#FUN TIMES WITH RASPUTIN

-Born in Povroskoe, Eastern Siberia -His parents stressed religion in their family life -His father read the Bible to his family every night = LED RASPUTIN TO HIS FUTURE PATH AS A “HOLY MAN” AND EVENTUALLY AS A POWERFUL FIGURE IN THE RUSSIAN COURT OF CZAR NICHOLAS II -Believed to have psychic powers -Lived a reckless life and tested his limitations to see how far he could go and how much he could get away with things -Married Praskovaya Dubrovina, but continued causing trouble. -When drunk, he was accused of a horse theft. He wasn’t convicted but punished. -Instead of being banished from Povroskoe, Rasputin offered to make a pilgrimage his father was going to make to the Verkoturie Monastery= INFLUENTIAL EXPERIENCE ON HIS LIFE THAT LED HIM TOWARDS HIS FUTURE INFAMY.

-Met Makary -Before the monastery he had lost his first son and was told that it was a sign from God telling him to ho back to his village and become a Man of God. -He went back a changed man: he gave up meat, drinking, and tobacco. -He became part of an odd sect in the Russian Orthodox faith known as the Skoptsy. -Believed that in order to connect with God one must commit sins. -He became a monk, but was able to continue to sin and become a religious teacher. -Impressed clergymen and went to St. Petersburg -Developed ability to heal.=KEY TO THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL FAMILY -In his second visit he was brought to the home of the Grand Duke Peter Nikolaivich and Grand Duke Duchess Militsa where he healed their ill dog.

-Duke and Duchess were close to Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. -Gained admiration of the royals for his “simplicity and honesty.” -Alexandra and Nicholas had their first son but inherited hemophilia from her mom -Rasputin rose to power through his power to relieve their son’s pain and suffering due to hemophilia. -Brought him more admiration and prestige.

Disliked by the Royal Family and the Russian Orthodox Church Rasputin spoke of salvation as depending less on the clergy and the church than on seeking the spirit of God within. Controversial figure Considered too friendly with Jews and other religious suspect groups and was accused by many eminent persons of various misdeeds increasing drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, and willingness to accept bribes made him appear both corrupt and cynical

Rasputin claimed that he had a revelation that the Russian armies would not be successful until the Tsar personally took command. Nicholas took personal command of the Russian army Became Tsarina’s confidant and personal adviser convinced her to fill some governmental offices with his own candidates. Rumors began to circulate that they were sexually intimate

Weakened the integrity of the dynasty forced the Tsar to give up his political power and separate the Russian Orthodox Church from the state. Contributed to propaganda having public disputes with clergy members bragging about his ability to influence both the Tsar and Tsarina

“Everyone was talking about the need to get rid of Rasputin. Attempting to enlighten the royal couple about the danger they were in, many influential people approached both Nicholas and Aleksandra with the truth about Rasputin and with the rumors that were circulating. To everyone's great dismay, they both refused to listen. So who was going to kill Rasputin before the monarchy was completely destroyed?”

“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 Youssupov (“homosexually inclined”), 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.”

On December 19, police began looking for a body near the Great Petrovsky Bridge on the Malaya Nevka River, near where a bloody boot had been found the day before. There was a hole in the ice but they couldn't find the body. Looking a little farther downstream, they came upon the corpse floating in another hole in the ice. When they pulled him out, they found Rasputin's hands were frozen in a raised position, making everyone believe that he had still been alive under the water and had tried to untie the rope around his hands. The body was buried at the Feodorov Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo on December 22. A small funeral was held.

Details of the killing given by Yusupov have never stood up. He changed his account several times: The statement given to the St. Petersburg police on December 16, 1916, the accounts given whilst in exile in the Crimea in 1917, his 1927 book, and finally the accounts given under oath to libel juries in 1934 and 1965 all differ to some extent. Until recently no other credible, evidence-based theories have been available. According to the unpublished 1916 autopsy report by Professor Kossorotov, as well as subsequent reviews by Dr. Vladimir Zharov in 1993 and Professor Derrick Pounder in 2004/05, no active poison was found in Rasputin's stomach. A possible explanation would be that the cyanide in the cakes had vaporized due to the high temperatures during the baking in the oven. It could not be determined with certainty that he drowned, as the water found in his lungs is a common non-specific autopsy finding. All three sources agree that Rasputin had been systematically beaten and attacked with a bladed weapon, but, most importantly, there were discrepancies regarding the number and caliber of handguns used.

While the murderers were under house arrest, many people went to visit or wrote them letters in order to congratulate them. The murderers were hoping for a trial because that would ensure that they became heroes. Trying to prevent just that, the tsar stopped the inquiry and ordered that there be no trial. Prince Felix was exiled. Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich was sent to Persia to fight in the war. Both survived revolution and war. Though Rasputin's relations with the tsar and tsarina had weakened the monarchy, the killing of Rasputin came too late to reverse the damage. The murder of a peasant by aristocrats seemed to seal the fate of the Russian monarchy. Within three months, Tsar Nicholas would abdicate and about a year later the entire Romanov family would be murdered.

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