The Saintly Sinner
The strange life of Gregory Rasputin
As a paranormal researcher I feel obligated to study as much as I can into the subject. Sometimes I come across things that fascinate me beyond measure and this article will detail one of those such findings. The story of Gregory Rasputin, who in truth is a fascinating and scary individual. I hope you enjoy.
I am a big fan of movies and comic book super heroes so it should come as no surprise to you that I was in attendance the opening night of the popular film "Hell Boy". The film was amazing but my attention strayed often to the film's antagonist, the powerful Rasputin. The name struck a bell with me for some reason. It didn't take me long to remember reading about him in history class my 8th grade year of grade school.
I could not remember that much on Rasputin other then he was involved with the ruling family of Russia at one time. I was curious as to why he would be considered a worthy choice for the bad guy opposite the very interesting Hell Boy character. The researcher in me kicked in full force and I began to look for a reason for that as well as why he was given such power in the film.
It took very little time to dig up a vast amount of information using the internet and my own personal library. While obviously not as powerful as the Hollywood version of himself the real Rasputin was just as dangerous and interesting to say the least. In some ways he was more interesting.
Born Gregory Efimovich Rasputin on January 10th 1869 in the small village of Prokovskoe just off the banks of the Tura River in Siberia, Rasputin had at an early age learned how to get and stay into trouble with the authorities. He developed a knack for wrongful deeds such as drinking, stealing and of course sex.
His reputation for these evils continued to grow. He learned little and cared less than that for the traditional teachings of the Russian Orthodox Faith. He felt he had a much darker calling. He visited the Verkhoturye Monastery and it was there he learned of a faith that better fit his attitude and needs. There he learned of the Skopsty, a rogue sect of the orthodox faith that felt the best way to reach God was through sinning. They felt that sin and the act of sinning made one more like God. This was right up Rasputin's alley, being no stranger to sin.
Being much accustomed to sin Rasputin quickly fell in with this sect. He adopted the title of monk and began to work on his own doctrines and theories and professed them wherever he could find an ear that would listen. He began to refer to himself as a staretz( the highest holy man)
By age 30 he had been to and returned from the holy land. Along his journeys a new title came with him, Saint Sinner. That title would stick with him for the duration of his strange life. While in Kazan he managed to make an impact on the local clergy, an event that would lead him to St. Petersberg, the capitol of Russia. It was there that he began to catch the eyes of various religious leaders. The year was 1902 and the Russian clergy were taken back by the fascinating stories told by this monk. e told of his religious revelations and the trips he had taken. Before long Rasputin was a part of the religious hierarchy of Russia.
At the exact same time the Russian Tsar, Alexander III, known for his huge size and healthy stature was nearing the end of his life, despite the fact he was not even 50 years old. That would be an event that would draw Rasputin closer to the ruling family of Russia, the Romanovs.
His death would mean his son Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich would step up and take the throne. The problem here was simple, the former ruler had not allowed his son to participate much with the political rule of Russia and this made Nicholas very unprepared for the task ahead of him. He found himself praying for God to send him an angel, needless did he know a devil would arrive instead.
He was not yet 26 when he took control over the throne once occupied by his father. He did the best he could but was plagued by one bad decision after the next and so fourth. He angered his mother by marrying the princess Alix of Hesse (Alexandria). This would have enraged his father and was the starting link of a chain that would eventually fall apart and take with it the government of Russia, and unveil the face of Rasputin hiding behind the scene.
The new ruler and his wife would give birth to several daughters and the fear that no heir would be had set deeply in them and caused much aggravation. After three daughters they finally gave birth to a son. Alexis would be his name.
Finally they had their heir but this blessing would come with a curse. Young Alexis suffered from hemophilia, or what we commonly refer to as free bleeding. The slightest cut would risk his death. This was hard on his parents who were already unprepared for the job they had. The need for a miracle was at hand and they did not know it at the moment but one was on it's way.
