. His mysterious activity is still disputed by historians and religious authors, mostly because he left no papers or documents with the exception of a few messages, while acting behind-the-scenes inside the Palaces of the Russian Tsars, and he remained inaccessible to public because of the heavy security that surrounded the Russian Imperial family. He was born Gregory Efimovich Rasputin in 1869 into a Russian peasant family in Pokrovskoye village, Tobolsk province in Siberia.

He was the only surviving child of Efim Yakovlevich Rasputin and Anna Vasilevna Rasputina--their four previous children died before he was born. The family name, Rasputin, has a negative connotation, similar to "ill-behaved" or "ill-aimed". His mother died when Rasputin was young and his father was imprisoned for some time. Gregory had very little schooling and was unable to read or write. At age 16 he was arrested for theft, and the citizens of Pokrovskoe appealed to the authorities to excommunicate and exile him. Rasputin was sentenced to three months in prison, which was later commuted to serving his term at Verkhoturye Monastery in Siberia. Rasputin settled with the lonely monk Makariy, who lived in a rugged hut and practiced rituals akin to ancient shamanic and tribal traditions of the Siberian people. Rasputin mentioned that Makariy had cured him of a severe sleep disorder and trained him to practice hypnotism and a vegetarian lifestyle, which included some alcohol and also the use of various weeds and drugs for "spiritual transformation" according to ancient shamanic rituals.

Rasputin stated later that he modeled himself after Makariy. At that time he became interested in manipulating people through their weaknesses and beliefs, including use of their personal and social habits as well as their politics and religion. He was also introduced to the banned mystical sect of Khlysty (flagellants), whose had a strong sexual content among other exotic practices. Rasputin evolved into a cynical and ruthless manipulator who practiced his principle that "any sin shall make me a holy man" and was spreading his beliefs around. In 1889 Rasputin married Praskovia Feodorovna and had three children, but left his family in Siberia and became a wanderer. He walked across Russia on foot from Siberia to Kiev and back several times during the 1890s, then made a pilgrimage on foot to Greece and Jerusalem during 1901, walking back to Russia and staying in Kazan with a local priest who gave him a letter of recommendation to St. Peterburg, the Russian capital. He arrived in the city in 1903, and solicited money to build a church in his home village of Pokrovskoe. In St.

Petersburg Rasputin was accommodated by none other than Father Sergiy (who later, in 1942, was appointed by Joseph Stalin the Head of Orthodox Christianity in the Soviet Union), who was at that time Director of St. Petersburg Holy Academy and Seminary and also was a clandestine political opponent of Tsar Nicholas II. At several reception parties staged by Father Sergiy, Rasputin stunned St. Petersburg society by his forecasts that Russia would be defeated in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904, and that the Russian navy "would sink down", which was exactly what happened next. Soon the Ober-Procurator of Russia, Pobedonostsev, issued a ban on public appearances of Father Sergiy and Rasputin, declaring that Rasputin was hiding his manipulative traits under the cover of "holyness" and illegally declared himself an Orthodox Christian mystic. Rasputin, however, ignored that ban and continued posing as a "prophet" and healer. He continued his wanderings as a self-proclaimed "holy man", often using lies and hypnotism to intimidate people into submission and then used them for his own goals.

He made loose affiliations with various monasteries, then appointed himself a religious "elder" in St. Petersburg. At that time mystical interpretations of Christianity were in vogue, and official Orthodox Christianity was losing its control over people amidst the proliferation of disastrous wars and civil unrest, including revolutions. After the failure of several "religious advisers" to bring peace into the seriously dysfunctional Russian royal family of Tsar Nicholas II, Rasputin was summoned by Anna Vyrubova and the famous ascetic mystic, Father Theofan, the religious adviser to the royal family. In October of 1905 Father Sergiy and Father Theofan arranged Rasputin's introduction to the royal household through some relatives of reigning Romanov family. Rasputin instantly found a way to use the weaknesses and insecurities of Crown Prince Aleksey Nikolaeyvitch Romanov , whose incurable illness--he was a hemophiliac, having inherited the disease from his grandmother, Britain's Queen Victoria --was the main concern of the royal family. Rasputin convinced the Empress, Tsarina Alexandra , that he could improve the health of young Crown Prince Aleksey.

Both Tsar Nicholas II and his wife were devastated and demoralized by their son's illness, and their anxiety and desperation was used by Rasputin, and the people behind him, in a crafty way to achieve goals that suited their political agenda. At the same time Tsar Nicholas was warned by his loyal prime minister, Count Stolypin, that Rasputin was a dangerous fraud who could become a threat to the royal family and to Russia. However, at Tsar Nicholas' insistence, Stolypin had a private meeting with Rasputin. Not long afterward Stolypin was assassinated by a hired terrorist, and the resulting investigation by the authorities was stopped order of the Emperor. Stolypin's records revealed that he had an argument with Rasputin, but he was stopped and intimidated by the hypnotic stare of Rasputin's piercing eyes. Stolypin and many other political figures of that time had documented that Rasputin had "satanic eyes" and he was possessed of a powerful and hypnotic glare that he used to intimidate and cow his enemies.

