Grigory Efimovich Rasputin is an outstanding personality in history. His image is quite ambiguous and mysterious. Disputes about this man have been going on for almost a century.
Birth of Rasputin
Many still have not been able to decide who Rasputin is and what he actually became famous for in the history of Russia. He was born in 1869 in the village of Pokrovskoye. Official information about the date of his birth is quite contradictory. Some historians believe that Grigory Rasputin's life years are 1864-1917. In his mature years, he himself did not clarify things, reporting various untrue data about the date of his birth. Historians believe that Rasputin liked to exaggerate his age in order to fit the image of an old man he himself created.
In addition, many explained such a strong influence on the royal family precisely by the presence of hypnotic abilities. Rumors about Rasputin's healing powers had been spreading since his youth, but even his parents did not believe in it. His father believed that he became a pilgrim only because he was very lazy.
Assassination attempt on Rasputin
There were several attempts on the life of Grigory Rasputin. In 1914, he was stabbed in the stomach and seriously wounded by Khionia Guseva, who came from Tsaritsyn. At that time she was under the influence of Hieromonk Iliodor, who was an opponent of Rasputin, since he saw him as his main competitor. Guseva was placed in a psychiatric hospital, considered mentally ill, and after some time she was released.
Iliodor himself more than once chased Rasputin with an ax, threatening to kill him, and also prepared 120 bombs for this purpose. In addition, there were also several more attempts on the life of the “holy elder,” but all of them were unsuccessful.
Predicting your own death
Rasputin had an amazing gift of providence, so he not only predicted his own death, but also the death of the royal family, and many other events. The empress's confessor, Bishop Feofan, recalled that Rasputin was once asked what the outcome of the meeting with the Japanese would be. He replied that Admiral Rozhdestvensky’s squadron would drown, which is what happened in the battle of Tsushima.
Once, while with the imperial family in Tsarskoe Selo, Rasputin did not allow them to have dinner in the dining room, saying that the chandelier might fall. They obeyed him, and literally 2 days later the chandelier actually fell.
They say that he left behind 11 more prophecies that are gradually coming true. He also predicted his own death. Shortly before the murder, Rasputin wrote a will with terrible prophecies. He said that if he was killed by peasants or hired killers, then nothing would threaten the imperial family and the Romanovs would remain in power for many years. And if the nobles and boyars kill him, then this will bring destruction to the House of Romanov and there will be no nobility in Russia for another 25 years.
The story of Rasputin's murder
Many people are interested in who Rasputin is and why he is famous in history. Moreover, his death was unusual and surprising. A group of conspirators were from wealthy families, under the leadership of Prince Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, they decided to put an end to the unlimited power of Rasputin.
In December 1916, they lured him to a late dinner, where they tried to poison him by mixing potassium cyanide into cakes and wine. However, potassium cyanide had no effect. Yusupov got tired of waiting and shot Rasputin in the back, but the shot only provoked the old man more, and he rushed at the prince, trying to strangle him. His friends came to Yusupov’s aid, who shot Rasputin several more times and beat him severely. After that, they tied his hands, wrapped him in cloth and threw him into the hole.
According to some reports, Rasputin fell into the water while still alive, but could not get out, became hypothermic and choked, from which he died. However, there are records that he received mortal wounds while still alive and fell into the water of the Neva already dead.
Information about this, as well as the testimony of his killers, is quite contradictory, so it is not known exactly how this happened.
The series "Grigory Rasputin" is not entirely true to reality, since in the film he was made to be a tall and powerful man, although, in fact, he was short and sickly in his youth. According to historical facts, he was a pale, frail man with an exhausted appearance and sunken eyes. This is confirmed by police records.
There are quite contradictory and interesting facts in the biography of Grigory Rasputin, according to which he did not possess any extraordinary abilities. Rasputin is not the old man’s real name, it is just his pseudonym. Real name is Vilkin. Many believed that he was a ladies' man, constantly changing women, but contemporaries noted that Rasputin sincerely loved his wife and constantly remembered her.
There is an opinion that the “holy elder” was fabulously rich. Since he had influence at court, he was often approached with requests for large rewards. Rasputin spent part of the money on himself, as he built a 2-story house in his native village and purchased an expensive fur coat. He spent most of his money on charity and built churches. After his death, security services checked the accounts, but found no money in them.
Many said that Rasputin was actually the ruler of Russia, but this is absolutely not true, because Nicholas II had his own opinion on everything, and the elder was only allowed to sometimes advise. These and many other interesting facts about Grigory Rasputin show that he was completely different from what he was thought to be.
Healer, healer, Siberian prophet, a person close to Her Imperial Majesty, the personality of Grigory Rasputin, in the history of Russia, one of the most mysterious! All known facts about him are not documented, but are based on the words of people who lived in those days. This information was passed on from one person to another and was distorted accordingly.
Rasputin Grigory Efimovich, was born on July 29, 1871 (according to other sources, January 9, 1869) in the village of Pokrovskoye, Tobolsk province. The place of his birth was previously almost inaccessible to many of his fans, because of this, information about Rasputin in his native places is inaccurate and fragmentary, and their author was mainly Grigory. They do not exclude the possibility that he might have monastic rank, but there is still a high probability that he simply had excellent acting skills and brilliantly played his holiness and exceptionally close Divine connection.
Rasputin with children in Pokrovskoye. On the left is daughter Varvara, on the right is son Dmitry. Daughter Maria in her arms.
