Rasputin

Tony Dalton
July 26, 2023

A mysterious and manipulative Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man.

He is best-known for befriending the royal family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia through whom he gained influence and power in the later years of the Russian Empire.

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born on the 21st of January 1869 in the Siberian village of Pokrovskoye. His family were very poor and the village offered few chances of a rewarding or successful career.

He had a religious experience after embarking on a pilgrimage to a monastery in 1897, and became a monk or as described at the time, a ‘Strannik’ (a wanderer or pilgrim), though he held no official position in the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1903 or in the winter of 1904– 1905, he travelled to Saint Petersburg and captivated a number of religious and social leaders, eventually becoming a prominent figure in Russian society.

In November 1905, Rasputin met Nicholas II and his empress consort, Alexandra Feodorovna and In late 1906, he began acting as a faith healer for Nicholas’ and Alexandra’s only son, Alexei Nikolaevich, who was suffering from Haemophilia.

He was a controversial figure, seen by some Russians as a mystic, visionary, and prophet, and by others as a religious charlatan. Rasputin’s power reached an all-time high in 1915, when Nicholas left Saint Petersburg to oversee the deployment of the Imperial Russian Army as it was engaged in World War 1.

With Nicholas gone, Rasputin and Alexandra effectively ruled the Russian Empire. However, as Russian military defeats grew on the Eastern Front, both figures became increasingly unpopular, and on the early morning of the 30th December 1916 at the home of Felix Yusupov Rasputin was assassinated by a group of Conservative Russian Nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov. He died of three gunshot wounds, one of which was a close-range shot to his forehead.

Historians often suggest that Rasputin’s scandalous and sinister reputation helped discredit the Tsarist Government, thus instigating the overthrow of the House of Romanov shortly after his assassination. Accounts of his life and influence were often based on stories and rumours; and he remains a mysterious and compelling figure in popular culture.

“Ra Ra Rasputin” is a popular song by German based pop and disco group ‘Boney M’ It was released on 28 August 1978.

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