I shall do my best. Such controversial figures in History usually have at least two different versions about them.
Grigory Efimovich Rasputin, according to the books and documentaries that I have seen, was born a peasant, with very little illustration. He managed to rise to be a monk, with great influence upon others, and eventually he went to the imperial court. He had a great influence on the czarina, according to some people, because somehow he could stop the czarevitz's bleeding ( the prince was hemophiliac ) and the czarina thought that he was a holy man sent by God to help her.
The nobility, however, resented his influence and eventually decided to eliminate him. They set up a trap for Rasputin and ( there are several versions ) information is not abundant nor clear here. It seems that they poisoned Rasputin, but the poison did not affect him, then they shot him several times and threw him to the river, but it looks like he was still alive, because water was found in his lungs, meaning that he drowned.
The Russian people resented the assasination because they saw in Rasputin as one of them who had risen to the highest levels, and this was one of the factors that precipitated the revolution of October 1917.
Rasputin was frequently described as a power hungry man who wanted to control the highest circles. According to several writers of the time, he said that he wanted to be the one who named the ministers and throw them away whenever he wished. He said that he was very ignorant to be a minister but that he would be more
2006-12-23 06:07:18
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answer #1
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answered by Dios es amor 6
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Lily has the first half of her answer correct. Last half wrong. The tzar's son was a hemopheliac and Rasputin apparently was able to stop his bleeding. (He was an orthodox priest from Siberia). He is depicted as being very tall, and having a long ragged beard, piercing eyes, etc.
The tzar, and especially his wife, became extemely dpendent on Rasputin, and this became one of the many reasons that added up for the Russian revolution, because people hated Rasputin's influence on the tzar.
Several of the nobility plooted to murder Rasputin. They invited him to a party (he was a great drinker). They gave him a drink poioned enough to kill an ox. Then they gave him some cake with as much poison in it. Then they shot him, and stuck a knife in him. He was very hard to kill, the story goes. When he was finally apparently dead, they wrapped him up, tied with rope, and threw him into the river. The story goes on to say that the sack and rope were eventually discovered. How much of this is true we don't know for sure. We do know he was murdered as a result of a plot by some nobles.
2006-12-23 04:13:23
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answer #2
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answered by Mr Ed 7
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I'd recommend Robert K. Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" for a fairly in-depth portrait of Rasputin.
First of all, he was married and a notorious philanderer ("Rasputin" means "debauched," a name he retained after he became a starets [holy man], supposedly because of his humility). He eventually became a wandering holy man (there was a tradition of such in the Russian Orthodox Church), but continued his fleshly escapades.
He was introduced to Russian society and became the rage--eventually he was presented to Czar Nicholas II and his wife, the Czarina Alexandra. Alexandra was fooled by Rasputin's veneer of sanctity, and insisted that the tales of his sexual adventuring were just the sort of character assassination from which all saints suffered. The Czarina was such a partisan (because he was able to stop the Czarevich Alexei's bleeding from hemophilia, by a form of hypnosis, it's been theorized) of Rasputin that it was whispered that they were lovers.
It finally came about that Rasputin was dismissed from the Court, but before he left he made a final prediction to the Czar: that was, if he (Rasputin) died at the hands of a commoner, all would be well for the Romanovs, but if royalty or nobility brought about his death, it would be the end of the dynasty.
The end of his life has been excellently reported by other people who've answered your question; I just wanted to give you a somewhat larger picture.
2006-12-23 08:36:38
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answer #3
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answered by Chrispy 7
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Just as an addendum to the above answer (which is correct), they say that when they discovered his body in the river and performed an autopsy, they found water in his lungs. This means that despite all the poison and the knife wound, Rasputin was still alive when they tossed him in the river and he died by drowning.
2006-12-23 05:02:03
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answer #4
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answered by Jessica 1
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rasputin befriended the czars family when the czars son was sick[he was a hemophiliac] he supposedly was a very strange man who then turned against the czar and his family which led to the families execution
2006-12-23 03:56:05
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answer #5
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answered by lily 4
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St Petersburg is beautiful. I would defintely recommend Hermitage for incredible art, and Peterhof for great architecture and gardens. You should also not miss the Church of the Spilt Blood. Thanks
2016-05-23 01:49:30
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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