Upon reaching the age of eighteen, Gregory went as a pilgrim to the Verkhoturye Monastery, but did not become a monk. A year later, he returned to his native village and there he married Dubrovina Praskovya Fedorovna, who bore him three children: Dmitry in 1897, Maria in 1898, and Varvara in 1900.
Maria Rasputina in exile
Varvara Rasputina (probably)
Marriage did not interfere with the continuation of pilgrimage activities. Rasputin continues to visit holy places, visiting the Greek monastery of Athos and Jerusalem. He made all these journeys on foot.
As a result of visits to such shrines, Gregory felt his divine chosenness and announced the holiness bestowed upon him, and also told everyone about his exceptional healing gift. News about the Siberian healer spreads throughout the Russian Empire, and now people make pilgrimages to Rasputin. People come to him from the farthest corners of Russia. It is also worth mentioning that the famous healer had no education, was illiterate, and did not understand medicine at all. But thanks to his acting abilities, he could pretend to be a great healer: he calmed the desperate, provided assistance with advice, prayers, and had the gift of persuasion.
One day, when Gregory was plowing a field, he had a vision of the Mother of God. She told him about the illness of Tsarevich Alexei, he was the only son of Nicholas II (he suffered from hemophilia, which was inherited from his mother), and gave him instructions to go to St. Petersburg and help save the heir to the throne.
In 1905, Grigory finds himself in St. Petersburg at the most convenient moment. At that time, the church really needed “prophets” - people who inspired trust in people. This role suited Rasputin perfectly; he had typical peasant appearance, simple speech, and a tough temper. But his opponents spread rumors that this false prophet was using religion only for profit, to satisfy his base needs and gain power.
In 1907, Rasputin received an invitation from the imperial family, which was due to the aggravation of the prince’s illness. All members of the royal family carefully concealed the fact that the crown prince had hemophelia, in order to avoid public unrest. Because of this, for some time they did not want to allow Rasputin to see the heir, but during a severe exacerbation of the illness, the tsar gave his permission.
During Rasputin's subsequent life in St. Petersburg, he was closely associated with concerns about the prince. Having become a frequent guest of the imperial family, Rasputin acquired many acquaintances in high St. Petersburg society, and all representatives of the capital's elite really wanted to get acquainted with the Siberian healer, who was nicknamed “Grishka Rasputin” behind his back.
In 1910, both of Rasputin’s daughters came to the capital and, under the patronage, entered the gymnasium.
St. Petersburg, Gorokhovaya street, the house in which Rasputin lived.
The emperor did not approve of Gregory's frequent visits to the palace. At that time, gossip spread throughout the capital about Rasputin's indecent lifestyle. Rumors circulated about how Gregory, with his great influence over the Empress, took bribes (in money and in kind) to promote certain projects or help advance his career. His riotous drinking sessions and real pogroms horrified the residents of the capital. There was also talk about Rasputin's intimate relationship with Alexandra Fedorovna, which greatly undermined the authority of the imperial family, and especially Nicholas II.
Soon, a conspiracy against the Siberian healer matured in the imperial entourage. Felix Yusupov (husband of the Tsar's niece), Vladimir Purishkevich (State Duma deputy) and Grand Duke Dmitry (cousin of Nicholas II). On December 30, 1916, Rasputin received an invitation to the Yusupov Palace, ostensibly to meet with the imperial niece, who was one of the most beautiful women in the capital. The sweets and drinks that Gregory treated himself to contained cyanide, but for some reason the poison had no effect at all. Losing patience, the trio of conspirators decided to use another surefire method. Yusupov fired a shot at Rasputin, but he was lucky again. Running out of the palace, he met the other two members of the conspiracy, who, in turn, shot him at point-blank range. Rasputin even after that tried to get up and run away from his pursuers. But they tied the “Siberian elder” tightly, put him in a bag of stones, took him out in a car and threw him off the bridge into the Neva wormwood. new healing abilities and the gift of foresight!!! It is not for today’s “historians” to judge in a negative way the extraordinary personality of the mighty Siberian peasant, who did everything to maintain legitimate power in the country and prevent the unrest (color revolution) caused by the West!!! Even the fact that his enemies were indoctrinated by English politicians with the help of British intelligence services, its very existence confirms the sincere patriotism of the hero of that time!!! The complete lack of will and political weakness of the tsar played a cruel joke on Rasputin, and then on the tsar himself, his dynasty and, ultimately, on Russia!!!
Rasputin Grigory Efimovich (real name of the Novykhs) (1864 or 1865-1916), political adventurer, Old Believer, favorite of Emperor Nicholas II.
Born in the village of Pokrovskoye, Tobolsk province (now in the Tyumen region) into a peasant family. From his youth he was distinguished by bad behavior - hence the nickname, which later became a surname; More than once he was beaten by his fellow villagers for horse stealing.
By the age of 30, he became close to sectarians and, wandering through holy places, discovered the gift of a powerful psychological influence on believers, especially women. The parishioners who listened to his sermons sometimes fell into a hysterical trance.
Mysticism and the search for new sensations in communicating with people “of the people” were in fashion among the aristocracy of St. Petersburg; Rasputin was brought into this environment by the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Feofan (1904-1905). Secular ladies turned out to be greedy for the exalted sermons of the “old man,” as Rasputin began to be called.
The new prophet became his own man in the salons of the Northern capital. However, he has already gained the reputation of a seducer and deceiver. Soon the “holy elder” ended up in the palace of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, and in 1907 - in the royal palace.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna unsuccessfully sought help from various healers and holy fools for her only son Alexei, who was terminally ill with hemophilia (incoagulability of the blood). Rasputin won the trust of the royal family precisely because he knew how to “charm” the blood of the heir. The boy felt better, Nicholas II and Alexandra were happy and tried not to notice that the “elder” was taking advantage of their location for unseemly purposes.
