Sam Jones Sam Jones June 5, 2010 June 5, 2010 Period 1 Period 1 Senior Seminar in Social Stud Senior Seminar in Social Stud iesies The Many Murders of Grigori Rasputin
The Many Murders of Grigori Rasputin Owing largely to the fact t
Owing largely to the fact that Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin carefully destroyed muchhat Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin carefully destroyed much of the evidence, a sizeable chunk of Russian history is unknown. At best, we can only make of the evidence, a sizeable chunk of Russian history is unknown. At best, we can only make educated guesses about what truly happened. And of all of the events and people that were lost educated guesses about what truly happened. And of all of the events and people that were lost by history, few are more mysterious than t
by history, few are more mysterious than the life of Grigori Rasputin. Known by some as anhe life of Grigori Rasputin. Known by some as an insane anti-Christ, known by others as a
insane anti-Christ, known by others as a divine healer, Rasputin was a power player divine healer, Rasputin was a power player in the yearsin the years before the Russian Revolution. But d
before the Russian Revolution. But despite his importance to the Romanov dynasty²he was theespite his importance to the Romanov dynasty²he was the power behind the throne d
power behind the throne during the reign of Nicholas II²there were many atturing the reign of Nicholas II²there were many att empts on his life.empts on his life. There is some speculation as to
There is some speculation as to why so many people tried to why so many people tried to murder him, but one thing is almostmurder him, but one thing is almost certain: Grigori Rasputin should have died no
certain: Grigori Rasputin should have died no less than seven times before he finally passed oless than seven times before he finally passed on.n.
Rasputin was born on January 10, 1869, in the small town of Pokrovskoe (Radzinsky24, Rasputin was born on January 10, 1869, in the small town of Pokrovskoe (Radzinsky24, 25). Other than his birth date,
25). Other than his birth date, very little is known about his young life²and even his very little is known about his young life²and even his birth datebirth date was the subject of much co
was the subject of much controversy until relatively recently [all that could be said of it was tntroversy until relatively recently [all that could be said of it was t hathat it was sometime in between 1863 and 1
it was sometime in between 1863 and 1873; this information was of little use]. Some of the 873; this information was of little use]. Some of the onlyonly other available information is that he had t
other available information is that he had t wo siblings, Dmiwo siblings, Dmitri and Martri and Maria. Maria was supposedlyia. Maria was supposedly epileptic and consequently drowned
epileptic and consequently drowned in a river at a very young age. in a river at a very young age. Not long after, Dmitri alsoNot long after, Dmitri also fell into a river, but this time Rasputin was there. He
fell into a river, but this time Rasputin was there. He jumped in to save his brother, jumped in to save his brother, and the twoand the two were pulled out by a passer
were pulled out by a passerby not much later. by not much later. UnfortunatelyUnfortunately, it was too , it was too late to save Dmitri, wholate to save Dmitri, who succumbed later to pneumonia.
succumbed later to pneumonia. The deaths of his siblings devastated poor Rasputin, who later The deaths of his siblings devastated poor Rasputin, who later named two of his children after them (Radzinsk
named two of his children after them (Radzinsky 26).y 26).
At the age o
At the age of eighteen, Rasputin visited the Verkhoturye Monastery and staf eighteen, Rasputin visited the Verkhoturye Monastery and sta yed there for yed there for three months. There is some speculation as to whether he went by choice, or as penance for three months. There is some speculation as to whether he went by choice, or as penance for stealing (Radzinsky 30). Whatever the reasoning, however, upon his return home, there had been stealing (Radzinsky 30). Whatever the reasoning, however, upon his return home, there had been
a very noticeable change. One investigator remarked that the visit to the monastery ³ends the first early, wild, and loose period of his life´ (Moynahan 28).They found that the change was almost impossible to describe, but that there was a definite sense of purpose around him now; he no longer lived aimlessly. He had found what he was going to do with his life. With this
newfound purpose, he married in 1899, and had three children: Maria, Dmitri, and Varvara. He left Pokrovskoe in 1901, and worked as a traveling monk throughout Europe. In 1903, he arrived in St. Petersburg, not long before he ³hit the jackpot,´ as it were (Radziwill 51-53).
Tsarevich Alexei, as is well-known, suffered from hemophilia, which was w idespread through European royalty because of Queen Victoria of England. There was no known treatment at the time, and as Alexei¶s condition worsened, his mother grew more desperate. She asked a friend of hers, Anna Vyrubova, for help. Vyrubova told her about the ³miracle healer´
wandering the streets of St. Petersburg. The T saritsa immediately called for him, and Rasputin came to the palace to see the ailing boy. Supposedly, he did nothing but talk to, comfort, and pray for young Alexei, which did in fact make the boy get better (Vogel-Jorgensen 71, 72).
Hemophilia is a disorder which causes the blood to not clot, a condition worsened by stress [stress increases blood pressure, which cause more blood to flow faster]. Many believe t hat the main reason Alexei¶s health improved whene ver Rasputin was called is because he removed much of the stress; rather than having several doctors bustling around and giving him mu ltiple kinds of medicine [including aspirin, which is an anticoagulant that probably worsened Alexei¶s condition], he had one man speaking to him calmly and making him relax, which relieved some of the bleeding. Others believe Rasputin used hypnosis, a method proven to lower stress levels and, therefore, relieve some of Alexei¶s bleeding (Moynahan 101, 102).
