Grigori Yefimovich Rapustin - Essay Example

? Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin 19 April Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was one of the most controversial selfdeclared saint or holy man of modern history. He lived in Russia during the period from 1869 to 1916. “Rasputin was born in the Tyumen district of Siberia, far away from the glittering salons in the Imperial Capital of St. Petersburg”2. Even after hundreds of years from his death, the controversies surrounding him still remain unanswered. Although he was a self declared saint, his teachings were not the same as the teachings of other normal saints or the teachings of the religions. He taught his disciples that sex, alcoholism, bribery, violence or all kinds of sins are part of human life and these things are necessary to get salvation. He was succeeded in attracting many people with his magical powers, appearance and communication abilities. He was often referred as the mad monk in history because of his crazy life styles and teachings. He was able to establish deep relationship with the Imperial family in general and with Queen Alexandra Feodorovna and her son, in particular. These relationships helped him to become a prominent figure in the even in the imperial court. Some people believe that he was responsible for the downfall of the Romonov Russian Imperial family whereas others argue that he was simply a scapegoat. This paper analyses Rasputin’s personal life and teachings in general and his influence in the down fall and later the overthrow of the Romonov Russian Imperial family in particular. Rasputin’s personal life and teachings Rasputin’s education was limited and he struggled even for reading and writing. Like most of the modern self declared saints, Rasputin also realised that it is easy to influence the public with the help of magical powers even without formal education. He has realised that most of the people around him were superstitious and exploitation of such superstitious public is easy. “Having undergone a form of religious conversion while aged 18, Rasputin embraced the Khlysty sect.  Happily for Rasputin the sect preached the notion that the closest relationship to God could best be achieved while exhausted from prolonged sexual engagements”3 Rasputin’s personal life was not suitable for the traditional beliefs about the life styles of a monk or saint. His teachings were entirely different from the teachings of traditional saints. He argued that sins are part of human life and it is necessary for getting salvation. In his opinion, “sin is an inescapable part of the human condition, and the responsibility of a believer is to be keenly aware of his sins, and willing to confess them, thereby attaining humility”4. He established strong relationships with people in the upper class society and engaged in all malicious activities. He stayed with prostitutes and had no hesitation in getting addicted to alcohol. “He shortly afterwards hit upon the satisfying discovery that sexual contact with his own body imbued a healing effect upon women”5. Influence of Rasputin in the downfall of the Romonov Russian Imperial family Even though historians have different opinions about the role played by Rasputin in the downfall of the Romonov Russian Imperial family which led to the formation of Soviet Union, nobody has any doubt about his deep relationship with the Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, the Tsarina Alexandra and their only son, the Tsarevich Alexei. Rasputin was able to establish strong relationship with the ruling family because of Alexei’s hemophilia disease. Tsar and Tsarina had only one son and they were worried about their son’s hemophilia disease. They tried to treat their son using all the available medical facilities of that time; however their son’s pain and agony increased day by day. Rasputin used this opportunity well and convinced Tsar and Tsarina that he has holy power and he can easily get their son’s pain relieved. He was regarded as the last resort of the desperate Tsar and Tsarina. They had tried everywhere to find a cure for their son and in 1905 asked the charismatic peasant healer for help. He was said to possess the ability to heal through prayer, and he was indeed able to give the boy some relief. Sceptics have claimed that he did so by hypnosis, though during a particularly grave crisis, Rasputin, from his home in Siberia, apparently eased the suffering of the tsarevitch (in Saint Petersburg) through prayer6 Even though the methods used by Rasputin for treating Alexei still remain as a mystery, he was succeeded in relieving the pains of Alexei up to certain extent which helped him to strengthen his relationships with the Tsar family. Tsar family started to witness him as a holy man and asked his opinions even in the administrative matters. This helped Rasputin to control the Russian administration at that time up to certain extent. Tsarina had strong influence upon her husband Tsar and she advised Tsar to consider the opinions of Rasputin seriously. The relationships with Russian public and the Tsar administration was not so good during that period and Tsar calculated that he could have overcome the resistance of the public by utilizing the holy power of Rasputin. Rasputin’s crazy life styles were unacceptable to Tsar. Traditionally, Russian Orthodox Church had strong influence over the Tsar family. Tsar