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Grigori Rasputin is one of the most notorious names in Russian history - and his piercing eyes, creepy gaze, greasy hair, and bushy beard only add to the mystique surrounding him. The Mad Monk, as he has been called, was a figure of both fascination and outrage in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution. And in the century since the revolution, time has done little to diminish interest in the Black Monk.
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Tales of the 20th century Russian mystic Grigory Rasputin
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have captured the world's collective imagination since his death in 1916. Professing mystical healing powers
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and the ability to predict the future, Rasputin gained a staggering amount of influence
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in late imperial Russia. But it's difficult to separate fact from fiction
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when discussing his unusual life. So today, we're talking about the enduring mystery
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of Grigory Rasputin, Russia's infamous mad monk. Okay, let's settle in with our cartoon bat sidekick and conjure some weird history
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Born Grigory Yefimovich Naivik, Rasputin's early life is a bit of a mystery
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Religion captured his interest, and he briefly studied to become a monk
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After a short stint at the Verhatorier Monastery, he abandoned this pursuit to wander
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This became something of a pattern for him, like a nine-year-old who keeps switching sports
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Just pick a hobby, Grigory. He found himself in the city of Abilek, where he met his wife, Prascovia Fyodorovna, at age 19
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The family life didn't hold Rasputin's attention for long, and he left to make a holy pilgrimage in 1897
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In other words, he went out for a pack of cigarettes at the end of the 19th century and never came back
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Rasputin trekked from the small Siberian village of Pokrovske to Greece and the Middle East
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he gained a reputation as a holy man in the Russian city of Kazan. Although he had no ties
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to a church, his charisma and reputation as a mystic helped him build a following
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According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, he met the monks of the Huisti order while visiting the
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Verhatorier Monastery. Rumors about their activities were genuinely strange, including supposed orgies and self-flagellation. Although he chose not to join their order
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he adopted a version of the beliefs of the Huisti monks that held one was nearest God when feeling
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holy passionlessness. Rasputin interpreted this to mean that true holiness could only be obtained
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through wild debauchery. If you have to interpret your path to true holiness, wild debauchery is not
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a bad way to go. His behavior and attitudes even earned him his surname. Rasputin roughly translates
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to debauched one. Eventually, his wanderings brought him to St. Petersburg, where he made a
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named for himself as a self-styled mystic with magnificent healing powers. Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, the young son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra
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struggled with hemophilia, also known as the dice royalty rolls every time they have kids with their
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immediate family. Doctors weren't having much luck treating Alexei, so the royal family turned to
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Rasputin for help. In 1908, Nicholas and Alexandra brought Rasputin to court
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Then something unexpected happened. Rasputin mere presence seemed to help Alexei Whenever the holy man was around the boy suffering and pain seemed less severe Historians aren sure why but aspirin
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could be one explanation. At the time, aspirin was a cure-all drug
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so the doctors visiting Alexei often gave it to him. But aspirin is also a blood thinner
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In other words, not the best treatment for someone with a disorder that prevents his blood
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from clotting. Keeping the doctors away, and thus preventing more doses of aspirin, might have had the appearance of helping
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And it's also possible Alexei may have just been soothed by Rasputin's presence
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After all, the guy had a reputation for being a magical healer, and he had a pretty sweet beard
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to back that story up. Alexandra, who obsessed over Alexei's health and was attracted to mysticism
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and spiritualism, quickly became Rasputin's biggest fan. Wowing the Empress is a pretty
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solid move when you're trying to get your foot in the palace door. Unfortunately, Alexandra wasn't exactly popular with the Russian people
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who distrusted her German heritage and didn't approve of her closeness to Rasputin
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Rumors of an affair between the Empress and the mystical madman began swirling
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Whether or not they were actually knocking the old-timey boots is unknown, although historians like Douglas Smith have concluded the rumors were false
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Even so, Rasputin was shockingly popular with the ladies, I'm telling you it's the beard
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He amassed a large female following early on, like an entire K-pop band trapped in Double Door's body
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He used his Lothario persona to his advantage, seizing the opportunity to promote himself and add to his own mystique
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Many women found themselves attracted to his unkempt appearance, finding it authentic
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It's kind of like that guy who shows up at your house party, wearing homemade clothes and in one hand a six-pack of kombucha
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and the other an acoustic guitar. He's just so real. real. Yeah, a real jerk. Rasputin also spent considerable time visiting brothels and had many
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admirers. Historian Abraham Asher even notes, some men actually felt honored to be cuckolded
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by the lascivious monk. Apparently, the mad monk inadvertently discovered a genre of adult film
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Well, I guess he did claim to be able to see the future. The point is, Rasputin's sheer presence
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brought women to his side, despite his somewhat dubious hygiene. Oh yeah, the mad monk was the
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very picture of a sloppy jerk. He often wore dirty clothes to meetings with the imperial family and
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boasted about wearing the same pair of underwear for six months on at least one occasion. But
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Rasputin's legendary hygiene problems did not stop at his dirty laundry. They extended to the dinner
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table too. Rasputin often had bits of food stuck in his beard. He also had a habit of licking
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serving spoons before they were used to serve others. And he didn't care much for silverware
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either, opting to rip his food apart with his hands. He lived like an actual bridge troll
