Rasputin--Facts About the Mad Monk of Russia

Known as the Mad Monk, Rasputin reportedly had special healing powers. He influenced kings and charmed women, becoming one of the most powerful men in Russia.

Facts About Rasputin

1. Grigory Efimovich Rasputin was born of Russian peasants in Siberia in 1869.
2. Rasputin wandered all over Russia and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem two times, before becoming a monk.
3. Rasputin was welcomed at the religious Academy of St. Petersburg and soon became a favorite.
4. Rasputin was recommended to the royal family and was viewed by them as a man of God.
5. Empress Alexandra's son, Alexei suffered from hemophilia. Rasputin gained Alexandra's trust by healing her son. It is purported that the presence of Rasputin by the boy's side caused Alexei's internal bleeding to cease.
6. Interestingly, Rasputin abhorred the Russian nobility and viewed them as another race. He spoke to them as he would to peasants.
7. Grigory Rasputin's entry into the Romanov's inner circle may have been partly credited to his mystical powers. Some believed he used his powers to gain favor with the Tsar and Tsarina.
8. With the Tsar's absence, Rasputin gained prominence, which alarmed the nobles who may have considered him unkempt, ill educated, and wily.
9. Concerns elevated when ministers of the government were fired and replaced with supporters of Rasputin.
10. Certain members of the Romanov family decided to take matters in hand and a plot was formed to strike against Rasputin.
11. Rasputin the Mad Monk, prophesied his own death and said that if it were caused by the nobles, within two years the royal family would be no more.
12. Rasputin was like a cat with nine lives, escaping death repeatedly.
13. A poisoning attempt using cyanide left him unscathed. He was then shot, more than once, but still he lived on.
14. Rasputin was beaten, tied, and thrown into the Neva River, where he finally succumbed, Dec 31, 1916.
15. Seven months later, Rasputin's prophecy came true. Bolshevik revolutionaries killed the royal family.

Rasputin left an indelible mark on history, whether rogue, prophet, monk, or madman.

Further Reading About Rasputin:

• The Minister of Evil: The Secret History of Rasputin's Betrayal of Russia
• Rasputin and the Russian Revolution
• Rasputin: the Saint Who Sinned
• Grigory Rasputin: Holy Man or Mad Monk?
• Rasputin's Daughter
• To Kill Rasputin: the Life and Death of Grigory Rasputin
• Rasputin and the Jews: A Reversal of History
• Lost Splendor: The Amazing Memoirs of the Man Who Killed Rasputin
• The Murder of Rasputin: the Truth About Prince Felix Youssoupov and the Mad Monk Who Helped Bring Down the Romanovs

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