The Emperor did not want to listen to police reports about Rasputin's scandalous behavior. Having convinced the tsar that only he could save Alexei and the autocracy through his prayers, Rasputin advised who to appoint and remove from the highest church and government officials up to the prime minister, and arranged profitable financial combinations. A large group of politicians and financiers formed around him, high-ranking admirers and petitioners crowded around him, and various political and commercial adventures were carried out through him.
Prominent monarchists united against Rasputin. On the night of December 30, 1916, Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, Prince F. F. Yusupov and V. M. Purishkevich killed Rasputin, luring him to Yusupov’s palace under the pretext of a meeting with the owner’s wife.
Rasputin turned out to be unusually strong and tenacious. After the poisoned cakes and Madeira had no effect on him, the “old man” was finished off with several shots at point-blank range, and his body was pushed under the ice of Malaya Nevka. An autopsy showed that Rasputin died only after several hours in the river.
Grigory Rasputin is one of the most amazing people born on Russian soil. Not a single tsar, commander, scientist, statesman in Rus' had such popularity, fame and influence as this semi-literate man from the Urals gained. His talent as a soothsayer and his mysterious death are still a matter of debate for historians. Some considered him vicious, others saw him as a saint. Who was Rasputin really?...
Speaking surname
Grigory Efimovich Rasputin really happened to live at the crossroads of historical roads and was destined to become a witness and participant in the tragic choice that was made at that time.
Grigory Rasputin was born on January 9 (according to the new style - 21) January 1869 in the village of Pokrovsky, Tyumen district, Tobolsk province. The ancestors of Grigory Efimovich came to Siberia among the first pioneers. For a long time they bore the surname Izosimov, named after the same Izosim who moved from the Vologda land beyond the Urals. The two sons of Nason Izosimov began to be called Rasputin - and, accordingly, their descendants.
Here is how researcher A. Varlamov writes about the family of Grigory Rasputin: “The children of Anna and Efim Rasputin died one after another. First, in 1863, after living for several months, daughter Evdokia died, a year later another girl, also named Evdokia.
The third daughter was named Glykeria, but she lived only a few months. On August 17, 1867, son Andrei was born, who, like his sisters, turned out to be a non-tenant. Finally, in 1869, the fifth child, Gregory, was born. The name was given according to the calendar in honor of St. Gregory of Nyssa, known for his sermons against fornication."
With a dream about God
Rasputin is often portrayed as almost a giant, a monster with iron health and the ability to eat glass and nails. In fact, Gregory grew up as a weak and sickly child.
Later, he wrote about his childhood in an autobiographical essay, which he called “The Life of an Experienced Wanderer”: “My whole life was illness. Medicine did not help me. Every spring I did not sleep for forty nights. It was as if I was sleeping like oblivion, and spent all my time.” .
At the same time, already in childhood, Gregory’s thoughts differed from the train of thought of the common man in the street. Grigory Efimovich himself writes about it this way: “At the age of 15 in my village, when the sun was warm and the birds sang heavenly songs, I walked along the path and did not dare to walk in the middle of it... I dreamed of God... My soul "I was rushing into the distance... More than once, dreaming like this, I cried and did not know where the tears came from and why they were. I believed in the good, the kind, and I often sat with the old people, listening to their stories about the lives of saints, great deeds, great deeds."
The Power of Prayer
Gregory early realized the power of his prayer, which manifested itself in relation to both animals and people. This is how his daughter Matryona writes about this: “From my grandfather, I know about my father’s extraordinary ability to handle domestic animals. Standing next to a restive horse, he could, placing his hand on its neck, quietly say a few words, and the animal would immediately calm down. And when he watched the milking, the cow became completely docile.
One day at dinner, my grandfather said that his horse was lame. Hearing this, the father silently rose from the table and went to the stable. The grandfather followed and saw his son stand for a few seconds near the horse in concentration, then go up to the back leg and put his palm on the hamstring. He stood with his head slightly thrown back, then, as if deciding that the healing had been accomplished, he stepped back, stroked the horse and said: “You feel better now.”
After that incident, my father became like a miracle worker veterinarian. Then he began to treat people too. "God helped."
Guilty without guilt
As for Gregory’s dissolute and sinful youth, accompanied by horse stealing and orgies, this is nothing more than later fabrications of newspapermen. Matryona Rasputina in her book claims that her father was so perspicacious from a young age that he “saw” the thefts of others several times and therefore for himself personally excluded the very possibility of theft: it seemed to him that others “see” it just as much as he does .
I looked through all the testimony about Rasputin that was given during the investigation in the Tobolsk Consistory. Not a single witness, even the most hostile to Rasputin (and there were many of them), accused him of theft or horse stealing.
Nevertheless, Gregory still experienced injustice and human cruelty. One day he was unfairly accused of horse theft and severely beaten, but the investigation soon found the culprits, who were sent to Eastern Siberia. All charges against Gregory were dropped.
Family life
No matter how many amorous stories are attributed to Rasputin, nevertheless, as Varlamov rightly notes, he had a beloved wife: “Everyone who knew her spoke well of this woman. Rasputin married when he was eighteen years old. His wife was three years older than him, a hard worker ", patient. She gave birth to seven children, of whom the first three died."
