Lyrics Found My Way Back to Sanity Again
When people hear the name Grigori Rasputin, their minds almost immediately begin to wander. The stories told about this so-called "Mad Monk" propose he possessed some magical powers, or that he had a special connexion to God.
But they besides advise he was a sex-crazed maniac who used his position of ability to seduce women and engage in all sorts of sins that would be considered terrible now and unspeakable back then.
Other tales indicate he was a man who went from being a poor, nameless peasant to one of the Tsar's near trusted advisors in a matter of only a few short years, perhaps more proof he possessed some special or even magical powers.
However, many of these stories are simply that: stories. It's fun to believe they are true, only the reality is that many of them are non. But not everything we know about Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is made up.
For example, he was known for having a strong sexual appetite, and he did manage to get exceptionally close to the regal family for someone of such a apprehensive background. However his healing powers and political influence are gross exaggerations.
Instead, the self-proclaimed holy human was just in the right place at the right time in history.
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Why, then, are there so many legends about this exceptionally unimportant Russian mystic? Well, he rose to prominence in the years leading upward to the Russian Revolution.
Political tensions were high, and the country was very unstable. Different political leaders and members of the nobility were looking for ways to undermine the Tsar's power, and Rasputin, an unknown, rather strange religious man who came out of nowhere to go close with the royal family unit proved to be the perfect scapegoat.
As a result, all sorts of stories were thrown about meant to tarnish his proper name and destabilize the Russian government. But this destabilization was already underway earlier Rasputin emerged onto the scene, and inside a year of Rasputin'south death, Nicholas II and his family unit were murdered and Russia was inverse forever.
However, despite the falsity of many of the stories surrounding Rasputin, his story is still an interesting one, and information technology's a great reminder of how only how malleable history tin can be.
Rasputin Fact or Fiction
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Due to his closeness to the royal family, likewise as the political situation at the time, public noesis of Rasputin is the result of rumors, speculation, and propaganda. And while it's true we still don't know a lot about Rasputin and his life, historical records have immune us to distinguish betwixt fact and fiction. Hither are some of the more famous tales about Rasputin:
Rasputin Had Magical Powers
Verdict: Fiction
Rasputin fabricated a few suggestions to the Tsar and Tsarina of Russian federation about how to treat their son Alexei'south hemophilia, and this caused many to believe he possessed special healing powers.
Nonetheless, it's far more likely he simply got lucky. But the mysterious nature of his human relationship with the royal family unit led to lots of speculation, which has warped our image of him to this day.
Rasputin Ran Russian federation From Behind the Scenes
Verdict: Fiction
Shortly after arriving in St. Petersburg, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin made some powerful friends and eventually became very close to the royal family. Even so, as far as we tin can tell, he had little to no influence over the political controlling process. His role in courtroom was limited to religious practice and too to help with the children. Some rumors swirled about how he was helping Alexandra, the Tsarina, collaborate with her home land, Frg, to undermine the Russian Empire, but there is as well no truth to this claim whatever
Rasputin Could Not Be Killed
Verdict: Fiction
No ane can escape death. However, an attempt was fabricated on Rasputin's life before he was finally killed, and the story about his actual death helped propagate the thought that he could not exist killed. But information technology's more likely these stories were told to help spread the idea that Rasputin was associated with the devil and had "unholy" powers.
Rasputin was a Crazy Monk
Verdict: Fiction
First, Rasputin was never ordained as a monk. And as for his sanity, we don't actually know, although his rivals and those seeking to either undermine or support Tsar Nicholas II certainly worked to position him as crazy. Some of the written records he has left behind propose he had a scattered encephalon, but it's also just equally likely that he was poorly educated and lacked the power to conspicuously express his thoughts with written words.
Rasputin Was Sex-Crazed
Verdict: ?
Those who sought to impairment Rasputin's influence certainly wanted people to think this, so information technology's likely their stories are exaggerated at best and invented at worst. However, stories of Rasputin'due south promiscuity started surfacing as soon equally he left his hometown in 1892. But this idea that he was sex-crazed was likely the outcome of his enemies trying to utilize Rasputin as a symbol for everything that was wrong in Russian federation at the time.