Rasputin also often used verbal abuse and intimidation, including the most foul profanities--a practice considered shocking in the rarefied air of the Russian court--to intimidate and manipulate people into submission. At the height of his political influence, Rasputin was constantly guarded by six agents provided by the Russian security service by order of Tsarina Alexandra. Also by the Imperial order Rasputin was given a new name, Novykh, meaning the "new man", an exclamation attributed to the suffering boy, Crown Prince Aleksey. Rasputin apparently persuaded both the Empress and her ailing son to ensure that he kept a permanent presence in the tsar's palaces, and he was appointed to an official court position as "personal healer" to Crown Prince Aleksey Nikolaeyvitch Romanov. Rasputin may had some limited beneficial effect on Prince Aleksey's condition through hypnotism, but it apparently was enough to convince both the Empress and the Prince to depend more and more on Rasputin's presence and his hypnotic abilities.

Rasputin also insisted that real medical doctors should be kept away from Alexey, constantly telling the family, "Don't let the doctors bother him, let him rest." On the occasions when Aleksey's health had actually improved, Rasputin used the opportunity to take personal credit for the Prince's "improvement", thereby solidifying his control over access to the royal family. The Empress became a patron of Rasputin, who soon established himself as an extremely powerful figure within the Russian court. The Emperor was calling Rasputin a "holy man" and referred to him as "our friend". Rasputin referred to the Emperor and the Empress only as "papa" and "mama" and always used a frank and "sincere" tone in conversations with the royal family. Meanwhile, government security sources reported about wild orgies at the many parties and gatherings at Rasputin's residence, located just a few blocks away from the Tsar's palace and paid for out of the Russian Treasury.

Rasputin's drinking binges were reported as "massive and wild" that often degenerated into drunken and violent sex orgies, designed to entangle politicians and other guests who could prove useful to Rasputin's ambitions. He aggressively indoctrinated his victims by using, among other methods, his motto "Sin that you may obtain forgiveness!", which was in line with the views he learned from the sect of Khlysty. Soon Rasputin and people behind him succeeded in using his influence to entangle many politicians in scandals, including dirty manipulations involving their wives, drinking parties, promiscuity, and massive embezzlement of the government funds during the First World War, by diverting money to special interests through insiders within the Treasury of Russia. Rasputin also manipulated the Empress Tsarina Alexandra to make controversial political appointments, which led to a bitter divide within all classes of the Russian society, causing a blow to the public image of the Imperial House of the Romanovs. Rasputin's manipulative activities provoked many conflicts within the Russian government and the Russian military command during the First World War.

Rasputin was using his position inside the Tsar's Palace to directly interfere with Tsar's communications with the government and media, thus undermining the Tsar's public image. At several times Rasputin was able to interfere with the Tsar's schedule of meetings with political figures as well as military commanders during the war. In 1914, while visiting a church in Siberian city of Tobolsk, Rasputin was attacked by his former prostitute-friend, Khionia Guseva, who then turned a religious disciple of monk Iliodor. Ms. Guseva approached Rasputin with a knife and wounded him in the stomach, but he recovered from the wound and soon gained an even stronger influence on the Empress Tsarina Alexandra . Later Ms. Guseva said to the Grand Jury that she acted in clear mind and full understanding that "Rasputin is the Antichrist harmful to the people of Russia." However she was declared insane and was forcefully placed in an asylum in Siberia. Rasputin's most destructive actions were committed in 1916, when he convinced the Tsar Nicholas II to move from the Russian capital, St.

Petersburg, to the front-lines in Belarus, leaving the Empress Alexandra alone under his influence and in charge of internal politics of the country. In absence of the Tsar, St. Petersburg was surreptitiously over-taken by the revolutionary communists, who penetrated into many regiments of the Army, the Navy, as well as into the local political circles in the capital of Russia, thus preparing for the Communist Revolution of 1917. The decade of Rasputin's destructive manipulations led to irreparable political and economic damage and caused a bitter divide within the government and military command, as well as within all social layers of Russia. At that time the French ambassador Maurice Paléologue made a record that the "Russian Empress is mystically devoted to Rasputin." Communist leader V.I. Lenin wrote, "monstrous Rasputin is pushing the Tsar's regime to a disaster", which was helping the communist revolution. According to historians Rasputin was used by a secret group behind the communist revolutionaries, which acted to destroy the Romanov dynasty and the monarchy, and eventually fulfilled their plans and came to power through revolution.

That explained how and why Rasputin was manipulated to discredit the royal family and personally the Tsar Nicholas II . Rasputin's main handler was a St. Petersburg's underworld drug lord, named Dr. Badmayev, who controlled Rasputin through his drug addiction and often instructed Rasputin about his political moves. Rasputin often stayed overnight after having a fix at Dr. Badmayev's home in St. Petersburg. At the same time, Rasputin's hypnotic influence over the Empress Alexandra and the Crown Prince Alexey remained very strong, allowing him to make political, ecclesiastical and military appointments for those who served his interests. Rasputin created and used public scandals and rumors about his sexual and alcoholic excesses, and designed crafty entrapments for many members of the Russian political establishment into orgies and scandals for immediate blackmail and exploitation. He polarized the society by using his political influence in securing the appointments and dismissals of several military commanders and government ministers during the First World War.

