Mystic, healer, or charlatan? The man who helped bring down the Russian Empire.
Grigori Rasputin is one of history's wildest characters. A Siberian peasant who charmed his way into the gilded halls of the Tsar's palace, he held a terrifying sway over the Russian royal family. His life (and death) reads like a dark fairytale.
1. He wasn't actually a monk
Though known as "The Mad Monk," Rasputin never took official vows. He was a "strannik" (holy wanderer) who developed his own unique (and heretical) version of Christianity.
2. He healed the heir
His power came from his ability to stop the bleeding of Alexei, the Tsar’s hemophiliac son. Doctors couldn't help, but Rasputin could. Whether through hypnosis that lowered the boy's blood pressure or simply by stopping the doctors from giving him aspirin (which thins blood), the boy got better when Rasputin was around.
3. He smelled terrible
Rasputin believed looking and smelling like a peasant kept him humble. He rarely bathed and boasted about not changing his underwear for months. Despite this, he was incredibly popular with aristocratic women.
4. He predicted his own murder
In a letter to the Tsar, he wrote that if he was killed by common peasants, the Tsar's throne was safe. But if he was killed by nobles, the Tsar and his family would be dead within two years. Rasputin was killed by nobles in 1916. The Romanov family was executed in 1918.
5. The Cyanide myth
The legend says he ate cakes laced with enough cyanide to kill 5 men and survived. Modern historians believe the supplier likely provided harmless powder instead of poison, or the baking process neutralized it.
6. He was shot... a lot
When the poison "didn't work," Prince Yusupov shot him. Rasputin fell, then suddenly sprang up and attacked the Prince. He was shot two more times (once in the head) before finally collapsing.
7. He survived drowning?
Another myth is that when they dumped his body in the icy Neva River, he was still alive and died of drowning. Autopsy reports from 1917, however, indicate he was likely dead from the gunshot to the forehead before hitting the water.
8. His eyes were hypnotic
Contemporaries consistently mentioned his eyes. They were described as pale blue, piercing, and impossible to look away from. He used this intense gaze to manipulate those around him.
9. The Tsar's sisters hated him
While the Empress Alexandra worshipped him, the Tsar’s sisters called him "The Devil." They saw the damage he was doing to the monarchy's reputation during WWI.
10. His daughter became a lion tamer
After the revolution, his daughter Maria escaped to the U.S. She worked as a cabaret dancer and later a lion tamer in a circus, billing herself as "The Daughter of the Mad Monk."