The Story of Rasputin
As you can come across, nearly of the things nosotros consider to be true about Rasputin are actually false or at the very least exaggerated. So, what do we know? Unfortunately, not much, but here'southward a detailed summary of the facts that do be about the famously mysterious life of Rasputin.
Who Was Rasputin?
Rasputin was a Russian mystic who lived during the final years of the Russian Empire. He rose to prominence in Russian society starting around 1905 because the royal family unit at the time, led past Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, believed he possessed the ability to heal their son, Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia. Somewhen, he cruel out of favor amongst the Russian elite equally the country experienced considerable political turmoil leading up to the Russian Revolution. This led to his assassination, the gory details of which have helped brand Rasputin ane of the well-nigh well-known figures in history.
Babyhood
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born in Pokrovskoye, Russia, a small town in the northern province of Siberia, in 1869. Like many of the people in the expanse at the fourth dimension, he was born to a family of Siberian peasants, but beyond that, Rasputin's early life remains mostly a mystery.
Accounts exist that claim he was a troublesome boy, someone who was prone to fighting and had spent a few days in jail due to his violent behavior. Merely there is little validity to these accounts as they were written after the fact by people who likely did not know Rasputin every bit a child, or by people whose opinion had been swayed by their stance of him as an adult.
Part of the reason we know so trivial about the early twelvemonth of Rasputin's life is that he and those around him were virtually likely illiterate. Few people living in rural Russia at the time had access to formal education, which led to low literacy rates and poor historical accounts.
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Nonetheless, we do know that at some point in his twenties, Rasputin had a married woman and several children. Just something happened that caused him to suddenly need to leave Pokrovskoye. It's possible he was running from the law. At that place are some accounts that he left to escape punishment for stealing a horse, but this has never been verified. Others claim he had a vision from God, nevertheless this has as well non been proven.
As a issue, it'southward equally possible he merely had an identity crisis, or that he left for some reason that remains entirely unknown. Only despite the fact nosotros don't know why he left, we do know that he set out on a pilgrimage in 1897 (when he was 28), and this decision would dramatically alter the course of the residue of his life.
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Early on Days as a Monk
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Information technology's believed that Rasputin first left domicile for religious and or spiritual purposes effectually 1892, but he returned frequently to his hometown to attend to his familial obligations. However, later on his visit to the St. Nicholas Monastery in Verkhoturye in 1897, Rasputin became a changed man, co-ordinate to accounts. He began to continue longer and longer pilgrimages, perhaps reaching every bit far south as Hellenic republic. Withal, it'south of import to signal out that the 'holy man' never took vows to become a monk, making his name, "The Mad Monk," a misnomer.
During these years of pilgrimage towards the end of the 19th century, Rasputin began to develop a small post-obit. He would travel to other towns to preach and teach, and when he returned to Pokrovskoye he allegedly had a small-scale group of people with whom he would pray and perform ceremonies. Still, elsewhere in the land, especially in the majuscule, St. Petersburg, Rasputin remained an unknown entity. But a serial of fortunate events would modify that and propel Rasputin to the forefront of Russian politics and religion.
The self proclaimed 'holy human being' was a mystic and had a powerful personality, ane that easily allowed him to affect those around him, usually making them feel quite at ease and rubber around him. Whether or not he was truly a man gifted with magical talents is a affair for the theologians and philosophers to contend about, but information technology can be said that he allowable a certain aura of respect when he walked the earth.
Russian federation at the Fourth dimension of Rasputin
To empathise the story of Rasputin and why he has get such an important figure in Russian and world history, it's best to understand the context in which he lived. Specifically, Rasputin arrived in St. petersburg at a time of tremendous social upheaval in the Russian Empire. The Tsarist government, which ruled as an autocracy and upheld a organization of feudalism that dated dorsum centuries, was beginning to crumble. The urban middle classes, which were developing as a issue of the slow process of industrialization that had taken place throughout the 19th century, as well as the rural poor, were beginning to organize and seek out alternative forms of government.
