HIS 9 - Elective - Heroes and Villains: Rasputin

Rasputin's influence at court, coupled with reports of his corrupt lifestyle and his alleged intimate relationship with the Tsaritsa Alexandra, became a scandal in the Russian government and may have been a factor leading to the fall of the Romanov dynasty in 1917. Contemporary opinions saw Rasputin variously as a saintly holy man, visionary, healer, and prophet, and—on the other side of the coin—as a debauched religious charlatan, or "mad monk." Historians may find truth in all of these descriptions, but there is much uncertainty, for accounts of his life have often been based on dubious memoirs, hearsay, and legend.

The life and death of Grigory Efimovich Rasputin is shrouded in mythology, making him an almost larger than life figure in Russian history. A sexual deviant, mystic healer, political saboteur and renegade monk, the mysterious Rasputin was both reviled and revered during his lifetime, and became a scapegoat for various dissident groups of the time period.
Here, we take a look at five myths and truths about the legendary Siberian holy man.