Rasputin's abuse of power and his notorious debauchery was used by the communist propaganda to depict Rasputin with the Empress Alexandra in numerous pornographic comics, drawings and provocative publications as part of a massive negative publicity campaign against the House of Romanovs and the Russian monarchy. In the communist propaganda Rasputin was shown as a peasant who turned the Russian Tsar into a wimp, so the country was in "bad hands" and "proletarians must join with peasants to overthrow the monarchy and take power", so declared the communist leader V.I. Lenin , who in turn was secretly financed by the German military. In 1916, during the most difficult time in the First World War, brothers of Tsar Nicholas II obtained evidence that Rasputin was secretly negotiating a peace treaty with Germany while Russia's position in the war was not good. Rasputin said on record that "too many peasants were dead because of the war", indicating his agenda to settle "peace at any cost" which was also in line with the communist propaganda, and helped the German Armies. Peasants deserted from the Russian Army by hundreds of thousands, then armed peasants came to St.

Petersburg and joined the communist revolutionary brigades. Rasputin's secret activity and his contacts with the Germans became a political scandal. Tsar's cousin, Grand Prince Nicholas, announced that he wants to hang Rasputin for treachery as a spy in German employ, albeit Rasputin was under the protection of the Empress Tsarina Alexandra , who herself was German. That led to a plot by a group of aristocrats, led by Prince Feliks Yusupov , a relative of the Tsar, to assassinate him, but Rasputin was officially guarded by six agents from the Russian Imperial Security under constant supervision of specially assigned officers who lived in Rasputin's house in St. Petersburg. In November of 1916, Prince Yusupov pretended that he had chest pains and obtained a high recommendation to become a patient of Rasputin. Prince Feliks Yusupov made several visits to Rasputin as a patient and soon he made friends with Rasputin and presented him a picture of his wife, beautiful Princess Irene Yusupov, niece of the Emperor Tsar Nicholas II . Rasputin immediately became horny and expressed his desire to meet the beauty.

On December 16, 1916, Prince Yusupov and his fellow officers designed a plan centered on using the beautiful Princess Irina Yusupov, as a bait. On December 29, 1916, Prince Feliks Yusupov personally invited Rasputin to a dinner and drove him to Yusupov's Moika Palace in St. Petersburg. There Rasputin was waiting for the appearance of the Princess Irina Yusupov, but she never showed up. Meanwhile, Rasputin was plied with wine and food that had been laced with cyanide, albeit the plotters were oblivious to the fact of chemistry that cyanide is often neutralized by some ingredients in food, as it turns into a harmless salt in most desserts and wines. Rasputin also had a condition with hyper-acidity and post-surgical stomach problems which caused him to minimize his intake of sugar and alcohol.

When the poison had no apparent effect on Rasputin, Prince Feliks Yusupov pulled out his gun and fired, but Rasputin's life was saved because the first bullet was reflected by the hard metal button on his coat, he was wounded, but still managed to jump up and tried to escape out of the Moika Palace. Then Prince Yusupov and Count Vladimir Purishkevich together with their friend, British intelligence officer Oswald Rayner, pulled out their guns and fired at Rasputin, then, noticing that he was still trying to get up, they clubbed him into submission. In the early morning of December 30, 1916, members of the plot wrapped Rasputin and dragged him into the icy waters until he finally drowned in the Neva River. Even after his death, Rasputin still remained dangerous and could be used as a destructive and divisive tool, because he left a wild and threatening message to Emperor Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra, predicting their death and disaster for Russia. Crown Prince Alexey remained gravely ill and was heavily dependent and conditioned to Rasputin's hypnotic influence.

Rasputin's body was buried upon Empress Alexandra's and Prince Alexey's request at the location in the park of Tsarkoe Selo, near the Summer Palace of the Russian Tsars. Two months after Rasputin's assassination, Emperor Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, then was arrested as citizen Romanov who was obediently sweeping snow from roads while waiting for his sentence under supervision of communist revolutionaries. Soon both Nicholas and Alexandra became increasingly paranoid about having Rasputin's grave next to his Summer Palace. Ironically, Tsar Nicholas II was under the house arrest in that same palace during the year of 1917, and both Empress Alexandra and Prince Alexey were not allowed to make visits to Rasputin's grave, which was vandalized by revolutionaries in search for valuables. By that time, Rasputin's body was removed upon the order from Aleksandr Kerensky , the head of the Russian provisional government, who previously was a student at the same school and at the same time with the future communist leader V.I. Lenin .

