https://www.biography.com/political-figure/rasputin. Born to a Siberian peasant family around 1869, Rasputin received little schooling and probably never learned to read or write. When Prince Felix Yusupov invited Rasputin to his home on Dec. 29, 1916, it wasn't for pleasantries. Rasputin is best known for his role as a mystical adviser in the court of Czar Nicholas II of Russia. He left home and wandered to Mount Athos, Greece, and Jerusalem, living off the peasants’ donations and gaining a reputation as a starets (self-proclaimed holy man) with the ability to heal the sick and predict the future. His mother was convinced he must have been holy, though he probably did it by calming the boy through hypnosis. At that time the Tsar was desperate for a cure for his son Alexei from haemophilia, so Rasputin … Marriage did not settle Rasputin. Yet, as the numerous attempts required to finish him off seemed to demonstrate, Rasputin’s … Who established the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation? Several people thought that it happened because Rasputin loved and honoured the Tsar, but some sceptics believe that Rasputin did not have any real powers, and was just a fraud. The monk Rasputin was the only one who could stop Alexei’s bleeding. Shortly before his death, he wrote to Nicholas to predict that if he were killed by government officials, the entire imperial family would be killed by the Russian people. A key played in one of the 20th century’s most pivotal historical events, Rasputin was rumored to have been having sexual relations with the Russian Queen (or, at the very least, one of her daughters). Although he attended school, Grigori Rasputin remained illiterate, and his reputation for licentiousness earned him the surname Rasputin, Russian for “debauched one.” He evidently underwent a religious conversion at age 18, and eventually he went to the monastery at Verkhoture, where he was introduced to the Khlysty (Flagellants) sect. In the presence of the royal family, Rasputin consistently maintained the posture of a humble and holy peasant. Nicholas II was the last tsar of Russia under Romanov rule. Rasputin’s growing influence within the family caused suspicion among the public, who resented his power. But, soon after, Rasputin’s eyes opened and, clearly upset at the turn of events, he attacked Yusupov. When he did not die, the frantic Yusupov shot him. Rasputin Dragged The Royal Family’s Reputation Through The Mud. Rasputin quickly gained their confidence by seemingly "curing" the boy of hemophilia. Omissions? Rasputin did not become a monk. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grigory-Yefimovich-Rasputin, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Gregory Rasputin, Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). To them, Rasputin was the evil puppet master to a weak-willed monarchy and his murder, on 30 December 1916, was necessary to save the country from catastrophe. Through this relationship, he eventually became one of the key advisors to the royal family. Updates? He has been described as a monk or as a "strannik", though he held no official In 1915, Rasputin urged the Tsar to remove the Grand Duke from command of the country’s million-strong army and this he agreed to do, even though the country was then engaged in World War I. The autopsy found no trace of cyanide in Rasputin's stomach, though it did discover a large quantity of undigested alcohol. To do this, they began to exaggerate some aspects of Rasputin’s reputation which he had carried with him since he first left Pokrovskoye, mainly that he was a drinker and a sexual deviant. When accounts of Rasputin’s conduct reached the ears of Nicholas, the tsar refused to believe that he was anything other than a holy man, and Rasputin’s accusers found themselves transferred to remote regions of the empire or entirely removed from their positions of influence.