Grigory Efimovich met his betrothed at the dances that he loved so much. This is how his daughter Matryona writes about it: “Mom was tall and stately, she loved to dance no less than he did. Her name was Praskovya Fedorovna Dubrovina, Parasha...
Rasputin with children (from left to right): Matryona, Varya, Mitya.
The beginning of their family life was happy. But then trouble came - the first-born lived only a few months. The boy's death affected his father even more than his mother. He took the loss of his son as a sign that he had been waiting for, but he could not have imagined that this sign would be so terrible.
He was haunted by one thought: the death of a child is a punishment for the fact that he thought so little about God. The father prayed. And prayers consoled the pain. A year later, the second son, Dmitry, was born, then - with an interval of two years - daughters Matryona and Varya. My father started building a new house - two-story, the largest in Pokrovsky..."
Rasputin's house in Pokrovskoye
His family laughed at him. He did not eat meat or sweets, heard different voices, walked from Siberia to St. Petersburg and back, and ate alms. In the spring, he had exacerbations - he did not sleep for many days in a row, sang songs, shook his fists at Satan and ran in the cold in only a shirt.
His prophecies consisted of calls to repentance “before trouble comes.” Sometimes, by pure coincidence, trouble happened the very next day (huts burned, livestock got sick, people died) - and the peasants began to believe that the blessed man had the gift of foresight. He gained followers... and followers.
This went on for about ten years. Rasputin learned about the Khlysty (sectarians who beat themselves with whips and suppressed lust through group sex), as well as the Skoptsy (preachers of castration) who separated from them. It is assumed that he adopted some of their teachings and more than once personally “delivered” pilgrims from sin in the bathhouse.
At the “divine” age of 33, Gregory begins to storm St. Petersburg. Having secured recommendations from provincial priests, he settles with the rector of the Theological Academy, Bishop Sergius, the future Stalinist patriarch. He, impressed by the exotic character, introduces the “old man” (long years of wandering on foot gave the young Rasputin the appearance of an old man) to the powers that be. Thus began the path of the “man of God” to glory.
Rasputin with his fans (mainly female fans).
Rasputin's first loud prophecy was the prediction of the death of our ships at Tsushima. Perhaps he got it from newspaper news reports that a squadron of old ships had sailed to meet the modern Japanese fleet without observing secrecy measures.
Ave, Caesar!
The last ruler of the House of Romanov was distinguished by lack of will and superstition: he considered himself Job, doomed to trials, and kept meaningless diaries, where he shed virtual tears, looking at how his country was going downhill.
The queen also lived in isolation from the real world and believed in the supernatural power of the “elders of the people.” Knowing this, her friend, the Montenegrin princess Milica, took outright scoundrels to the palace. The monarchs listened to the ravings of swindlers and schizophrenics with childish delight. The war with Japan, the revolution and the illness of the prince finally unbalanced the pendulum of the weak royal psyche. Everything was ready for Rasputin's appearance.
For a long time, only daughters were born in the Romanov family. To conceive a son, the queen resorted to the help of the French magician Philip. It was he, and not Rasputin, who was the first to take advantage of the spiritual naivety of the royal family. The scale of the chaos that reigned in the minds of the last Russian monarchs (one of the most educated people of that time) can be judged by the fact that the queen felt safe thanks to a magic icon with a bell that supposedly rang when evil people approached.
Nikki and Alix during their engagement (late 1890s)
The first meeting of the Tsar and Tsarina with Rasputin took place on November 1, 1905 at the palace over tea. He dissuaded the weak-willed monarchs from escaping to England (they say they were already packing their things), which most likely would have saved them from death and would have sent Russian history in a different direction.
The next time, he gave the Romanovs a miraculous icon (found from them after the execution), then allegedly healed Tsarevich Alexei, who had hemophilia, and eased the pain of Stolypin’s daughter, wounded by terrorists. The shaggy man forever captured the hearts and minds of the august couple.
The Emperor personally arranges for Gregory to change his dissonant surname to “New” (which, however, did not stick). Soon Rasputin-Novykh acquires another lever of influence at court - the young maid of honor Anna Vyrubova, who idolizes the “elder” (a close friend of the queen - according to rumors, even too close, who slept with her in the same bed). He becomes the confessor of the Romanovs and comes to the tsar at any time without making an appointment for an audience.
Please note that in all photographs Rasputin always holds one hand raised.
At court, Gregory was always “in character,” but outside the political scene he was completely transformed. Having bought himself a new house in Pokrovskoye, he took noble St. Petersburg fans there. There the “elder” put on expensive clothes, became self-satisfied, and gossiped about the king and nobles. Every day he showed the queen (whom he called “mother”) miracles: he predicted the weather or the exact time of the king’s return home. It was then that Rasputin made his most famous prediction: “As long as I live, the dynasty will live.”
The growing power of Rasputin did not suit the court. Cases were brought against him, but each time the “elder” very successfully left the capital, going either home to Pokrovskoye or on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In 1911, the Synod spoke out against Rasputin. Bishop Hermogenes (who ten years ago expelled a certain Joseph Dzhugashvili from the theological seminary) tried to drive out the devil from Gregory and publicly beat him on the head with a cross. Rasputin was under police surveillance, which did not stop until his death.
Rasputin, Bishop Hermogenes and Hieromonk Iliodor
Secret agents watched through the windows the most piquant scenes from the life of a man who would soon be called “the holy devil.” Once suppressed, rumors about Grishka’s sexual adventures began to swell with renewed vigor. The police recorded Rasputin visiting bathhouses in the company of prostitutes and wives of influential people.