Initially Kerensky ordered to remove Rasputin's body to a remote cemetery, but during the move, Rasputin's body, masked as a piano in a wooden box, was destroyed in the fire started by a group of revolutionaries. Shortly after the Communist Revolution, the entire family of Tsar Tsar Nicholas II with his wife and five children were executed, then Tsar's Palaces were vandalized by the revolutionary communists and Rasputin's grave was again burglarized by poor proletarians in search for jewelery. Later, while in emigration outside of the Communist Russia (then Soviet Union), both accounts by Prince Feliks Yusupov (who lived through the 1960s) and Count Vladimir Purishkevich (who died in the 1920s) were published in their respectful books of memoirs about their plot and assassination of Rasputin in the context of their participation in the historic events. Prince Yusupov compared Rasputin's cynical and manipulative treatment of the Tsar's family to the Communist Party's ruthless methods of control over innocent people of Russia.

Rasputin's own "religious" speeches were interpreted and recorded by his enchanted admirers and titled "holy wanderings" and "holy thoughts" when first published in Russia in 1907 and in 1915. In 1942, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin appointed the notorious St. Petersburg Bishop Sergiy the Patriarch of Orthodix Christianity in the Soviet Union. Then Patriarch Sergiy brought back the name of Gregory Rasputin from oblivion. At the same time some sectarian monks organized rumors about possible canonization of Gregory Rasputin as a "martyr and saint" who was assassinated by the family of the "bad" tsar. Rasputin's daughter, Matrena Solovyova-Rasputina, and her husband, Boris Solovyov, who secretly collaborated with the Communist regime, took money and jewelery from Empress Tsarina Alexandra in exchange for a promise of assist the Tsar Nicholas II and his family to escape from the Communist regime. They betrayed the Tsar and his family and left them to be killed by the communists, while themselves escaped to France.

There Rasputin's daughter, who was money hungry, read the memoirs of Prince Feliks Yusupov , and filed several law suits against Prince Yusupov, who gave accounts of Rasputin's death under oath in 1934 and 1965. Eventually Rasputin's daughter ended up working for a circus as a tiger tamer, then she moved to Los Angeles, and died there in 1977. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Shelokhonov Spouse (1) (1890 - 16 December 1916) (his death) (4 children) Trade Mark (1) Extremely Long Beard Trivia (5) He was initially poisoned with cyanide. Then he was stabbed and shot several times. Believing he was dead, his assassins bound him, wrapped him in a cloth and submerged his body in the freezing waters of the Neva River. When his body was finally found it seemed that he had miraculously struggled to free himself of his bonds - which means that he had finally died of drowning. No police investigation into the assassination was ever conducted.

He was reputed to have been dispeptic, which could account for why poisoning didn't work on him. Father, Efim, mother, Anna. Brother of Maria and older brother named Dmitri. Has four children: Dimitri, Matryona, Maria and Varvara. Personal Quotes (1) Rasputin, Grigori Efimovich Back to Home Page or Contents Page or People or Index Rasputin Grigori Efimovich Rasputin has been called a Russian mystic among other things, he was also call a "Holy Devil" by Iliodor (Sergei Trufanov) the monk-priest of Tsarytsin. Much which is known about the early life of Rasptin may be more legend than fact, because to the Russian peasants he was a hero, their man. One thing is certain, though, he was a product of his Siberian culture. Just bits of information are known about Rasputin's early life. One story is that his father was sent to Siberia as a criminal. While being a carter, transporter of passengers and cargo, for the government he got drunk and his horse ran off; the man ended up in Siberia for horse stealing.

He eventually was freed, got property by working as a carter and raised a family. The exact year the birth of his son Grigori is unknown. It seems to be between 1862 and 1875. His elder sister Maria, who is said to have been an epileptic, drown in a river. His older brother Dmitri fell in a river while the two boys were playing. Grigori jumped in to rescue him and they were both pulled out by a passerby. Afterwards Dmitri took pneumonia and died which greatly affected his younger brother. This seems true because Rasputin named two of his - children Maria and Dmitri. There are only indications of Rasputin's paranormal powers during childhood. One is that he loved animals, especially horses. He loved playing in his father's stable. He would climb upon the horses' backs, touch them with his hand and cheek. With an invented child's language he would talk to them. Of these incidences he eventually would tell the young Tsesarvich Alesha to comfort him. Only one incidence, whether fact or legend, of Rasputin's exceptional powers seems to be recorded.

As was the habit in Siberian villages like Pokrovskoe, Rasputin's home, most inhabitants would meet in homes in the evening. On this night the gathering was in the home of Rasputin's parents. The boy was sick but he heard the low conversation concerning the theft of a horse. Soon the boy got up in his nightshirt and pointed to one of the guests declaring him to be the thief. His parents were embarrassed, but after the gathering broke up some of the villagers who were curious at the boy's words went to the man's property to later see him with the stolen horse. The next morning many returned to the house of Rasputin's parents making the sign of the Cross and saying invocations to the Mother of God and Saint George as they marvelled over the boy's power. Rasputin later told of playing and fighting with the village children, but he would never steel anything because he always knew when someone else stole something and thought everyone possess this power. At the proper age Rasputin became a carter like his father. Then at thirty-three he had a passenger who drastically changed his life. This passenger was a seminarian novice who was returning to the monastery Verkhoture.