This, plus a combination of other factors, meant that the Russian economy was in steady decline past the get-go of the 20th century. Tsar Nicholas II, who was in ability from 1894-1917, was insecure about his ability to dominion what was evidently a aging land, and he had made many enemies amongst the dignity who saw the state of the empire equally an opportunity to expand their power, influence, and condition. All of this led to the formation of a constitutional monarchy in 1907, which meant that the Tsar, for the outset fourth dimension ever, would need to share his ability with a parliament, likewise as a prime number minister.
This development seriously weakened the power of Tsar Nicholas II, although he retained his position as head of the Russian state. Still this temporary truce did little to resolve the instability going on in Russia, and when World War I bankrupt out in 1914 and the Russians entered the fight, revolution was imminent. Only one year later, in 1915, 9the war had taken its cost on the weak Russian economic system. Food and other crucial resources became deficient, and the working classes grew weak. Tsar Nicholas Two took command of the Russian army, but this probably made the situation worse. So, in 1917, a series of revolutions, known as the Bolshevik Revolution, took place, which ended the Tsarist autocracy and paved the way for the formation of the United Soviet Socialist States (USSR). While all this was taking place, Rasputin managed to become shut to the Tsar, and he somewhen became a scapegoat for his political rivals equally they sought to weaken Nicholas II and improve their own position in club.
Rasputin and the Royal Family
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Rasputin starting time arrived in the Russian capital letter, Petrograd, in 1904, after receiving an invitation to visit the Leningrad Theological Seminary at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery cheers to a letter of recommendation written by well-respected members of the church elsewhere in Russia. All the same, when Rasputin arrived to Saint petersburg, he would accept institute a metropolis in disrepair, which was a reflection of the state of the Russian Empire at the time. Interestingly, Rasputin's influence and reputation preceded him in Petrograd. He was known to be a heavy drinker and somewhat of a sexual deviant. In fact, before arriving at St. Petersberg, there were rumors that he had been sleeping with many of his female followers, although there is no definitive proof this was happening.
These rumors afterwards led to accusations that Rasputin was a member of the Kyhlyst religious sect, which believed in using sin every bit the primary ways of reaching God. Historians notwithstanding debate whether this is truthful or not, although there is considerable evidence that Rasputin enjoyed engaging in activities that one could classify every bit depraved. It'south quite possible Rasputin spent time with the Kyhlyst sect and then as to try out their method of religious practice, but there is no evidnece he was an actual member. However, it's also just equally likely that political enemies of the Tsar, and Rasputin, exaggerated behavior typical of the time and then every bit to damage Rasputin'southward reputation and diminish his influence.
After his initial visit to St. Petersberg, Rasputin returned home to Pokrovskoye just began to make more frequent trips to the capital. During this time, he began making more than strategic friendships and built a network within the aristocracy. Thanks to these connections, Rasputin met the Nicholas Ii and his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, for the beginning time in 1905. He managed to meet the Tsar several more times, and at one point, Rasputin met the Tsar and Tsarina's children, and from that bespeak on, Rasputin became much closer to the imperial family largely because the family was convinced Rasputin possessed the magical powers needed to cure their son Alexei's hemophilia.
Rasputin and the Purple Children
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Alexei, the heir to the Russian throne and a young boy, was rather sick due to the fact that he had incurred an unfortunate injury to his foot. Furthermore, Alexei suffered from hemophilia, a disease characterized by anemia and excessive haemorrhage. Later on several interactions between Rasputin and Alexei, the imperial family, especially the Tsarina, Alexandra Feodorovna, became convinced that Rasputin alone possessed the powers needed to go along Alexei alive.
He had been asked on several occasions to pray for Alexei, and this coincided with an improvement in the boy'south condition. Many believe this is why the imperial family became and so convinced Rasputin had the ability to heal their sick child. Whether or not they thought he had magical powers is unclear, but this belief that Rasputin had some special quality that made him uniquely capable of healing Alexei helped boost his reputation and made him both friends and enemies in the Russian court.
Rasputin equally a Healer
One of the theories as to what Rasputin did was that he just had a calming presence around the boy that acquired him to relax and stop thrashing about, something that would take helped stop the bleeding brought on by his hemophilia.