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yet he still managed to acquire vast influence in the royal court
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Mystical powers or not Rasputin work with Alexei Romanov put him in a powerful position in the Russian royal court Nicholas and Alexandra loved Rasputin and dismissed any allegations about his strange behavior
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Ingratiating himself to the two grateful parents led to the mystic gaining some political influence
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Prince Felix Yusupov, more on him in a moment, claimed in his memoirs that Rasputin used his influence
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to take control of Russia's military. Propaganda posters from the time depicted Rasputin
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as a nefarious puppet master controlling Nicholas and Alexandra. Consequently, critics blamed Rasputin for Russia's ruinous involvement in World War I
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regardless of how much he may have actually been involved in the decision-making. Disdain for Rasputin steadily grew from a small number of critics to a large number of outright
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haters, and their animosity wasn't confined to the realm of disparaging memes and YouTube comments
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The growing hostility against the mystic led to several assassination plots. an excommunicated monk named Iliodor tried to hire sex workers to take out Rasputin
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but Rasputin discovered the plot, causing Iliodor to abandon his plan. Hey, Iliodor, that's not the service you hire prostitutes for
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One of Iliodor's followers was a bit more successful. Kayonia Gussava, disgusted by the sordid tales of Rasputin's deeds
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believed him to be the literal antichrist. Maybe she saw him eat
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So in June of 1914, she stabbed Rasputin. He survived that attempt on his life, but two years later, he wouldn't be so lucky
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On the night of December 29, 1916, a group of noblemen, including Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich
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and Prince Felix Yusupov, hatched a plot to bring down Rasputin. The precise events are mainly unknown
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Some accounts, primarily those of Prince Yusupov, tell a colorful story. It begins with nobles luring Rasputin to a palace with the promise of women, food, and booze
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Rasputin, being a pretty big fan of all three things, showed up ready to party and proceeded
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to down several rounds of cyanide-laced cakes and poisoned wine. Presumably growing rather
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alarmed that the poison wasn't working, Yusupov shot him. Maybe open with a shooting next time
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fellas. Rasputin survived the first gunshot and fled to the courtyard, where Yusupov shot him a
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second time, at which point Rasputin collapsed. Afterward, the noblemen reportedly bludgeoned him
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wrapped his body in a blanket, and threw him in the Neva River. Things got even weirder from there
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Rasputin was initially buried at Sarskaisilo, but on March 11, 1917, Rasputin's body was dug up
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and burned. According to one account, once it became engulfed in flames, the body sat up as
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if Rasputin were rising one last time. The most infamous rumor following his death is that assassins
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cut off his member thing. Over the years, several people have claimed
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to have possession of it. But the truth is, Rasputin's official autopsy report
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showed his body to be intact upon his death. In fact the autopsy pretty much deflates the entire story of Rasputin demise For instance Yusupov claimed Rasputin was still alive when he was thrown in the river but there were no signs
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of water in his lungs, meaning he had most likely already expired
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The autopsy also didn't show any poison in his system, concluding that Rasputin had died from a bullet wound
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to the head. Because of these little inconsistencies, historians agree that Yusupov was probably full of
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but the world will never know for sure. Rasputin's official autopsy report disappeared during Stalin's regime 20 years later
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And despite the evidence against Yusupov's story, his account prevails throughout pop culture
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Healing wasn't the only trick Rasputin had up his sleeve. He also claimed to be able to predict the future
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In 1912, he wrote a book detailing some of his prophecies called Pious Reflections
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A few of his predictions did not come to pass, like his prediction the world would end in August
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of 2013. That's the same month and year Ashton Kutcher's Steve Jobs movie was released
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so we'll give him partial credit. However, some of his other prophecies did have some legs
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including his firm belief that the Romanovs would be killed in a revolution. In a letter from late
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1916, he wrote to Nicholas, I feel that I should leave before January 1st. If it was your relations
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who had wrought my death than no one in the family. That is to say, none of your children or relations
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will remain alive for more than two years. They will be killed by the Russian people
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Rasputin felt so strongly about this hunch, he also mentioned it in his book of prophecies
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And in July 1918, Nicholas, Alexandra, and their five beloved children were killed
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by a group of Bolsheviks in a small basement during the Russian Revolution
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Not going to lie, that's a little eerie. The Silver Screen has been fascinated with Rasputin for a long time
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He appears as an evil sorcerer in Anastasia and as a member of a secret evil organization in the 2021 film The Kingsman
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But the strangest intersection of cinema and the Mad Monk comes at the end of every movie's credits
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You know that disclaimer you see at the end of the movies that reads, This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental
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According to a 2016 Slate feature, the 1937 film Rasputin and the Empress is the reason for that
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disclaimer's existence. A fictional character from the film was based on Prince Yusupov's wife
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Irina. Irina figured it out and sued the filmmakers for libel. Incidentally, Yusupov
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himself appeared in the 1967 film I Killed Rasputin. That's a pretty straightforward title
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Did Rasputin truly have mystical healing abilities and the power to see the future
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or was he simply a charismatic grifter with a carefully constructed image
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While science and magicians have concluded that magic isn't real, it's hard to say exactly what Rasputin's deal was
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So much of his life and legacy has been obscured, embellished, or outright lost
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But his story is compelling, and the enduring mystery of Rasputin will undoubtedly live in our collective minds for a long time to come