On the way he introduced Rasputin to the sect of Khlysty . He convinced Rasputin to remain at the monastery and learned the teachings of the sect. Rasputin did so, and saw his mission in life. After his stay at the monastery of just three months Rasputin felt his mission in life was to teach the Khlysty doctrines to the Russian people. Before leaving the monastery Rasputin visited its holy starets. When arriving at the man's abode within a distant forest the Orthodox priest Father Makari told Rasputin that he had much yet to learn of the earth. He should leave his family, wife, children and possessions. God had called him. Rasputin rejoiced at hearing the Elder's words, this was a dream he had since childhood, to devote his life to God. Although it must be pointed out this dream did not stop him from being a normal boy. He fought with other boys of Pokrovskoe, it is said, he himself admitted playing tricks on others. It is reported he tumbled with girls and drank vodka at the age of fifteen. But, Rasputin hurried home to bid farewell to his wife and family.

His wife and father took it in the spirit that he had been called by God to do this. For years he roamed as a vagabond living among the peasants, some who were "Old Believers" and fought against reforms in the Orthodox Church. During his journey he learned the heart of Russia.Also he took part in their worship services called the Radenyi . Also during this journey rumors began to spread about this man who seemed to performed miracles of healing the sick and preached strange and new teachings. Other rumors were that he had attracted a group of women disciples around him. Still other rumors had it that he slept with many of his followers. Some of these women would later become his disciples who joined Rasputin within his Holy of Hollies in St. Petersburg. Upon his return to Pokrovskoe Rasputin completely abandoned his wife, children and father. He lived in a secret cellar for nights and days. When his wife and father descended the steps they found him always praying, asking God's forgiveness on his knees. His lamentations rose to roars and then sank to cries and he repeated hundreds of times "Lord have mercy on us." His body shook and trembled and then relaxed.

Often his father and wife found themselves compelled to kneel with him and participate in his ritual. Rasputin became the cellar preacher after first being visited by an old peasant who was on the local church council. He along with the whole village was curious about the returning Rasputin. He descended the cellar steps not knowing what to expect after hearing the lamentations from a distance. The man was determined to discover what was going on, and when he emerged from the cellar he was a changed man. His servant took one look at the man's serene face and recognized the change in his master. The servant spread this news throughout the village and on the succeeding days other villagers descended into the cellar chamber. Many were suspicious because he had played pranks on them as a boy, they also knew he has chased the girls and drank. But they all emerged the same way as the church councilman. The meanings of Rasputin's new doctrines mainly took hold with the women and young girls who quickly spread them not caring about the teachings of the Orthodox Church. Such were the activities until the village priest Father Petr became so upset that he went to see the cellar preacher himself. Many of his parishioners saw him triumphantly enter the cellar.

They heard the terrifying voice of Rasputin and then saw the priest emerge from the cellar again appearing to have been totally shaken out of his wits. Added to this was the humiliation of his parishioners seeing him in such a state. By the time Father Petr had returned home he had regained his composure and formed an opinion that the thundering voice that had came down upon his so unmercifully had been the voice of the Antichrist. He knew if he had not left when he did, he would have became one of its victims as had so many of his parishioners. It was then he wrote a letter to his bishop describing everything he knew of Rasputin's past life and finally accusing him of teaching the heresy of Khlysty. The priest asked that legal action be taken against the false prophet. Soon the Bishop and his commission appeared in Pokrovshoe. They were going to investigate the whole matter. All that were called to testify testified to Rasputin's holiness, calling him a holy man. Even old peasants' testimonies were included.

The Bishop and other commission members were about to end their interrogation when Father Petr jumped up crying that all the people testified as they did because they were under Rasputin's influence. In order to determine whether this was true the commission sent Father Petr and a policeman to the preacher's cellar. Upon entering it and finding Rasputin devotedly praying on the ground, the policeman, being also of peasant descent, was so moved that he fell to his knees saying, "Father Grigori, forgive me my sins." When the story of the policedman's miraculous conversion spread through the village Father Petr had to admit defeat and the commission went home. But, Rasputin's fame quickly spread through the neighboring land. He quckly became known as Father and a starets. Rasputin's first recognized appearance among Orthodox Churchmen was at a Siberian Academy of Theology. He was in a discussion with a group of seminarians when their teacher and the academy's rector Father Feofan entered the room unnoticed. The seminarians had already recognized how easily Rasputin grasped the Holy Scriptures while they toiled over their books studying their meanings.

