Grigori Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin was born in 1869 in Pokrovskoye, a village in Siberia, to a peasant family. He had a religious conversion experience at age 18, and became a wanderer and a pilgrim, visiting various monasteries and holy sites. He claimed to have mystical visions and healing abilities, and gained a reputation as a holy man and a prophet. He also practiced a form of sexual mysticism, believing that sinning and repenting brought one closer to God. He arrived in Saint Petersburg in 1903, where he attracted the attention of some religious and social leaders. He was introduced to the imperial family in 1905, and soon became a trusted friend and adviser of Nicholas II and Alexandra, who were impressed by his charisma and his apparent ability to stop the bleeding of their son Alexei, who had hemophilia. Rasputin had a great influence on the decisions of the royal couple, especially on matters of religion, education, and foreign policy. He also had many enemies and critics, who accused him of being a charlatan, a spy, a debauchee, and a power-hungry manipulator. He was involved in several scandals and controversies, and survived several assassination attempts. He was finally killed in 1916 by a group of noblemen led by Prince Felix Yusupov, who lured him to his palace and poisoned, shot, stabbed, and drowned him. His death was seen by some as a sign of the impending doom of the Russian Empire and the Romanov dynasty, which collapsed a few months later in the February Revolution of 1917. Rasputin remains a fascinating and enigmatic figure in Russian history and culture.