Rasputin: The Untold Story
How a Siberian peasant with a soul-piercing gaze became the most powerful person in Russia — and brought down an empire.
From Peasant to Power
How did a Siberian peasant become the most powerful person in Russia? Gregory Rasputin was a simple farmer who became a notorious mystic. He had a soul-piercing gaze that mesmerized everyone around him and a reputation that preceded him everywhere. He was bold in his sins and his spirituality — a recovering pervert who struggled openly with his lust for the flesh while chasing the religious ecstasy he felt in his youth, first through prayer and later through alcohol and sex.
So how could a guy like this rise to the inner circle of the Tsarist government? Rasputin insinuated himself into the hearts of the royals by doing one thing: he managed, somehow, to heal the Tsar's son who suffered from hemophilia, a rare inherited bleeding disorder. After he pulled that off, the royals didn't dare let him go. They were worried the boy would get sick again and they would need Rasputin.
Scandal After Scandal
From that foothold, Rasputin orchestrated scandal after scandal. With each one, he grew more influential — almost untouchable. At the same time, he was splitting the Russian Orthodox Church into two camps and undermining the very regime that protected him.
Then came the war. Nicholas II decided to personally lead the Russian army to boost morale after heavy casualties in World War I. To do that, he had to delegate the management of the state to his wife — who just happened to be Rasputin's biggest fan. It was a disaster. All of a sudden, Rasputin was the third most powerful man in all of Russia.
"According to legend, Rasputin was at a party and people kept coming up to him wondering: 'Are you really the notorious Rasputin?' Well, he proved it by pulling down his pants."
📺 Video Review
The Hardest Man to Kill
Rasputin was a hard guy to defeat. He survived an assassination attempt by a female assailant who stabbed him — the book speculates this was why he drank so heavily during the war, to numb the pain from that assault. What eventually got to him was a conspiracy, and they had to go to extraordinary lengths to get rid of him.
First, they poisoned him with enough cyanide to kill a dozen men. Didn't work. Then they shot him, but that didn't fully do it either. Then they just had to beat him to a pulp. This story is so insane that you doubt it actually happened — and it's not even that long ago. Rasputin died in 1916.
When Rasputin was dead, the Tsarist regime didn't stand much longer either. The book tells the stories of both collapses.
💡 Key Takeaway
For the mission of understanding human nature, this book is quite relevant. It tells the story of how a simple person — through personality, charisma, and a bit of hocus pocus — could penetrate all the way into the heart and power of a great nation. It's a fascinating case study in influence, manipulation, and the fragility of institutions.
⚖️ Verdict
Rasputin: The Untold Story is a good book. It's a pretty thin one, so it's easy to take on if this guy sounds like an interesting character. The story of Rasputin is a wild ride through Russian history at its most dramatic — and it pairs perfectly with The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn, which picks up right where this one leaves off. Recommended, but not mandatory reading unless the subject really grabs you.