Soon, with all the students eagerly listening, Father Feofan and Rasputin were discussing sin. Father Feofan mentioned that Rasputin had said that "sin is indispensable before God." Then the priest inquired how could that be when the Savior and the saints of the Orthodox Church had denounced sin as the Devil's work. Rasputin replied, addressing the priest as "little father," our Savior and the church fathers did denounce sin as being the work of the Evil One, but, Rasputin went on to ask, how can sin be erased without sincere repentance? And, sincere repentance only comes after one has sinned. Rasputin paused a minute and then continued in a thundering voice of an angered peasant to say: Take away your Scriptures and your useless pondering over them. Accept life as it is, as God gave it to us. Stop worrying about where sin comes from, and how many prayers a man must say to escape it, or how long he must fast. Sin, and then you can truly repent. But, if after doing all these things sin still lurks in your heart, prayers do no good. You still remain a hypocrite. The filth must be gotten rid of.

"...do you hear, little father? Only then will your savour be well pleasing to the Lord." Father Feofan did not reply immediately, he seemed to be gathering strength to make a reply. His seminarians silently watched him. His reply did not come though. He tried making one, but when seeing Rasputin he stumbled, he seemed only to repeat himself, his sentences were disconnected. He became dizzy, Rasputin's eyes seemed the only fixed points around him. The other man's words seemed to thunder down on him, making his body tremble. When the priest regained his composure Rasputin did not appear to be the horrible monster that he just had seemed to be. The priest was hearing him say, "Yes, little father, that is correct, you speak the truth." Following this meeting both Father Feofan and his students shared doubts. The doubts of the students centered around their studies. They questioned, was all their studying worth the effort. This peasant who had spoken to them came closer to the living word than they had, and maybe ever would come. Father Feofan's doubts were of a more serious nature, they concerned Rasputin himself.

If he was a holy man how could he speak so blasphemously about sin? Was his words part of the divine truth, or was the man the Devil emissary? Father Feofan hoped this matter would be settled at the next morning's meeting between Rasputin and the bishop. Bishop Hermogen was not take in by Rasputin's saintliness but liked his peasant attitude. He immediately saw this man could help the Orthodox Church which was fighting the tendency toward westernization. He visualized Rasputin as being able to influence his fellow peasants as well as serving political purposes. Hermogen's first step was to introduce Rasputin to the monk- priest of Tsarytsin, Iliodor. He was the church orator of Russia. The meeting occurred in the monk's cell. He had been praying, intending to see how long his visitors would patiently wait. Although he finished praying he felt he had been intruded upon, for this he forever held Rasputin in both admiration and distrust. All three men eventually went to the Central Committee to get Rasputin seated.

Late in the session when a member spoke against Rasputin's admission Iliodor felt himself wanting to side with the member, but at the same instance he experienced similar sensations of dizziness as Father Feofan had and against his will voted with the Committee to seat Rasputin. Current as well as historical Russian events soon placed Rasputin in the limelight of politics. The marriage of Nicholas II and Princess Alexandra of Hesse occurred shortly before the death of his father Alexander III. Many considered Nicholas II, or Nikolai as he was called, a weak tsar. Whether this was true or not is still debatable. The political climate in Russia was unstable, to say the least, at the time of his succession at the age of twenty-three. For decades Russia had been riding the roller-coaster of more freedom toward democracy for the peasants and away from totalitarianism. Nicholas II's grandfather, Alexander II, pretty much started the political climate of unrest by starting referendums for more peasants' rights. After seeing his father assassinated Alexander III reversed the political policies and established more totalitarian policies. Hating all ideas of reforms he established "land captains" in every rural areas who acted as sinister police agents dealing ruthlessly with any type of revolutionary action.

Many attempts were made on his life. Finally he was injured in a train bombing and died shortly afterwards. This was the Russia which Nicholas II inherited. Much of the time he and Tsaritsa Alexandra, who had been nicknamed Sunshine as a child and still called her by her husband, resided at their private resident of Tsarskoe Selo. There were several reasons for this. According to one biographer of Rasputin the couple were very much in love, they always considered their marriage an extended honeymoon. This fact itself would influence Russian politics. Also, Tsaritsa Alexandra was from a German, Protestant country which did not set a bit well with her mother-in-law. The Tsaritsa converted to the Russian Orthodox religion upon her marriage, but the result was that there evolved two courts within the palace; her court, and the inner-court of ladies devoted to her mother-in-law. The Tsar and Tsaritsa naturally were more comfortable at Tsarskoe Selo. The Tsar conducted all the possible business that he could from there. The couple had two daughters but no son, or tsesarevich, who would be the heir to the Empire. Then the Tsesarevich Alexei was born.

Soon it was discovered the boy was a hemophiliac and there was no cure. Alexandra knew she had given the disease to her son, one of her uncles had suffered from it. Her daughters were not affected, she was told, the mother could only give the disease to a male child. This fact weighed heavily upon her. Alexei childhood was miserable. He was unable to run and play like other children, especially his older sisters. He was always cautioned against doing things because the slightest bump or bruise would start him bleeding internally which might last for days, or might not stop at all. This annoyed him. He was always asking why he could not play like others. His parents gave him every safe thing they thought of that he might play with, but he still was unhappy sitting among the toys but not being able to play like a normal child. A special attendant was assigned to guard the boy, a faithful sailor named Derevenko. But even Derevenko's alert attention was not always enough to guard against the boy's natural tendencies. According to one story, Derevenko and the child's nurse had taken Alexie to the park and the boy suddenly jumped up, making a careless movement and fell backwards.