Copies of the Tsarina’s tender letter to Rasputin circulated around St. Petersburg, from which it could be concluded that they were lovers. These stories were picked up by newspapers - and the word “Rasputin” became known throughout Europe.
Public health
People who believed in Rasputin’s miracles believe that he himself, as well as his death, were mentioned in the Bible itself: “And if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them; They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16-18).
Today no one doubts that Rasputin really had a beneficial effect on the physical condition of the prince and the mental stability of his mother. How did he do it?
The queen at the bedside of the sick heir
Contemporaries noted that Rasputin’s speech was always incoherent; it was very difficult to follow his thoughts. Huge, with long arms, a tavern floorman's hairstyle and a spade beard, he often talked to himself and patted his thighs.
Without exception, all of Rasputin's interlocutors recognized his unusual look - deeply sunken gray eyes, as if glowing from within and fettering your will. Stolypin recalled that when he met Rasputin, he felt that they were trying to hypnotize him.
Rasputin and the Tsarina drink tea
This certainly influenced the king and queen. However, it is difficult to explain the repeated relief of the royal children from pain. Rasputin's main healing weapon was prayer - and he could pray all night long.
One day in Belovezhskaya Pushcha the heir began to experience severe internal bleeding. Doctors told his parents that he would not survive. A telegram was sent to Rasputin asking him to heal Alexei from a distance. He quickly recovered, which greatly surprised the court doctors.
Kill the dragon
The man who called himself “little fly” and appointed officials by telephone call was illiterate. He learned to read and write only in St. Petersburg. He left behind only short notes filled with terrible scribbles.
Until the end of his life, Rasputin looked like a tramp, which repeatedly prevented him from “picking” prostitutes for daily orgies. The wanderer quickly forgot about a healthy lifestyle - he drank and drunkenly called ministers with various “petitions”, failure to fulfill which was career suicide.
Rasputin did not save money, either starving or throwing it left and right. He seriously influenced the country’s foreign policy, twice persuading Nicholas not to start a war in the Balkans (inspiring the Tsar that the Germans were a dangerous force, and the “brothers,” i.e., the Slavs, were pigs).
Facsimile of Rasputin's letter with a request for some of his protégés
When World War I finally began, Rasputin expressed a desire to come to the front to bless the soldiers. The commander of the troops, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, promised to hang him on the nearest tree. In response, Rasputin gave birth to another prophecy that Russia would not win the war until an autocrat (who had a military education, but showed himself to be an incompetent strategist) stood at the head of the army. The king, of course, led the army. With consequences known to history.
Politicians actively criticized the Tsarina, the “German spy,” not forgetting Rasputin. It was then that the image of a “gray eminence” was created, resolving all state issues, although in fact Rasputin’s power was far from absolute. German Zeppelins scattered leaflets over the trenches, where the Kaiser leaned on the people, and Nicholas II on Rasputin’s genitals. The priests also did not lag behind. It was announced that the murder of Grishka was a good thing, for which “forty sins would be removed.”
On July 29, 1914, the mentally ill Khionia Guseva stabbed Rasputin in the stomach, shouting: “I killed the Antichrist!” Witnesses said that from the blow “Grishka’s guts came out.” The wound was fatal, but Rasputin pulled out. According to his daughter’s recollections, he had changed since then - he began to get tired quickly and took opium for pain.
Prince Felix Yusupov, Rasputin's killer
Rasputin's death is even more mysterious than his life. The scenery of this drama is well known: on the night of December 17, 1916, Prince Felix Yusupov, Grand Duke Dmitry Romanov (rumored to be Yusupov’s lover) and deputy Purishkevich invited Rasputin to the Yusupov Palace. There he was offered cakes and wine, generously flavored with cyanide. This supposedly had no effect on Rasputin.
“Plan B” was put into action: Yusupov shot Rasputin in the back with a revolver. While the conspirators were preparing to get rid of the body, he suddenly came to life, tore the shoulder strap off Yusupov’s shoulder and ran into the street. Purishkevich was not taken aback - with three shots he finally knocked down the “old man”, after which he only clanked his teeth and wheezed.
To be sure, he was beaten again, tied with a curtain and thrown into an ice hole in the Neva. The water that killed Rasputin’s older brother and sister also took the life of the fatal man - but not immediately. An examination of the body, recovered three days later, showed the presence of water in the lungs (the autopsy report has not been preserved). This indicated that Grishka was alive and simply choked.
Rasputin's corpse
The queen was furious, but at the insistence of Nicholas II, the murderers escaped punishment. The people praised them as deliverers from “dark forces.” Rasputin was called everything: a demon, a German spy or the empress’s lover, but the Romanovs were faithful to him to the end: the most odious figure in Russia was buried in Tsarskoye Selo.
Two months later the February revolution broke out. Rasputin's prediction about the fall of the monarchy came true. On March 4, 1917, Kerensky ordered the body to be dug up and burned. The exhumation took place at night, and according to the testimony of the exhumers, the burning corpse tried to rise. This was the final touch to the legend of Rasputin’s superstrength (it is believed that the cremated person can move due to the contraction of the tendons in the fire, and therefore the latter should be cut).
The act of burning Rasputin's body
"Who are you, Mr. Rasputin?" - such a question could have been asked by British and German intelligence at the beginning of the 20th century. A clever werewolf or a simple-minded man? Rebel saint or sexual psychopath? To cast a shadow on a person, it is enough just to correctly illuminate his life.
