Grigory Rasputin was a Russian peasant who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. His biography developed in an absolutely amazing way: Rasputin discovered in himself the gift of healing, which allowed the "common man" to gain confidence in the royal family of the Romanovs.
Biography of Rasputin
Grigory Efimovich Rasputin was born in 1869 into a simple peasant family, with whom he lived in the village of Pokrovskoye, Tobolsk region. Since childhood, he was very withdrawn, and at the age of 14 he even became terminally ill. At this time, the boy endlessly prayed to the Mother of God. Gregory managed to recover from his illness, which made him a deeply religious person. He began a long pilgrimage, managing to reach Jerusalem itself.
In 1903, Grigory Rasputin arrived in St. Petersburg, where he quickly acquired the status of a folk healer and miracle worker, who knew how to "lift" even seriously ill people to their feet. He met the Tsar's Archbishop Theophanes, who recommended the healer to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. Their only son and heir to the throne, Alexei, was hopelessly ill with hemophilia, and his condition worsened every month. The royal couple invited Rasputin to the palace.
Grigory got along well with the Romanovs and their son Alexei. He spent a lot of time with the boy, constantly praying and performing various religious rituals. Surprisingly, this really made the royal heir feel better. At the same time, Rasputin's influence on the royal family grew. Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna listened to his advice on what policy to pursue in the country.
A conspiracy was formed against the undesirable person of Rasputin, about whom all kinds of rumors had already spread among the people. Its main participants were the tsar's close relative, Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich, Prince Felix Yusupov and State Councilor Vladimir Purishkevich. The killers they hired could not shoot Grigory while he was in the village of Pokrovskoye. Surprisingly, the old man survived after severe wounds.
The second attempt on Rasputin's life was successful, although it was full of surprising facts. On December 30, 1916, the healer was invited to dinner at the Yusupov Palace, where the conspirators were already waiting for him. The victim was fed food poisoned with potassium cyanide, but this had no effect. Then they tried to shoot him. The wounded Rasputin managed to run out into the street, but there he was overtaken and finished off by the killers. The old man's body was thrown into the cold Neva. It is believed that at the same time he was still alive, and the death of Grigory Rasputin did not occur as a result of gunshot wounds, but because of hypothermia.
Personal life of Rasputin
Grigory Efimovich was married to a peasant woman, Praskovya Dubrovina. They had three children - Varvara, Matryona and Dmitry. After Rasputin became close to the royal family, rumors about his vicious atrocities intensified: the elder was accused of seducing many young girls and even relations with Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna herself. There is no evidence for this, however, the popularity of Rasputin in certain women's circles was indeed high.
The royal family was saddened to learn about the death of their "venerable friend", but the investigation was soon terminated: the revolution began, and the monarchy in Russia fell. The hunt for all the relatives of Grigory Rasputin began. Only his daughter Matryona managed to survive, who emigrated to France and later moved to the United States.