always respected the opinions of the Church and it was difficult for him to accept the teachings and life styles of Rasputin. Tsarina on the other hand had deep faith in the abilities of Rasputin. Moreover, she had strong influence upon her husband Tsar which prevented Tsar from taking any serious actions against Rasputin even though he received many complaints about the activities of Rasputin from the public. Even though Tsar dismissed Rasputin from the court once, he forced to recall Rasputin immediately because of the influence of his wife. Many people believe that Rasputin had sexual relationships with Tsarina which allowed him to put a strong control over even Tsar. It is believed that Tsar became a toy king and the actual administrative matters were controlled by Tsarina with the help of Rasputin. Moreover, Tsar was forced to concentrate more military matters because of the increased threats from Germans and the evolution of First World War. Tsar forced to leave the headquarters many times for military matters and the opportunity was better utilized by Rasputin and Tsarina to execute their secret agendas. Rasputin advised Tsarina on all matters even though he knows nothing about it. “Alexandra sought his opinion on a variety of policy matters.  Rasputin, generally ready to offer advice, occasionally offered advice on Russian military strategy, although such advice never proved beneficial”7. The increasing influence of Rasputin in administration resulted in the creation of unpopular social policies and the people started to protest against the administration. Rasputin’s hands were visible even in the appointments and dismissals made in the Churches and public bodies. Rasputin's disgraceful behaviour, the czarina's attempts to shield him, and a series of scandals involving his appointees helped to undermine the imperial government. It was suspected at the time that Rasputin and the czarina were working for a separate peace with Germany. In Dec., 1916, a group of right-wing patriots, including Prince Felix Yussupov and the czar's cousin, Grand Duke Dmitri, conspired to assassinate Rasputin. A generous dose of poison failed to produce any visible effect, and the terrified conspirators riddled him with bullets and threw his body into the frozen Neva River. Later buried, Rasputin's corpse was exhumed and burned by the mob during the February Revolution of 19178 Rasputin’s death was also controversial like his life. He was able to resist the cyanide poison effect and also the bullet attack. The autopsy of his dead body revealed that he was alive when he was thrown into the frozen Neva River. Drowning caused his death rather than the cyanide poison or the bullets. Even after the death of Rasputin, the controversies surrounding his life and activities still remain active. Many people believe that Rasputin was actually a scapegoat rather than a culprit. They are of the opinion that all the colourful stories about Rasputin were fabricated ones and the general hesitance of people in accepting the superior power of Rasputin like saints, forced them to make stories to defame Rasputin. Russians calculated that the death of Rasputin will decrease the influence of Tsarina over Tsar and Tsar would be able to rectify his mistakes. However, the above assumption was totally wrong as tsar lost his appetite for governance and tsarina continued to rule Russia as she liked. “But labor unrest and her unpopular rule were setting the stage for a revolution. Less than two years later, Nicholas had lost his throne, and the Imperial family were imprisoned and ultimately murdered at the hands of the revolutionary Bolsheviks”9 Conclusions The life and death of Rasputin remains a controversial one and it will continue in that manner forever. As per the evidences available, it can be concluded that Rasputin was a fraud who cheated the public and even the Royal family with his magical powers. He was succeeded in relieving the pain of Tsar’s son which helped him to interfere in administrative matters of Russia. He was an illiterate and still he was able to control the administrative matters of Russia with the help of Tsarina. His deep relationships with Tsarina and Tsarina’s over influence upon Tsar helped him to rule Russia from behind the curtains. His crazy life styles and administrative policies were intolerable to the public which finally resulted in his death. The death of Rasputin never allowed Russians to breathe the air of freedom as Tsarina continued her unpopular activities. The revolutionary Bolsheviks used this opportunity and seized the power with the help of a revolution. Bibliography 1. Atchison Bob. Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. Available at: http://www.alexanderpalace.com/2006rasputin/index.html [Accessed on 19 April 2011] 2. Duffey, Michael. 2009. Who’s Who-Gregory Rasputin. Available at: http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/rasputin.htm [Accessed on 19 April 2011] 3. Grigory Efimovich Rasputin. Available at: http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Grigory_Efimovich_Rasputin/ [Accessed on 19 April 2011] 4. Rasputin, Grigori Yefimovich. 2011. Available at: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0841181.html [Accessed on 19 April 2011] 5. Willis Bill. Rasputin. Available at: http://www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/rasputin/page.html [Accessed on 19 April 2011] Read More