11 Fascinating Facts About Rasputin the Mysterious Mad Monk

Grigory Rasputin, born in 1869 in Pokrovskoye, Siberia, rose from peasant origins to become a trusted advisor to Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra. His early life is largely unknown, often called a "black hole." He married Praskovya Dubrovina in 1887 and had seven children, three of whom survived. After a pilgrimage in 1897, he experienced a religious awakening and joined the Khlyst sect, which believed in sinning to repent. He claimed healing powers, likely using hypnosis, and stabilized the hemophiliac heir Alexei in 1907. Despite terrible manners and hygiene, he seduced noblewomen and called himself "Christ in Miniature." He opposed Russia's entry into World War I, predicting disaster, and his influence grew when Nicholas II left Alexandra in charge. He survived a 1914 stabbing by Chionya Guseva, a supporter of Hieromonk Iliodor. In December 1916, Prince Felix Yusupov, Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich, and Deputy Vladimir Purishkevich attempted to kill him with cyanide and gunshots; he eventually drowned in the Malaya Nevska River. His death preceded the February Revolution and the end of Romanov rule.