DiscoverScroll article

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (21 January 1869 – 30 December 1916) was a Russian mystic and faith healer.

He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final years of the Russian Empire. Rasputin was born to a family of peasants in the Siberian village of Pokrovskoye, located within Tyumensky Uyezd in Tobolsk Governorate (present-day Yarkovsky District in Tyumen Oblast). He had a religious conversion experience after embarking on a pilgrimage to a monastery in 1897 and has been described as a monk or as a strannik (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 several 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. In late 1906, Rasputin began acting as a faith healer for Nicholas' and Alexandra's only son, Alexei Nikolaevich, who suffered from haemophilia. The extent of Rasputin's power reached an all-time high in 1915, when Nicholas left Saint Petersburg to oversee the Imperial Russian Army as it was engaged in the First World War. In his absence, Rasputin and Alexandra consolidated their influence across the Russian Empire. In the early morning of 30 December 1916, Rasputin was assassinated by a group of conservative Russian noblemen who opposed his influence over the imperial family. Historians often suggest that Rasputin's scandalous and sinister reputation helped discredit the Tsarist government, thus precipitating the overthrow of the House of Romanov shortly after his assassination.

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born a peasant in the small village of Pokrovskoye, along the Tura River in the Tobolsk Governorate (now Tyumen Oblast) in the Russian Empire.

Regardless, by 1905 Rasputin had formed friendships with several members of the aristocracy, including the "Black Princesses", Militsa and Anastasia of Montenegro, who had married cousins of Tsar Nicholas II (Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich and Prince George Maximilianovich Romanowsky) and were instrumental in introducing Rasputin to the tsar and his family. Rasputin returned to Pokrovskoye shortly after their first meeting and did not return to Saint Petersburg until July 1906. At some point, Nicholas and Alexandra became convinced that Rasputin possessed the miraculous power to heal their only son, Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, who suffered from haemophilia.

Fedorov admitted that Alexandra could not be blamed for seeing Rasputin as a miracle man: "Rasputin would come in, walk up to the patient, look at him, and spit.

Nicholas ordered Rasputin to leave Saint Petersburg for a time, much to Alexandra's displeasure, and Rasputin went on a pilgrimage to Palestine.

Rasputin was murdered during the early morning on 30 December 1916 at the home of Prince Yusupov. In an unsubstantiated claim, Grand Duchess Tatiana, who was earlier alleged to have been raped by Rasputin, was present at the site of Rasputin's murder, "disguised as a lieutenant of the Chevaliers-Gardes, so that she could revenge herself on Rasputin who had tried to violate her".

Rasputin and the Empress (1932), a film directed by Richard Boleslawski and Charles Brabin starring Lionel Barrymore as Grigori Rasputin, Ralph Morgan as the Czar, Ethel Barrymore as the Czarina and John Barrymore as Prince Paul Chegodireff. Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966), a Hammer horror film directed by Don Sharp and starring Christopher Lee as Grigori Rasputin, and Barbara Shelley. I Killed Rasputin (1967), an Italo-Franco biographical film directed by Robert Hossein about the death of Grigori Rasputin. The Kings Man (2021) Rhys Ifans portrays Grigori Rasputin. Doctor Who (2022) The Master disguises himself as Grigori Rasputin and takes part in a dance sequence to Boney M’s single, Rasputin

Quick Facts

• In the early morning of 30 December 1916, Rasputin was assassinated by a group of conservative Russian noblemen who opposed his influence over the imperial family.
• In November 1905, Rasputin met Nicholas II and his empress consort, Alexandra Feodorovna.
• In late 1906, Rasputin began acting as a faith healer for Nicholas' and Alexandra's only son, Alexei Nikolaevich, who suffered from haemophilia.
• Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born a peasant in the small village of Pokrovskoye, along the Tura River in the Tobolsk Governorate (now Tyumen Oblast) in the Russian Empire.
• In his absence, Rasputin and Alexandra consolidated their influence across the Russian Empire.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Grigori Rasputin". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.