Whatever his methods of healing, Rasputin quickly gained fame by easing the
Tsarevich¶s mass amounts of pain. He was so popular among the palace nobles that he was often invited to join them even when Alexei hadn¶t had an accident. Because of this, and his apparent affinity for healing unusual ailments, suspicions about Rasputin quickly arose. Rumors of affairs with the Tsaritsa, rumors that he sold his soul to t he devil for his healing powers [which, in my
opinion, sounds completely backwards], even rumors that he was sleeping with the Tsarevich all began to spread like wildfire (Moynahan 283-286). And the people of Russia had reason to be
suspicious of the mystic; although he probably hadn¶t done any of the things that people claimed he had done, one thing truly was happening: he was becoming the power behind the throne of Nicholas II.
Rasputin had become so trusted by the Romanovs that Nicho las II, Tsar of all of Russia, almost constantly asked him for advice. Nicholas had never been a particularly forceful ruler, and was easily influenced by those he admired. And of all the people he admired, Rasputin was at the top of the list; and for good reason. Rasputin was cunning and clever, and clearly had an affinity for making people see things his way; witho ut that talent, he probably would not have been able to do much²if anything²for Alexei. He used this prowess to control all of Nicholas¶ power²not for ³evil,´ necessarily, but to achieve some of his own ends (Radziwill 195-198).
It was not too long after this²about 9 years, on June 14 of 1914²that murders of Rasputin began to be planned. Khionia Guseva, an ex-prostitute, met with the famous monk Iliodor to discuss the ³mad monk.´ Rasputin was a former disciple of Iliodor, but Iliodor was growing increasingly frustrated with Rasputin¶s so-called attitude; most likely, he was somewhat jealous of Rasputin¶s fame and good fortune with the Romanovs. Whatever the reason, t hey
decided Rasputin should be killed, and Guseva offered to commit the act. They knew that he would be visiting his family back in Pokrovskoe in two weeks, and arranged for Guseva to meet the unfortunate healer there (Moynahan 193).
On June 29, 1914, Rasputin was leaving a church when he was ambushed by the irate Guseva. She thrust a dagger into his belly, leaving a gaping wound and causing many of his entrails to spill out. Convinced that the deed was done and Rasputin was doomed, she
triumphantly cried ³I¶ve killed the Antichrist!´ and fled the scene. The wounded monk, holding his entrails inside of him with his bare hands, staggered home as fast as he could. Later, the lawyer prosecuting Guseva would measure how far it was: 108 steps that Rasputin had to run, trying to keep his stomach from falling out (Moynahan 194). His wife called a surgeon and the
police, who came to his home as quickly as they co uld. After many hours of intensive surgery, it was announced that he would live. This did not help the rumors of his hellish nature; many now truly believed that he had so ld his soul in exchange for immortality as well as his u nearthly healing abilities and powers (Vogel-Jorgensen 106).
It was not over yet, however. Two years later, in December of 1916, further plots to eliminate Rasputin were engaged. This, unfortunately, is where it becomes difficult to know what truly happened; some of the events described here may have been fabricated by the people who killed Rasputin. But this is the only accurate-seeming theory available at the present time (Radziwill 201).
On the evening of December 16, 1916, Rasputin was lured to Moika Palace, under the false pretense that a sort of party would be there, held by Princess Irina [wife of Prince Felix Yusupov, one of the conspirators who killed him]. There, a group of nob lemen served him cake and wine²filled with unbearable amounts of cyanide. According to possibly falsified first-hand accounts, he was unaffected, although he had ingest enough cyanide to kill at least five ordinary men (Radziwill 207-208).
At this point, Prince Felix began to panic that the job would remain incomplete. After serving Rasputin yet more food, he allegedly pulled out a revolver and fired, hitting Rasputin in the back. Convinced that he had fulfilled the mission, he walked back into the other room and told the others that the deed was done, and Rasputin was dead. After a celebratory toast, he proceeded back into the room where Rasputin lay, preparing to cover and hide the body. To his
great surprise, the monk opened his e yes, lunged at Prince Felix, and attempted to strangle him. Fortunately for the prince, the others chanced to walk back into the room. They pulled out their own guns and fired, hitting Rasputin three more times. One of those shots went into his forehead. They inspected his body, and were shocked to find that he was still alive and struggling to get up (Radziwill 209, 210).
Upon his discovering him still breathing, they clubbed him into unconsciousness, wrapped him in a carpet and chained him inside it. The conspirators then carried him to the nearby Neva River, half-frozen in the dead of winter (Radziwill 211).
Rasputin¶s body was recovered from the river three days later. His arms were in a
position that suggested he had tried to claw his way out through the ice; he had broken o ut of his confinements but had gotten trapped under the thick icy layer o n the river¶s surface. A few days later, his autopsy ruled that the u ltimate cause of death was drowning coupled with hypo thermia (Vogel-Jorgensen 112).
Rasputin was, undoubtedly, an absolute monster; very few men could survive being stabbed, poisoned, shot four times, and beaten in the same three-year period. But the question is: did he deserve it? Many still believe, based on the evidence we have, that he was an Antichrist, that he was an evil, manipulative man who would do anything²including fool the royal
family²to get at the power behind the throne. However, in my op inion, he is simply misunderstood. There is no doubt that he was a strange and unusual man, but hed id help
Tsarevich Alexei to relieve some of his neverending pain brought on by his condition;
admittedly, his methods were unorthodox at best, but they worked, and that is all that matters. Grigori Rasputin, on the whole, was a saint²a bizarre one, but a saint nevertheless, and a saint like him deserves all the respect in the world.
SOURCES
Moynahan, Brian. Ra sputin: The S aint Who Sinned . New York, NY: Random House,
1999. (947.08)
Radzinsky, Edvard. The R asputin Fil e . New York, NY: Doubleday, 2000.
(947.08)
Radziwill, Catherine. Ra sputin and th e Russian Revolution. London, U.K.: John
Lane Company, 1918. (947.08)
Vogel-Jorgensen, T., and William Harvey. R a sputin: Prophet, Libertine, Plotter .
