The Life and death of Rasputin

Rasputins full name was Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, and his name is aid to signify a place where two rivers meet which describes the area which Rasputin came from. On January 10th 1869 he was born into a Siberian peasant family in the Tyumen district. Rasputin was a known as the mad monk however he was not a monk but a starets which is religious pilgrim, who was believed to be a faith healer. He is now thought to be a kind of scapegoat who played a key part of the downfall of the Romanov autocracy leading to the Bolshevik victory and the formation of the Soviet Union. He was regarded as a last resort to find a cure for the Tsar and Tsarina son, Aleksey who had haemophilia a blood condition. In 1905 the Tsarina asked him to help their son by healing him through prayer, and it is said that he did give him some relief. However how he went about giving him relief is uncertain as some say he did it through hypnosis but it is said that he eased the suffering of the Tsarevitch from his home in Siberia while the Tsarevitch was in St Petersburg which made the hypnosis theory wrong.

He was trusted by the Romanov family and was called Our friend by the Tsar and he had a big influence on Alexandra both in political matters and personal. They believed him to be a man of God and a great religious prophet. The Romanov family had always had a close bond with the Russian Orthodox Church.

He was however a very controversial person as he had a scandalous personal life with his female followers from high society in St Petersburg and was also often seen with prostitutes. Furthermore he was frequently seen drinking himself into a stupor. Rasputin was brought up an Orthodox Christian but believed that if the believer is aware of his sins and confesses them, then it is alright. During World War 1 he was accused of unpatriotic influence at church and as he was the unpopular Tsarinas confidante he was accused of being a German spy. Nobles and members of the Duma all wanted his removal from court.
Prince Felix Yussupov made the decision to murder Rasputin. On the night of the 16th of December Rasputin was invited to the palace under the excuse that Yussupovs wife needed his attention as a healer. He was fed poisoned cakes and wine and when this failed to kill him Yussupov and his fellow helpers shot Rasputin in the chest, back and head and then went on to beat him around the head with a dumb-bell handle. They then tied him up and threw him in a gap in the frozen river Neva where he drowned while still trying to free himself.

By Grace Crone 10C1