Some other theory is that when Rasputin was consulted during a particularly serious moment when Alexei had suffered a hemorrhage, he told the majestic family to keep all doctors away from him. Somewhat miraculously, this worked, and the majestic family attributed this to Rasputin'southward special powers. However, mod historians now believe this worked because the most common medicine used at the time was aspirin, and using aspirin to end bleeding doesn't work considering it thins the claret. Therefore, by telling Alexandra and Nicholas 2 to avoid doctors, Rasputin helped Alexei avoid taking medicine that probably would have killed him. Another theory is that Rasputin was a trained hypnotist who knew how to calm the boy enough then that he would stop bleeding.
Again, though, the truth remains a mystery. Just what we practise know is that after this bespeak, the royal family welcomed Rasputin into their inner circle. Alexandra seemed to trust Rasputin unconditionally, and this allowed him to become a trusted counselor of the family. He was even appointed as the lampadnik (lamplighter), which allowed Rasputin to light the candles in the regal cathedral, a position that would accept given him daily access to Tsar Nicholas and his family.
The Mad Monk?
Equally Rasputin got closer and closer to the heart of Russian power, the public grew more than and more suspicious. The nobles and aristocracy within the courts began to view Rasputin with green-eyed due to the fact that he had such piece of cake access to the Tsar, and, seeking to undermine the Tsar, they tried to position Rasputin as a mad man who was controlling the Russian government from behind the scenes.
To practice this, they began to exaggerate some aspects of Rasputin'southward reputation which he had carried with him since he showtime left Pokrovskoye, mainly that he was a drinker and a sexual deviant. Their propaganda campaigns even went so far as to convince people that the name "Rasputin" meant "debauched one," despite the fact that it actually meant "where two rivers join," a reference to his hometown. Furthermore, it was around this time that accusations of his associations with the Khylists began to intensify.
It should exist noted, though, that some of these accusations were grounded in truth. Rasputin was known for taking many sexual partners, and he was also known for parading around the Russian capital showing off the silks and other textiles that had been embroidered for him by the royal family.
Criticisms of Rasputin intensified after 1905/1906 when the enactment of the Constitution granted the press considerable more than freedom. They targeted Rasputin more mayhap because they still feared to attack the Tsar directly, choosing instead to attack one of his advisors.
Withal, the attacks did not only come from the enemies of the Tsar. Those who wanted to maintain the power structures at the time also turned against Rasputin, largely because they felt the Tsar's loyalty to him hurt his relationship with the public; near people bought into the stories about Rasputin, and it would have looked bad if the Tsar was keeping a relationship with such a man, even if almost every aspect of the stories were exaggerations. Equally a result, they wanted to take out Rasputin and so that the public would cease worrying about this supposed crazy monk who was secretly controlling the Russian Empire.
Rasputin and Alexandra
Rasputin's human relationship with Alexandra Feodorovna is another source of mystery. The show we accept seems to suggest that she trusted Rasputin profoundly and cared for him. There were rumors that they were lovers, but this has never been proven to be true. However, as public opinion turned against Rasputin and members of the Russian court began to run across him as a problem, Alexandra made certain he was permitted to stay. This caused more tension every bit many people'south imaginations continued to run wild with the idea of Rasputin was the existent controller of the royal family. The Tsar and Tsarina made things worse by keeping their son'southward health a surreptitious from the public. This meant no one knew the real reason why Rasputin had go and then shut to the Tsar and his family, creating more than specualtion and rumors.
This close connection shared between Rasputin and Empress Alexandra further degraded Rasputin's reputation, as well as that of the majestic family. For example, past the outbreak of Earth War I, nearly people in the Russian empire assumed Rasputin and Alexandra were sleeping together. Soldiers spoke about it at the front equally if it were common knowledge. These stories got even more grandiose when people began speaking about how Rasputin was really working for the Germans (Alexandra was originally from a German purple family unit) to undermine Russian ability and cause Russia to lose the war.