It is reasonable to assume that the true appearance of the royal favorite was distorted beyond recognition by “black PR”. And minus the incriminating evidence, what appears before us is an ordinary man - an illiterate, but very cunning schizophrenic, who achieved fame only thanks to a successful coincidence of circumstances and the obsession of the heads of the Romanov dynasty with religious metaphysics.
Attempts at canonization
Since the 1990s, radical-monarchist Orthodox circles have repeatedly proposed canonizing Rasputin as a holy martyr.
The ideas were rejected by the Synodal Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church and criticized by Patriarch Alexy II: “There is no reason to raise the question of the canonization of Grigory Rasputin, whose dubious morality and promiscuity cast a shadow on the august family of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.”
Despite this, over the past ten years, religious admirers of Grigory Rasputin have published at least two akathists to him, and also painted about a dozen icons.
Curious facts
Rasputin supposedly had an older brother, Dmitry (who caught a cold while swimming and died of pneumonia) and a sister, Maria (who suffered from epilepsy and drowned in the river). He named his children after them. Grishka named his third daughter Varvara.
Bonch-Bruevich knew Rasputin well.
The Yusupov family originates from the nephew of the Prophet Mohammed. Irony of fate: a distant relative of the founder of Islam killed a man who called himself an Orthodox saint.
After the overthrow of the Romanovs, Rasputin’s activities were investigated by a special commission, of which the poet Blok was a member. The investigation was never completed.
Rasputin's daughter Matryona managed to emigrate to France and then to the USA. There she worked as a dancer and tiger trainer. She died in 1977.
The remaining family members were dispossessed and exiled to camps, where their trace was lost.
Today the church does not recognize the holiness of Rasputin, pointing out his dubious morality.
Yusupov successfully sued MGM over the film about Rasputin. After this incident, films began to put a warning about fiction: “all coincidences are accidental.”
Rasputiniana:Petrenko, Depardieu, Mashkov, DiCaprio
Since 1917, more than 30 films have been made about the Tobolsk elder! The most famous Russian films are “Agony” (1974, Rasputin - Alexey Petrenko) and “Conspiracy” (2007, Rasputin - Ivan Okhlobystin).
Now the French-Russian film “Rasputin” has been released, in which the old man is played by Gerard Depardieu. Critics did not accept the film well, however, they say that it was this film work that helped the French actor obtain Russian citizenship.
Finally, in 2013, work was completed on the new Russian series “Rasputin” (director - Andrei Malyukov, script - Eduard Volodarsky and Ilya Tilkin), in which the Tobolsk elder was played by Vladimir Mashkov...
And the other day, filming of a Hollywood film about Rasputin begins in St. Petersburg; for the main role, the film company Warner Bros. invited Leonardo DiCaprio. Why is the life story of Grigory Rasputin so attractive to directors and screenwriters?
Russian version
- We do not know whether Cagliostro, Count Dracula, existed or not. But Rasputin is a real historical figure,” says Andrei Malyukov, director of the series “Rasputin”. “At the same time, everything seems to be known about him: where he was born, and how he lived, and how he was killed. But at the same time... nothing is known! Do you know how much has been written about Rasputin? Tons! You can’t re-read everything! And everyone writes about some other person. He is a mystery, and that is why there is such interest in him. Ask anyone outside of Russia: "Who is Rasputin?" - “Yes, of course! There’s a restaurant! There’s a store!” A very popular figure.
— With what heart did you take on the filming of the series?
“I wanted to look at this person from the point of view of the truth.” After all, during his lifetime they wrote a lot about him! If you peel off and leave in a pure residue what he actually did, it turns out that he was a man who sincerely supported the Russian Empire, for the Tsar, for the Tsarina, who categorically opposed the war, believing that there is enough of everything in Russia, that it is a great and powerful country. This is his message. And to those who wanted war, to those who hated Russia, he seemed like a fiend from hell. And the bottom line is that he was a man with a big plus sign. And with such a tragic fate...
— So, in your film you want to debunk all the myths that exist about Rasputin?
— There were an insane number of myths. Our eight episodes are not enough to debunk everything. Our story splits into two parallel lines: Rasputin and investigator Sweeten, whom Kerensky instructs to look into the murder of the elder and find evidence of all his “sins.” But during the investigation of this criminal crime, Sweeten, from ardent hatred of Grigory Efimovich, comes to the point that he demands that Kerensky bring the killers to justice...
Vladimir Mashkov about his hero
In the Russian-French film "Rasputin", where Rasputin was played by Depardieu, Vladimir Mashkov starred in the role of Nicholas II. Then he got into character so thoroughly that he even learned to sign his name as an emperor.
— In the new Russian film “Rasputin” my transformation is even deeper. “There’s a settler living inside me,” the actor admits. - The role is amazing! After all, Grigory Efimitch treated with prayer. He loved the person at that moment and took on all his pain. I almost died when I treated people, and this process is incredible, divine...
To declare that Rasputin is a saint or a devil, it seems to me, is the most terrible, disgusting mistake. This is a very sincere person who loved Russia, loved the Tsar, loved his people.
The story with the beard
The creators of the film say that they did not consider anyone for the main role except Mashkov, who specially flew in from America for filming. He got into character so much that sometimes he shocked the film crew: even his gait changed, a Rasputin-like stoop appeared...
Vladimir Mashkov and his hero do not have a portrait-photographic resemblance. The make-up artists even copied the beard from historical photographs down to the last hair! Makeup artists tried several beards and hair extensions, but as a result, Mashkov had to grow his hair and implant a natural beard, one hair at a time. Approximately two hours were spent on his makeup every day.