The sailor was instantly there to catch the boy in his arms, but the damage had been done. When undressed in bed his little body showed blue swellings, indicating internal hemorrhaging which was so dangerous to his life. The bleeding continued for three days with the Tsaritsa at his bedside seeing him in agony. The doctors were called but they could not help the sick child. Then late one night when the Tsaritsa, in night clothes, was sleeping close to her son there was an unnoticed knock on the door of the room. It was the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, affectionately called Stana, entered. She comforted the Tsaritsa and then quickly told her that Alexei would soon be healed and the Tsaritsa would even win the love of the court ladies. The Tsaritsa anxiously desired to know how this would happen. The Duchess explained to her a holy man had arrived in the capitol. She explained he had attended mass in the church of John of Cronstadt. The Duchess assured her he was a holy man, because at the beginning of the communion service Father John had stopped and said to the mostly women communicants, "Stop!

to-day we have a worthier among us who must first partake of Holy Communion--the simple pilgrim who stands there in your midst." The Duchess explained she herself had intended to go to that mass but had not because of an unexpected visitor, but other ladies told her of the incident. They described Rasputin and said he seemed more holier than Father John and possessed more divine power than the doctors attending the Tsesarevich. The Tsaritsa was not convinced immediately. There had been others who tried to cure the Tsesarevich and failed. Some had been physicians whom the Tsaritsa and Tsar knew had tried helping the boy not only for the sake of Russia but for their own ambitions. So there was cause for skepticism. But later, the Grand Duchess told of the God-fearing, middle-classed widow Bashmakova came ahead of Father Grigori telling of the sick he had healed within his own village and other miracles he had performed. She assured the Empress the this holy man was a true Russian. Father Feofan had brought Rasputin to the palace to meet her and her husband, he had also met the Tsar who liked him.

The Tsaritsa knew this for the Tsar had previously informed her. He was also glad that Stana had comforted the Empress as she and her sister Militsa only could. Knowing the Tsaritsa understood this the Grand Duchess continued by saying she had told Rasputin of the sick Alexei and he said, "Just tell the Empress not to weep any more. I will make her youngster well again! Once he is a soldier, he will have red cheeks again." The Grand Duchess also reminded the Empress of what one of her son's physicians, M. Philippe, had told her as he left when unable to help the child anymore: "He prophesied that God would send you a new friend to help and protect you." She assured the Empress that Rasputin was the promised friend. Two nights later the friend came. Secretly he enter through a rear entrance of the palace to avoid notice of all the guards. He was brought by the Grand Duchess who was a frequent visitor at Tsarskoe Selo. They went to the nursery quarters where the Tsar and Tsaritsa were waiting. As was his peasant custom Rasputin vigorously embraced and kissed them both.

He then knelt and prayed at the sacred icons in the corner of the room. Then he went to the child's bed and made the sign of the cross over him. The feverish child who had suffered in pain many days woke up and looked at the stranger who began telling him that nothing would hurt him anymore and he continued rubbing his hands over the boy's body from head to toe. Miraculously the child recovered and Father Grigori came repeatedly telling him stories of life in Siberia. The boy came to call him little Father. He had asked his governess who the strange man was, and she who was in a dreamy state answered, "A holy man who will make you well again. God Himself sent him to your papa and mama." Needless to say the Empress herself shared the same feelings. The first time Rasputin left the boy's room she burst into tears of gratitude, grabbing and kissing the peasant's hands. Rasputin's attendance with the royal family lasted for some time. What he had done for her son made the Tsaritsa cleave to him; she knew in his protection the Tsesarevich would remain well.

The Tsar also liked him, but was not struck at first by his awe of holiness as his wife was. But soon gossip of Rasputin's conduct surfaced around the Court. Those wishing to aspire and become closer to the royal family quickly made friends with Rasputin, this included the physician Dr. Badmaev, who had not been able to help the boy, and John of Cronstadlt who surely could not admit being wrong about Rasputin's holiness. Still others jealous or disliking Rasputin spread rumors of his scandalous lifestyle. When the Tsaritsa was told how Rasputin kissed and fondled his female disciples she brushed it off by saying this was his way of showing Christian love as the apostles had. Soon it was rumored the Tsaitsa and her daughters were darning Rasputin's shirts. It was also said he had slept with the Tsesarevich's governess. The governess of the older daughters persuaded the Tsar to stop Rasputin from going into the girl's rooms to hear their night prayers. As these rumors grew the royal family soon met Rasputin on neutral ground, a Baroness' cottage.