An Attempt On Rasputin'southward Life
The more than time Rasputin spent effectually the royal family, the more information technology seemed people tried to tarnish his name and reputation. As mentioned, he was labeled as a drunk and a sexual deviant, and this somewhen led to people calling him a wicked human, a crazy monk, and a devil worshipper, although we now know these to exist non much more than than attempts to brand Rasputin a political scapegoat. However, opposition to Rasputin grew enough that an attempt was made to have his life.
In 1914, as Rasputin was in transit to the post office, he was accosted by a adult female bearded as a beggar and stabbed. But he managed to escape. The wound was severe and he spent several weeks in recovery subsequently surgery, but he eventually returned to full health, something that would be used to continue to shape public opinion about him fifty-fifty after his death.
The woman who stabbed Rasputin was said to be a follower of a man named Iliodor, who had been the leader of a powerful religious sect in St. Petersburg. Iliodor had denounced Rasputin as an antichrist, and he had previously fabricated attempts to try and split Rasputin from the Tsar. He was never formally defendant of the criminal offence, but he did abscond St. Petersburg presently after the stabbing and before the police had the chance to question him. The woman who actually stabbed Rasputin was deemed insane and was not held responsible for her actions.
Rasputin's Real Role in the Government
Despite the fact that so much was made of Rasputin'south behavior and his relationship to the regal family, very little if whatsoever testify exists that proves Rasputin had any real influence over the affairs of Russian politics. Historians agree he did the royal family a smashing service by praying with them and assisting with the ill children and giving advice, only almost likewise hold that he had no real say in what the Tsar did or did not practice with his power. Instead, he proved to exist a proverbial thorn in the side of the Tsar and Tsarina as they tried to bargain with an increasingly unstable political situation that was rapidly descending into upheaval and overthrow. Perchance, for this reason, Rasputin's life was still in danger immediately following the beginning attempt made against his life.
Rasputin's Decease
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The actual murder of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is a widely disputed and heavily fictionalized story involving all sorts of crazy antics and stories nigh the human's ability to evade death. Equally a result, information technology has been very difficult for historians to find the bodily facts surrounding Rasputin's death. Furthermore, he was killed behind airtight doors, which has made it even more than difficult to decide exactly what happened. Some accounts are embellishments, exaggerations, or just complete fabrications, but we can never really know for certain. Yet, the most common version of Rasputin's death goes like this:
Rasputin was invited to dine and enjoy some vino at the Moika Palace by a group of nobles led past Prince Felix Yusupov. Other members of the plot included M Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov, Dr. Stanislaus de Lazovert and Lieutenant Sergei Mikhailovich Sukhotin, an officer in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. During the political party, Rasputin allegedly consumed a copious corporeality of wine and food, both of which had been heavily poisoned. However, Rasputin connected to eat and drink every bit if nothing had happened. After it became clear that the poisonous substance was not going to impale Rasputin, Prince Felix Yusupov borrowed the revolver of the 1000 Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, the czar's cousin, and shot Rasputin multiple times.
At this signal, Rasputin is said to have fallen to the ground, and the people in the room thought he was dead. But he miraculously stood up again after but a few minutes of being on the floor and immediately made for the door so equally to endeavor and escape the men who wanted to kill him. The rest of the people in the room reacted, finally, and several others drew their weapons. Rasputin was shot once more and he vicious, but when his attackers approached him, they saw he was even so moving, which forced them to shoot him again. Finally convinced he was dead, they bundled up his corpse into the k knuckles's car and collection to the Neva river and dumped Rasputin's corpse in the cold waters of the river. His torso was recovered three days after.
This whole performance was hurriedly conducted in the wee hours of the morning as the One thousand Knuckles Dmitri Pavlovich feared repercussions if he was constitute out by the authorities. According Vladimir Purishkevich, a politician at the time, "It was very late and the Grand Duke collection quite slow every bit he evidently feared that groovy speed would concenter the suspicion of the police."
