The history of Russia knows many mysterious personalities, but, perhaps, no one else aroused such great interest as Grigory Rasputin.
Some say that he was a charlatan and a swindler who enjoyed the favor of the royal family, others that he was an outstanding medium who knew how to predict the future, and a healer who could cure incurable diseases. Everything that modern historians know about him is based not on documentary information, but on eyewitness accounts.
In 1905, Rasputin arrived in the capital of the Russian Empire, and in 1907 he was invited to the imperial court - just in the midst of one of the Tsarevich's bouts of illness. The fact is that the imperial family hid the heir's hemophilia, fearing public unrest.
The entire subsequent life of Rasputin in St. Petersburg was inextricably linked with the treatment of the tsarevich. However, it was not limited to this. Rasputin acquired many acquaintances in the upper strata of St. Petersburg society. When he became close to the imperial family, the capital's elite themselves strove to be introduced to the Siberian medicine man, who was called “Grishka Rasputin” behind his back. Nicholas I did not welcome Rasputin's frequent appearances at the palace. Moreover, soon in St. Petersburg rumors began to circulate about the extremely indecent behavior of Rasputin …
Edward Radzinsky