“We implanted Mashkov’s side cheeks literally hair by hair, so that even the camera would never see the glued-in beard,” said makeup artist Evgenia Malinkovskaya.
Trapped in a mirror
Filming of the film "Rasputin" began in April 2013. Some episodes were filmed in St. Petersburg, near St. Petersburg, and also in Novgorod. At the same time, the film crew faced many difficulties.
When the priests found out who the film would be about, they closed the doors of the churches and prohibited filming. (By the way, Gerard Depardieu’s team faced the same problem: Patriarch Kirill did not give them his blessing, and they also could not film in churches.)
The only temple that opened its doors for the filming of the Russian series about Rasputin was St. Sampsonievsky Cathedral. In Novgorod, they decided to film in the Anthony Monastery - and in just two days, the production designers erected a scaffolding set around the monastery wall.
It was necessary to build palace chambers. Lenfilm recreated the famous mirror trap of the Yusupov Palace, where Felix Yusupov and the conspirators lured Rasputin. This is an octagonal room of mirrors, once in which you don’t know where to go. Special mirrors were ordered for her, which are usually produced for special forces guarding consulates, so that the operator could shoot through the glass and not be reflected.
Stunts, effects, costumes
Vladimir Mashkov's partner in the film was Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna). All dresses for her and Ekaterina Klimova, who played the Empress's maid of honor Anna Vyrubova, were designed from scratch and sewn in strict accordance with the fashion of the early 20th century. French lace was made according to historical samples. In England they ordered stiff collars, bought top hats and boaters. They found an antique jacket and coat for Mashkov and made a collection of shirts.
The film contains many complex stunts, most of which Vladimir Mashkov performed himself. For example, in one of the scenes, when fellow villagers believed that Rasputin had embezzled money from the sale of someone else’s horse, the actor was beaten with clubs and trampled by horses. The actor worked so honestly and let the horses get so close to him that at one moment he got carried away and the horse touched his hand.
The second, no less difficult scene is the murder of the old man. Mashkov was beaten again, and kicked. Of course, the actor was wearing special protection that covered his back, arms, chest, and legs, but the bruises remained.
Mashkov was always eager to fight, but in some episodes the stunt director was categorical: “Volodya, don’t, this is an unnecessary risk!” Therefore, sometimes the actor was replaced by an understudy, Sergei Trepesov, who worked with Vladimir Mashkov in the film “The Edge”.
compilationmaterial - Fox http://www.softmixer.com/2014/10/blog-post_59.html#more
Grigory Efimovich Rasputin(1864 or 1865, according to other sources, 1872-1916) - a peasant of the Tobolsk province, who became famous for his “divinations” and “healings.” Favorite of Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, seer, folk healer, adventurer. Zodiac sign - Aquarius.
Grigory Efimovich Rasputin was born January 21 (January 9, old style) 1869 in the village of Pokrovskoye, now Tyumen region, in the family of the peasant E. Novykh.
At the end of the 19th century he joined the Khlysty sect. Under the guise of a religious fanatic, he led a riotous life; received the nickname "Rasputin", which later became his surname. By 1902 he became known as the Siberian “prophet” and “holy elder”. In 1904 - 1905 he entered the houses of the highest St. Petersburg aristocracy, and in 1907 - into the royal palace.
Grigory Efimovich managed to convince Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna that only he, with his prayers, could save the hemophiliac heir Alexei and provide “divine” support for the reign of Nicholas II. Rasputin enjoyed unlimited influence over Nicholas II. On the advice of the “miracle worker,” even the highest government officials were appointed and dismissed. and church administrations; he carried out financial “combinations” that were beneficial to himself, provided “protection” for bribes, etc.
Surrounded by a crowd of admirers, an erotomaniac, Rasputin used his power and high society connections for unbridled debauchery, which became widely known in Russia . In an effort to save the tsarist power from discredit, monarchists F. F. Yusupov, V. M. Purishkevich and Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich killed Grigory Rasputin.
“Rasputinism” was a clear manifestation of the collapse and degeneration of the tsarist regime and the entire ruling elite of the Russian Empire. (Russian historian Cornelius Fedorovich Shatsillo)
A few minutes later, not believing his luck, Yusupov returned to once again make sure that Grigory Rasputin was no longer there.
Rasputin “...first opened one eye , then another, and under his persistent gaze, Prince Yusupov involuntarily became numb. I really wanted to run, but my legs refused to serve me. Rasputin looked at his killer for a long time. Then he clearly said:
But tomorrow, Felix, you will be hanged...
Yusupov was silent, spellbound. And suddenly, with one sharp movement, Grigory Efimovich jumped to his feet. (“He was scary: foam on his lips, hands frantically beating the air”). He often repeated:
Felix... Felix... Felix... Felix...
He rushed at Yusupov and grabbed him by the throat.
A terrible, dramatic struggle ensued.”
“- Purishkevich, come here quickly! - Yusupov begged.
Felix, Felix... they'll hang you! - Rasputin howled.
“Crawling on his stomach and on his knees, wheezing and growling like a wild animal, Grigory Rasputin quickly climbed the steps. Having pulled himself all together, he made a jump and found himself near the secret door leading to the courtyard...” ...The exit door was closed. And the key to it was in Yusupov’s pocket.
Rasputin pushed it, and it... opened.”
Pikul V.S. Evil spirits: A novel in two books. T.2. - M.: Panorama, 1992, p.309.
