The early life of Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Yefimovich Novykh, also known as Grigori Rasputin. Then reduced to only “Rasputin”, which was Russian for, “The Debauched One”. Born in the late 1800’s. Historians believe that his birth was somewhere between 1864 and 1872. Born in Siberia.
Building his reputation
The poor, drunken, dirty and unruly man named Rasputin. He used extreme foul language. But there was one mysterious thing about him. People claim that he was able to wield great powers. Many said that he was a healer and also a prophet. During his twenties, Rasputin supposedly became a holy man after a long religious conversation with one of his superiors. He lived off the charities of the people who admired him for his asceticism. It is said that once Rasputin accurately predicted a three month drought.
The Tsar and Tsarina
The Tsar of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II was faced with a problem in his life. His only son, Alexia, the heir to the throne, was diagnosed with hemophilia. The Tsarina, Alexandra, didn’t know what to do. In 1905, Rasputin was called to help. Many people testified that Rasputin had the power to stop the boy’s bleeding and he did. After the first time, Rasputin was called repeatedly to stop the bleeding. He was the answer to the Tsar’s prayers.
The Tsarina took Rasputin in as if he were a relative. This act by the royal family lowered public faith in the family. The public thought that this would look bad for the country. They didn’t want a scoundrel like Rasputin to be too close with the high-positioned Tsar. Even though the public tried very hard to get rid of him, the Tsarina always managed to talk the Tsar into letting Rasputin stay.
The demise
On the night of December 16-17, 1916, during the middle of the night, three conservatives set out to kill Rasputin on behalf of the public. They tried to poison him. That failed. So they decided to try and shoot him. After they shot him several times, he was still alive. He died a few minutes later when he was thrown into the Neva River wrapped in a carpet by the three men. He drowned.
Sources: Encyclopedia Americana (Book #23)