Until he murdered Rasputin, Prince Felix Yusupov lived a comparatively aimless life of privilege. Ane of Nicholas Two's daughters, also named Thou Duchess Olga, worked as a nurse during the war and criticized Felix Yusupov's refusal to enlist, writing to her father, "Felix is a 'downright noncombatant,' dressed all in brown…virtually doing aught; an utterly unpleasant impression he makes – a man idling in such times." Plotting Rasputin'due south murder gave Felix Yusupov the opportunity to reinvent himself as a patriot and human being of action, determined to protect the throne from a malign influence.
For Prince Felix Yusupov and his co-conspirators, the removal of Rasputin could give Nicholas II i last take chances of restoring the reputation and prestige of the monarchy. With Rasputin gone, the czar would be more open to the advice of his extended family, the nobility and the Duma.
None of the men who were involved in this incident faced criminal charges, either because at this signal Rasputin had been deemed an enemy of the state, or because information technology just didn't happen. It'south possible this story was created as propaganda to further tarnish the name "Rasputin," for such an unnatural resistance to death would have been perceived equally the work of the devil. Only when Rasputin'due south body was establish, it was evident that he had been shot iii times. Across this, though, we know almost nothing for certain about Rasputin'south death.
Rasputin's Penis
The rumors that were started and spread about Rasputin'due south dearest life and relationship to women have led to many more than tall tales about his genitals. One of the stories surrounding his death is that he was castrated and dismembered after being murdered, about probable as a penalisation for his debauchery and excessive sin. This myth has led many people to merits they at present "posses" Rasputin's penis, and they have even gone and then far equally to claim that looking at it will help cure impotency issues. This is not only absurd but incorrect. When Rasputin'south torso was found, his genitals were intact, and as far every bit we know, they remained that way. Any merits to the reverse is most probable an attempt to use the mystery surrounding Rasputin's life and death as a fashion to make money.
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Conclusion
While Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin's life was a strange and filled with many odd stories, controversies, and lies, information technology is every bit as important to note that his influence was never really as great as the earth around him made it out to be. Yes, he had sway with the Tsar and his family unit, and yes, there was something to be said nearly the way his personality could put people at ease, merely the reality is that the man was nothing more than a symbol to the Russian people. A few months later, matching a prediction that he had fabricated, the Russian Revolution occurred and the entire Romanov family was brutally massacred in an uprising. The tides of political change can exist very powerful, and few people in this world tin truly stop them.
Rasputin'southward girl Maria, who fled Russia after the Revolution and became a circus panthera leo tamer billed as "the daughter of the famous mad monk whose feats in Russia astonished the earth," wrote her own volume in 1929 that condemned Yussupov'southward deportment and questioned the veracity of his business relationship. She wrote that her begetter did not like sweets and never would accept eaten a platter of cakes. The autopsy reports do non mention poisonous substance or drowning but instead conclude that he was shot in the head at close range. Yussupov transformed the murder into an ballsy struggle of good versus evil to sell books and bolster his own reputation.
Yussupov's account of Rasputin's murder entered popular culture. The lurid scene was dramatized in numerous films near Rasputin and the Romanovs and fifty-fifty fabricated it into a 1970s disco hit past Boney G., which included the lyrics "They put some poison into his wine…He drank it all and said, 'I experience fine.'"
Rasputin volition forever alive on in history equally a controversial figure, to some a holy man, to some a political entity, and to others a charlatan. But who really was Rasputin? That is probably the biggest mystery of them all, and it's ane nosotros may never be able to solve.
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Sources
Five Myths and Truths About Rasputin: https://fourth dimension.com/4606775/5-myths-rasputin/
The Murder of Rasputin: http://history1900s.well-nigh.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/rasputin.htm
Famous Russians: http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/history-and-mythology/grigory-rasputin/
Beginning World War Biography: http://world wide web.firstworldwar.com/bio/rasputin.htm
Rasputin's Murder: https://www.theguardian.com/globe/from-the-archive-blog/2016/dec/xxx/rasputin-murder-russia-december-1916
Rasputin: https://www.biography.com/political-effigy/rasputin
Fuhrmann, Joseph T. Rasputin: the untold story. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
Smith, Douglas. Rasputin: Faith, power, and the twilight of the Romanovs. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016.
Source: https://historycooperative.org/mad-monk-grigori-rasputin-story/
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