Little news can excite people in a hundred years. Read events are able to remain in the memory for so long. A century for human life is a long period, it is three or even four generations, and it is rare that something can remain a mystery for such a long time. On the night of December 17, 1916 (according to the new style, then the number was 30) Rasputin was killed. To this day, no historian can reliably claim that the secret of his death has been fully disclosed. There are many versions, but each of them, in one way or another, contradicts objective facts, evidence, testimony of witnesses and clarified circumstances. Against this background, in different years, new hypotheses appeared, which were no less, but no more, than the previous ones. And they also suffer from contradictions.
What was Rasputin like?
Almost all modern researchers agree that Grigory Rasputin was an extremely outstanding person. Only supporters of the theory, rooted and imposed in the Soviet years, created by propagandists and based on the postulate of the general decay of the Russian monarchy, its incapacity and low moral and mental personal qualities of members of the royal family, can object to them. Many historians do not agree with this position, especially since the events of recent decades clearly demonstrate the possibility of manipulating the mass consciousness, which leads to the overthrow of by no means weak regimes. It is impossible objectively to imagine that an ordinary illiterate peasant from an obscure village suddenly somehow miraculously found himself in high society, being at the same time a gray mediocrity. If someone doubts Rasputin's special abilities,You can try to do something similar now, in the age of electronic digital communications, when there are much more opportunities to declare yourself than a hundred years ago.
Bad and good glory
Rumors on the eve of the revolution spread monstrous rumors about the love affair of the empress with a strange prophet-prophet who supposedly settled in the palace, settled down perfectly there, and dictated to the tsar what and how to do. The sources of these "reliable information" are now completely clear, but this opinion, nevertheless, is still held by a certain part of the population. Modern political strategists call such information stuffing "elements of hybrid war". Rasputin was credited with connections not only with the tsarina, but also with other secular ladies, and today it is not possible to determine what was in reality and what was fiction. But the ability of the "elder" (he did not live up to the age of 48) to stop the bleeding of Tsarevich Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia, apparently took place. There were many peoplewho spoke very well of Grigory Efimovich. His fulfilled prophecies are also known. Premier Stolypin called him "a reptile". In general, everything is very difficult.
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Reflection in art
Few people know that the preface, usual for modern cinema, about the randomness of any coincidence of the plot with real events appeared after Prince Yusupov, one of the alleged murderers of Rasputin, was able to bring the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio to justice for libel, defaming the good name his spouse (and his own, of course). According to the script, she was allegedly in love with the elder. This negligence in 1932 cost MGM £ 25 thousand, which, given the then purchasing power of the British currency, was a fortune.
Many films about Rasputin were shot, both abroad, in the USSR, and in Russia after 1991. The interpretations of the images were different. Released in 1982, the film "Agony" about the events of the end of 1916, with all its artistic merit and the excellent acting performance of Alexei Petrenko, repeated the official version. The role of Rasputin was played very well by Gerard Depardieu. The last successful work was the series "Grigory R", in which Vladimir Mashkov played. However, all these works of art, of course, cannot be perceived as a source of historical knowledge.
The most famous version
The source of information, taken on trust by most historians, is mainly the book The End of Rasputin, written in 1927, whose author, Prince Yusupov, openly calls himself one of the murderers. He expounds the same version in somewhat more detail in the Memoirs (1953). He described the conspiracy process, the plan, how he, Purishkevich and the Grand Duke Dmitry lured the "corrupted old man" to the palace, where they treated him to poisoned cakes and Madeira. Yusupov even remembered which record was played on the gramophone (American, Yankee Doodle), and many other details. All this is known to everyone who was interested in the topic or watched at least one film about Rasputin. The scene with a terrible "resurrection", finishing off and drowning turned out to be very bright. However, some minor discrepancies at first glance suggestthat Yusupov did not tell the whole truth. And it is quite possible that he completely hid it.
Mythic vitality
It is believed that the assassin conspirators made a mistake by combining potassium cyanide with the sugar found in sweet wine and pastries. To assess this assumption, it would be superfluous to take into account the quality of pre-revolutionary education, even a gymnasium, and Yusupov and Purishkevich studied a little longer and, obviously, went through chemistry. According to the Memoirs, the victim felt unwell, followed by a shot and a blow to the temple with a brush, but Rasputin still managed to get up. Then Purishkevich, who had already run out (!) Into the yard, was finished off by Purishkevich, but even after that, he allegedly still showed signs of life until he was drowned in the Neva. All this fits into the theory of the devil's obsession with the "elder", but in no way corresponds to the materialistic views propagated in the USSR. A person could not choke in the river with a shot in the back of the head. And this was not - the autopsy did not find water in the lungs.
What lured you?
Yusupov claims that Rasputin's "bait" was his own wife Irina, who allegedly liked the "elder", but in fact she was in Crimea at that time. It is hard to believe that the tsarist favorite, who for 11 years has comprehended all the customs and customs of the highest Petrograd society, “bought” this trick. After all, the prince's family was very influential, owned assets valued at current prices in the billions. And for such a husband to become pimp, showing a willingness to "share" his wife (the emperor's niece, by the way)? Rasputin, of course, was a simple man, but not that simple. This version could be beneficial to Yusupov only in order to hide the truth. Meanwhile, the "elder" was trying to dissuade the Minister of Internal Affairs Protopopov from a risky night visit, apparently suspecting or knowing for certain about the impending murder. But Rasputin went anyway. And if he hardly believed in the upcoming amorous adventure, then his goal was not to listen to the gramophone to Madeira with cakes.
Was there an Englishman?
Everyone now knows Rasputin's anti-war sentiments and his conviction in the need to conclude a separate peace with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Britain's disinterest in such a development of events and the British awareness of the strong influence of the "elder" on the monarch became the basis for yet another version, which consisted in the involvement of the London special services in the physical elimination of a dangerous shadow politician. According to some reports, agent Oswald Rainer was present in Petrograd. The bullets extracted from Rasputin's body may have been fired from an English revolver. The emperor was interested in the possibility of finding the "British trace". However, this version has no evidence either.
What shirt was Rasputin wearing?
Interestingly, the participants in the murder are confused about such a simple issue as the clothing of their victim. Rasputin wore peasant-style shirts outside, but very beautiful, with embroidery. So, according to Yusupov, the “old man” died in white clothes with cornflowers, Purishkevich called it cream with silk embroidery, the protocol on the examination of the corpse, signed by the prosecutor Zavadsky, indicated blue with golden ears. If someone said that he simply does not remember, it would be more like the truth - you can forget in excitement, but they described in detail the shirt of the person they killed.
Murder site
There were also suggestions that Rasputin was killed not in Yusupov's palace on the Moika, but somewhere else. In the future, various people hinted about their involvement in the murder, there were at least five of them, including ex-Interior Minister Alexei Khvostov and film ballerina Vera Karalli. The participation of Dr. Lazovert was, as it were, known earlier, but later sources contain the name of Sukhotin, an army lieutenant, who allegedly fired the fatal shot. According to one of the versions, Rasputin, who was killed by him, was brought to Yusupov's mansion, with whom the officer would meet shortly before the incident, and he decided to distribute the blame among high-ranking officials so that he would avoid harsh punishment. They did not face severe punishment for murder.
What happened?
Probably no one will know the truth now. It remains only to reasonably assume that the most common version of the murder with poison, cakes, flail and shooting is not entirely true. Rasputin did not eat anything sweet, according to the testimonies of contemporaries familiar with him, believing that it was harmful to health.
Painter Gene