Doctors would tell them the condition would only worsen, increasing the fear that they may lose the son they worked so hard to get. Rasputin through his circle of friends and acquaintances would come to be introduced to the royal family after returning from a two year absence of St. Petersberg. He returned with an attitude that would start of well, but he could not curb his appetite for sins of the flesh and quickly returned to his old ways.
After being introduced to the princess Rasputin quickly developed the relationship that would turn into a melting pot of rumors and heartaches. Despite these rumors the royal family found comfort in his words and trusted Rasputin as if he were family.
How he did it remains a mystery but Rasputin managed to stop the deadly disease that plagued the hair to the Russian throne. This only served to increase the relationship he had with Alexandria and increase the rumors that had already began to get notice of members of the imperial family. As Rasputin's popularity rose so did the number of his enemies. The people were not pleased with a man of Rasputin's nature being so close to the royal family and the fact that they had never made Alexis' condition or it's curing known only fueled the intense hatred brewing toward Rasputin.
The rumors continued to fly, and of the people spreading them none did a better job than Rasputin himself. He would get drunk at various parties and proclaim his sexual involvement with Alexandria and the use of her daughters has his sexual playthings. He made claims that they served well to subside his unquenchable thirst for sex. That was not were the rumors ended. He would build on his ego by making the claim that he had the tsar himself under his heel (little did people realize how true that was).
The secret police heard these rumors and Rasputin was taken to the tsar. Alexandria defended the monk to no end, and it was clear the control over Alexs' disease had kept him in Alexandria's good graces but Nicholas was angered with these claims and Rasputin was sent back to the provinces. It was not long until Alexis suffered a bleeding crisis and nearly died. Rasputin's returned was destined to be. this return made him closer to Alexandria and she now saw him as his closest confidant.
To make a long story short, Russia found itself in impending war. It was quickly made known that Nicholas had been leaving the ruling aspect of the Russian government to his wife Alexandria and that quickly became a problem when it was realized that Rasputin was so close to her now that he could easily sway her. At one time Rasputin had offered to come and pray with Russian soldiers and the Tsar Nicholas replied "Yes, do come, I'll hang you!". Now Rasputin was aware that he was a target of the imperial family. Some felt the war was his doing and that he was the reason it raged on.
Russia collapsed in part due to the rule of Alexandria and Nicholas who were unprepared for war. Many felt Rasputin had set himself up to become the new lord of Russia and a lot of people felt he had already accomplished just that. This angered the imperial family who took serious notice of his involvement. As the Russian government began to fall members were fired and quickly replaced with followers of Rasputin.
In 1916 it was decided that an end to this tyranny was needed. A trap was set up by several members of the imperial family at Youssoupov Palace. Rasputin fell rather easily into the trap and arrived willingly. It would be his last evening as a living, breathing, member of this world. He was drugged, poisoned, beaten and shot but still his life was intact. In fact he did not seem at all bothered by these injuries that would have killed any man. Finally he was wrapped in a carpet and carried to the Moika Canal on the Neva River. There he was dropped into the icy waters were he drowned. Some accounts say they could still see his living eyes under the ice.
On December 19th the corpse was located. Rage set in Nicholas and Alexandria who realized that there son would no longer benefit from the healing power of Rasputin and they sought to punish the killers. Ironically three months after his Rasputin's untimely death Nicholas lost the throne, several members of the imperial family were imprisoned, and almost 20 cousins of the Romanov family were arrested. About 20 members of the Romanov family were slaughtered by Bolshevik firing squads.
Did Rasputin have amazing powers that allowed him to keep a deadly disease at bay and brainwash a ruling family to gain control over the ruling body of Russia? Was he really unkillible? These things remain unknown to this day and probably always will. Some books state that the body turned up missing and years later the mad monk was spotted alongside Adolf Hitler. While this is speculation knowing what we now know of Rasputin it does not seem so far fetched. Speculation continues on his involvement with the fall of Russia and with other acts he supposedly performed. Regardless Gregory Rasputin is an amazing figure in history and a man of mystery all in one.