Still rumors persisted and the Tsar asked Rasputin to leave. Rasputin did without protest but said if the royal family listened to his enemies they would lose their son and crown within six months. That fall the royal family vacationed in an isolated place in Poland. It was a place where the Emperor frequently hunted. Returning from a boating trip Alexei bumped his knee on a rock, the unceasing bleeding began. The doctors with the family could do nothing. The boy was in anguish. The Tsaritsa insisted Rasputin be telegraphed. This was done, and when Rasputin telegraphed back he said the Tsesarevich would recover, which he did. There were other incidences like this. Rasputin's connection with the Tsesarevich is what catapulted him into Russian politics. The Tsaritsa fearing for her son's life would not let him be dismissed again. After Germany declared war on Russia the Emperor went to his headquarters, then Rasputin was the Empress's chief confidant. Even before this the Tsar had came to trust him through the bidding of his wife. At the beginning of his reign the Tsar had incompetent men advising him.

He received the nickname "the Bloody" undeservingly because at his coronation a trench was covered for people to stand on, the covering weakened and some three thousand people fell in. Also he often gave orders and reversed them before they were executed without telling anyone. The Tsar finally confided more in Rasputin who eventually selected government officials just by looking into their eyes. Earlier he had warned the Tsar to always avoid war which helped no one but inflicted suffering on many. This made many enemies for Rasputin, especially in the Duma. With this power and influence with the Tsar and Tsaritsa, "papa" and "mama" as he affectionly called them, Rasputin's private life was no longer a great matter of concern. He was always surrounded by his women disciples when in St. Petersburg at the flat rented for him by the widow Bashmakova. It is thought when first arriving in the capitol Rasputin may have solely lived with her. Later his other disciples arrived, plus his two daughters and son occupied the resident. These women came and went in service of Rasputin.

Many of these women claimed he healed them from various diseases, but according to Rasputin's biographers most of them were hysterical. When they gathered together, they gathered in a room called the "Holy of Hollies." The discussions ranged from the divine to sexual matters. One day Rasputin predicted his death in this Holy of Hollies. In other rooms Rasputin received visitors and conducted business. With his influence with the royal family it might be imagine all Russian society called upon Rasputin. He was not above receiving expensive gifts for his services, many went to his family; nor was he hesitant in helping others. Many times he called for his helpers to bring more bank notes for the poor. It is not clear what Rasputin really wanted. He was definitely a man who had two personalities, if not more. He desired holiness but was not cut out for the discipline of the monastery. He also desired the world and sex. With his life in view, it would appear that Rasputin tried combining both worlds. To some he was a priest, or holy man, while to others he was a politician, one to be petitioned to receive favors from.

Usually most men in such a position are dangerous, but Rasputin on the whole seemed not to be dangerous, true he was not above accepting bribes or gifts, but he was, also, generous to others, especially the poor. One fact which seemed to account for his generosity was his peasant background which he never forgot. Once he claimed he held the fate of Russia in his fist. Perhaps he did because toward the end he always urged the Empress to tell the Tsar to keep the food trains moving to feed the people. After the Empire fell, the trains stopped, and the rioting people stole their food. As he had predicted Rasputin's death signalled the collapsed of the Russian Empire. But, ironically a leading member of that empire executed that death. Young Prince Felix Yusupov was one of the wealthiest men in Russian and his marriage to the Tsar's niece Irina Alexandrovna gave him a social status which few dreamed of. And like most of the royal society of that time Yusupov followed few intellectual pursuits. He was a bored man of leisure. To end this dull boredom of the very rich Yusupov conceived of the idea of committing a murder.

Yusupov's prime candidate for his murder was Grigori Rasputin. Even though the latter tried his best to befriend the Prince, the young man disliked him. Yusupov disliked Rasputin's crude peasant ways, especially the way he so cordially addressed the high members of society, and the way he embraced and fondled women, this was especially true of Munia Golovin the woman that was to marry Yusupov's dead brother. But it was through Munia and her mother that Yusupov met Rasputin. But the time of the murder Yusupov multiplied the reasons he had for killing Rasputin. Among his accomplices was a Dr. Purish- kevich, who was active in the Red Cross and director of his own hospital train. Another accomplice was the Grand Duke Dimitri. The later, being a member of the royal household, was not subject to local authorities and assured Yusupov freedom from the law. The only one who could subject them to the enforcement of the law was the Emperor himself who later pardoned them and sent them into exile. The Prince invited Rasputin to a midnight tea on the pretense of meeting his wife Irina.

He picked up Rasputin and the Doctor drove them to Yusupov's home where the Prince showed his guest into a cellar dinning room. There Rasputin ate cake and drank wine laced white cyanide while his host played American folk songs on a guitar. After making several trips upstairs to tell his accomplices the poison wasn't working and asking if the doctor had administered the right amount, Yusupov finally got tired of the whole affair and shot Rasputin. There were also suggestions that Rasputin was chain whipped before he died, and his penis was severed. To most of the Russian royalty and government the three men were heroes. They were glad to see Rasputin gone. But, it was the peasants that revolted. Rasputin was their own and their friend. It was these uncontrollable revolts that ended the Empire and ushered in Communism as Rasputin had predicted. A.G.H.

Question: What was Rasputin's first name?
Answer: Grigory