47 Facts About Grigori Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final years of the Russian Empire.

Grigori Rasputin had a religious conversion experience after embarking on a pilgrimage to a monastery in 1897 and has been described as a monk or as a strannik, though he held no official position in the Russian Orthodox Church.

In November 1905, Grigori Rasputin met Nicholas II and his empress consort, Alexandra Feodorovna.

In late 1906, Grigori Rasputin began acting as a faith healer for Nicholas' and Alexandra's only son, Alexei Nikolaevich, who suffered from haemophilia.

Grigori Rasputin was a divisive figure at court, seen by some Russians as a mystic, visionary and prophet, and by others as a religious charlatan.

The extent of Grigori Rasputin's power reached an all-time high in 1915, when Nicholas left Saint Petersburg to oversee the Imperial Russian Army as it was engaged in the First World War.

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born a peasant in the small village of Pokrovskoye, along the Tura River in the Tobolsk Governorate in the Russian Empire.

Historians agree that like most Siberian peasants, including his mother and father, Grigori Rasputin was not formally educated and remained illiterate well into his early adulthood.

In 1897, Grigori Rasputin developed a renewed interest in religion and left Pokrovskoye to go on a pilgrimage.

Grigori Rasputin's reasons are unclear; according to some sources, he left the village to escape punishment for his role in horse theft.

Whatever his reasons, Grigori Rasputin cast off his old life: he was 28 years old, married ten years, with an infant son and another child on the way.

Grigori Rasputin had undertaken earlier, shorter pilgrimages to the Holy Znamensky Monastery at Abalak and to Tobolsk's cathedral, but his visit to the St Nicholas Monastery at Verkhoturye in 1897 transformed him.

Grigori Rasputin returned to Pokrovskoye a changed man, looking disheveled and behaving differently.

Grigori Rasputin became a vegetarian, swore off alcohol, and prayed and sang much more fervently than he had in the past.

Grigori Rasputin spent the years that followed as a strannik, leaving Pokrovskoye for months or even years at a time to wander the country and visit a variety of holy sites.

Smith argues that it is impossible to know whether Grigori Rasputin stayed in Saint Petersburg or returned to Pokrovskoye at some point between his first arrival and 1905.

Regardless, by 1905 Grigori Rasputin had formed friendships with several members of the aristocracy, including the "Black Princesses", Militsa and Anastasia of Montenegro, who had married cousins of Tsar Nicholas II and were instrumental in introducing Grigori Rasputin to the tsar and his family.

Grigori Rasputin first met Nicholas on 1 November 1905, at the Peterhof Palace.

Grigori Rasputin returned to Pokrovskoye shortly after their first meeting and did not return to Saint Petersburg until July 1906.

At some point, Nicholas and Alexandra became convinced that Grigori Rasputin possessed the miraculous power to heal their only son, Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, who suffered from haemophilia.

Historians disagree over when this happened: according to Orlando Figes, Rasputin was first introduced to the tsar and tsarina as a healer who could help their son in November 1905, while Joseph T Fuhrmann has speculated that it was in October 1906 that Rasputin was first asked to pray for the health of Alexei.

Harold Shukman wrote that Grigori Rasputin became "an indispensable member of the royal entourage".

Grigori Rasputin may have been aware of Alexei's condition as early as October 1906, and was summoned by Alexandra to pray for the tsarevich when he had an internal hemorrhage in the spring of 1907.

Alexandra's friend Anna Vyrubova became convinced that Grigori Rasputin had miraculous powers shortly thereafter and became one of his most influential advocates.

Alexandra believed that Grigori Rasputin had performed a miracle, and concluded that he was essential to Alexei's survival.

Some writers and historians, such as Ferro, claim that Grigori Rasputin stopped Alexei's bleeding on other occasions through hypnosis.

One of the girls' governesses, Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, was horrified in 1910 when Grigori Rasputin was permitted access to the nursery when the four girls were in their nightgowns.

Alexandra refused to believe Vishnyakova "and said that everything Grigori Rasputin does is holy".

Grigori Rasputin had released ardent letters written to him by the tsarina and the grand duchesses, which circulated throughout society and fueled the rumors.

Nicholas ordered Grigori Rasputin to leave Saint Petersburg for a time, much to Alexandra's displeasure, and Grigori Rasputin went on a pilgrimage to Palestine.

Grigori Rasputin was buried with an icon signed on its reverse side by the grand duchesses and their mother.

Nicholas granted the request and the name change was speedily processed, suggesting that Grigori Rasputin already had the tsar's favor at that early date.

Opposition to Grigori Rasputin's influence grew within the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In Saint Petersburg, Grigori Rasputin faced opposition from even more prominent critics, including Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin and the Okhrana, the tsar's secret police.

Outside of the royal court, Grigori Rasputin preached that physical contact between him and others purified them; he engaged in drunken revels and extramarital affairs with a wide range of women from prostitutes to high-society ladies.

Betlatskaya sought aid from Theofan, who became convinced that Grigori Rasputin was a danger to the monarchy.

Grigori Rasputin was seriously wounded, and for a time it was not clear if he would survive.

Grigori Rasputin died of three gunshot wounds, one of which was a close-range shot to his forehead.

Grigori Rasputin then asked for some Madeira wine and drank three glasses, but still showed no sign of distress.

Grigori Rasputin took a revolver from Pavlovich, then returned to the basement and told Rasputin that he had "better look at the crucifix and say a prayer", referring to a crucifix in the room, then shot him once in the chest.

Suddenly, Grigori Rasputin leaped up and attacked Yusupov, who freed himself with some effort and fled upstairs.

Grigori Rasputin followed Yusupov into the palace's courtyard, where he was shot by Purishkevich.

Grigori Rasputin's daughter recorded that her father disliked sweet food and would not have eaten the supposedly poisoned cakes.

News of Grigori Rasputin's murder spread quickly, even before his body was found.

Kosorotov's report was lost, but he later stated that Grigori Rasputin's body had shown signs of severe trauma, including three gunshot wounds, a slice wound to his left side and other injuries, many of which Kosorotov felt had been sustained post-mortem.

Grigori Rasputin found no evidence that Rasputin had been poisoned.

Some later accounts claimed that Grigori Rasputin's penis had been severed, but Kosorotov found his genitals intact.