“What I saw below might seem like a dream, if it weren’t for the terrible reality: Grigory Rasputin, whom I contemplated half an hour ago with his last breath, waddling from side to side, quickly ran through the loose snow in the courtyard of the palace along the iron grating , going out into the street...” The heart-rending cry of the person running away reached Purishkevich’s ears:
Felix, Felix, tomorrow I’ll tell the queen everything...
To begin with, Purishkevich fired into the sky (just like that, to relieve tension). He overtook Rasputin, hitting his boots in the snow. Noticing the chase, Grishka ran faster. The distance is twenty steps. Stop.
Aim. The battle. Shot. Recoil at the elbow. Past.
What the hell! I don't recognize myself...
Rasputin was already at the gate leading out to the street.
The shot missed again. “Or is he really under a spell?”
Purishkevich painfully bit his left hand to concentrate. The sound of a shot - right in the back. Rasputin raised his hands above himself and stopped, looking at the sky...
Another shot - right in the head. Grigory Rasputin spun like a top in the snow, shaking his head sharply, as if he had climbed out of the water after swimming. And at the same time he sank lower and lower. Finally he fell heavily into the snow, but still continued to jerk his head. Purishkevich, running up to him, hit Grishka in the temple with the toe of his boot. Rasputin scraped the frozen crust, trying to crawl to the gate, and terribly gnashed his teeth. Purishkevich did not leave him until he died.”
Purishkevich and Yusupov went down to the basement, Yusupov's orderlies were dragging the body.
“Purishkevich and the soldiers recoiled in horror when they saw that Rasputin began to move. “Turned face up, he wheezed, and I could clearly see how the pupil of his right, open eye rolled back...” Suddenly, the teeth of the dead man clanked loudly, like a dog ready to rush at the enemy. At the same time, Rasputin began to get up on all fours. A full blow to the temple with a weight ended his attempt at revival. Having flown into a violent frenzy, Yusupov now regularly raised himself above himself and, rhythmically, like a hammer, lowered a rubber weight onto Rasputin’s head.”
“Purishkevich cheered himself up with a glass of cognac and tore the red damask curtains from the windows. With the help of the soldiers, he swaddled Grishka tightly for his last cradle. They tied Rasputin so tightly that his knees lifted up to his chin, then the soldiers tied the sack with the corpse with ropes...”
The corpse of Grigory Rasputin was taken to the Bolshoi Petrovsky Bridge across the Neva and four men threw the corpse into the ice hole. It was less than five o'clock in the morning.
“Grigory Rasputin consumed as many as ten centigrams of potassium cyanide with wine and cakes, which made his throat “lock”; during the reception he was properly treated to bullets; For dessert, they repeatedly served a rubber pear that could knock down a bull. But the heart The horse thief continued to knock under the water - in the ice hole...” Pikul V.S. Evil spirits: A novel in two books. T.2. - M.: Panorama, 1992, p.314.
Grigory Rasputin had enormous influence on the royal family. A group of conspirators consisting of Felix Yusupov, Vladimir Purishkevich, Prince Dmitry Pavlovich and British intelligence captain Rayner decided to kill the “tsar’s friend.”
They shot at Rasputin, they tried to poison him, but all attempts were unsuccessful. The conspirators were still able to carry out their plan: on the night of December 17, 1916, they tied up Rasputin and drowned him in Malaya Nevka near Krestovsky Island.
The death of Rasputin entailed fatal consequences for the royal family. In life The elder attributed all the mistakes of Nicholas II to the influence of Rasputin. When he died, the people began to blame the king. Thus, the death of Rasputin influenced the onset of the February Revolution, the abdication of the throne and the death of the emperor.
There are a lot of versions and details about the murder, one of which is something like this: one of the killers, Felix Yusupov, had homosexual tendencies. He repeatedly tried to get closer to Rasputin, but failed. Rasputin was treated to poisoned wine and pie. When Rasputin began to lose consciousness from the poison starting to take effect, Yusupov first raped him and then shot him four times with a pistol. Rasputin fell to the floor, but was alive. Then Grigory Rasputin was castrated. His severed penis was later found by a servant.
Rasputin's daughter, Matryona kept her father's genitals as a great treasure until her death in 1977. In 2004, the head of the prostate research center, Igor Knyazkin, opened the Erotica Museum named after him in St. Petersburg. Rasputin, where among the museum exhibits there is a jar with Rasputin’s preserved penis.
More about Grigory Rasputin in literature Literature[Latin lit(t)eratura, literally - written] - written works of social significance (for example, fiction, scientific literature, epistolary literature).
More often, literature is understood as artistic literary production (fiction; the equivalent in the 19th century is “belle literature”). In this sense, literature is a phenomenon of art (“the art of words”), aesthetically expressing public consciousness and, in turn, shaping it. :
- Iliodor (Trufanov S.), Holy Devil, M., 1917;
- Kovyl-Bobyl I., The whole truth about Rasputin, P., ;
- Beletsky S.P., Grigory Rasputin. [From notes], P., 1923;
- Paleolog M., Rasputin. Memoirs, M., 1923;
- Vladimir Mitrofanovich Purishkevich, The Murder of Rasputin (From the Diary), M., 1923;
- Semennikov V.P., The Politics of the Romanovs on the Eve of the Revolution, M. - L., 1926;
- The last temporary worker of the last tsar, “Questions of History”, 1964, No. 10, 12, 1965, No. 1, 2;
- Solovyov M.E., How and by whom was Rasputin killed?, “Questions of History”, 1965, No. 3.
- See others