"""simple man with a big heart and strong spiritual power, who loved Russia, God, and the Tsar."" Maria Rasputin Maria Rasputin (baptized as Matryona Grigorievna Rasputina) (26 March 1898 – 27 September 1977) was the daughter of Grigori Rasputin and his wife Praskovia Fyodorovna Dubrovina. She wrote two memoirs about her father, dealing with Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, the attack by Khionia Guseva and the murder. A third one, ""The Man Behind the Myth"", was published in 1977 in association with Patte Barham. In her three memoirs, the veracity of which has been questioned, she painted an"
"the winter of 1904–5, Rasputin captivated some church and social leaders. He became a society figure, and met the Tsar in November 1905. In late 1906, Rasputin began acting as a healer for the Tsar and his wife Alexandra's son Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia and was Nicholas' only heir (Tsarevitch). At court, he was a divisive figure, seen by some Russians as a mystic, visionary, and prophet, and by others as a religious charlatan. The high point of Rasputin's power was in 1915, when Nicholas II left St Petersburg to oversee Russian armies fighting World War I, increasing both"
"complex of palaces just south of Saint Petersburg. In Tsarskoye Selo, the Grand Duchess grew close to her brother Nicholas and his family, who lived at the Alexander Palace near her own residence. Olga prized her connection to the Tsar's four daughters. From 1906 to 1914, Olga took her nieces to parties and engagements in Saint Petersburg, without their parents, every weekend throughout the winter. She especially took a liking to the youngest of Nicholas's daughters, her god-daughter Anastasia, whom she called ""Shvipsik"" (""little one""). Through her brother and sister-in-law, Olga met Rasputin, a self-styled holy man who purported to"
"come to seriously undermine Romanov rule during the First World War. Rasputin's perceived interference in political matters eventually led to his murder on 30 December 1916. Amongst the conspirators were the nobleman Prince Felix Yusupov, who was married to Nicholas II's niece, Princess Irina of Russia, and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, a first cousin of Nicholas. Newspaper reporter Michael Smith wrote in his book that British Secret Intelligence Bureau head Mansfield Cumming ordered three of his agents in Russia to eliminate Rasputin in December 1916. The outbreak of World War I was a pivotal moment for Russia and Alexandra. The"
"not return to St. Petersburg until July 1906. On his return, Rasputin sent Nicholas a telegram asking to present the tsar with an icon of Simeon of Verkhoturye. He met with Nicholas and Alexandra on July 18 and again in October, when he first met their children. At some point, the royal family became convinced that Rasputin possessed the power to heal Alexei, but historians disagree over when: according to Orlando Figes, Rasputin was first introduced to the Tsar and Tsarina as a healer who could help their son in November 1905, while Joseph Fuhrmann has speculated that it was"
"Felix Yusupov Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston (; – 27 September 1967) was a Russian aristocrat, prince and count from the Yusupov family. He is best known for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin and marrying the niece of Tsar Nicholas II. He was born in the Moika Palace in Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. His father was Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston, the son of Count Felix Nikolaievich Sumarokov-Elston. Zinaida Yusupova, his mother, was the last of the Yusupov line, of Crimean Tatar origin, and very wealthy. For the Yusupov name not to die out,"
"are: Felix Yusupov Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston (; – 27 September 1967) was a Russian aristocrat, prince and count from the Yusupov family. He is best known for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin and marrying the niece of Tsar Nicholas II. He was born in the Moika Palace in Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. His father was Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston, the son of Count Felix Nikolaievich Sumarokov-Elston. Zinaida Yusupova, his mother, was the last of the Yusupov line, of Crimean Tatar origin, and very wealthy. For the Yusupov name not to die"
"Maria, like all her family, doted on the long-awaited heir Tsarevich Alexei, or ""Baby,"" who suffered frequent complications of hemophilia and nearly died several times. Her mother relied on the counsel of Grigori Rasputin, a Russian peasant and wandering ""starets"" or ""holy man"" and credited his prayers with saving the ailing Tsarevich on numerous occasions. Maria and her siblings were also taught to view Rasputin as ""Our Friend"" and to share confidences with him. In the autumn of 1907, Maria's aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia was escorted to the nursery by the Tsar to meet Rasputin. Maria, her"
"St. Nicholas Monastery at Verkhoturye in 1897 was transformative. There, he met and was ""profoundly humbled"" by a ""starets"" (elder) known as Makary. Rasputin may have spent several months at Verkhoturye, and it was perhaps here that he learned to read and write, but he later complained about the monastery itself, claiming that some of the monks engaged in homosexuality and criticizing monastic life as too coercive. He returned to Pokrovskoye a changed man, looking disheveled and behaving differently than he had before. He became a vegetarian, swore off alcohol, and prayed and sang much more fervently than he had"
"a pilgrimage to Palestine. Despite the rumors, the imperial family's association with Rasputin continued until Rasputin was murdered on 17 December 1916. ""Our Friend is so contented with our girlies, says they have gone through heavy 'courses' for their age and their souls have much developed"", Alexandra wrote to Nicholas on 6 December 1916, a few weeks before Rasputin was killed. However, as she grew older, Olga was less inclined to see Rasputin as her friend and was more aware of how his friendship with her parents affected the stability of her country. Olga wrote in her diary the day"
"members of the family. Nicholas's sister Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia was horrified by Tyutcheva's story. She wrote on 15 March 1910 that she couldn't understand: Maria Ivanovna Vishnyakova, another nurse for the royal children, was at first a devotee of Rasputin, but later was disillusioned by him. She claimed that she was raped by Rasputin in the spring of 1910. The Empress refused to believe her and said that everything Rasputin did was holy. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was told that Vishnyakova's claim had been immediately investigated, but ""they caught the young woman in bed with a Cossack"
"were persistent murmurs and snickers behind Rasputin's back. Although some of St Petersburg's top clergy accepted Rasputin as a living prophet, others angrily denounced him as a fraud and a heretic. Stories from back home in Siberia chased him, such as how he conducted weddings for villagers in exchange for sleeping the first night with the bride. In his apartment in St Petersburg, where he lived with his two daughters and two housekeepers, Rasputin was visited by anyone seeking his blessing, a healing or a favour with the tsarina. Women, enchanted by the healer's crude mystique, also came to Rasputin"
"to visit her and telling him how hard it was to see her mother ill. ""But you know because you know everything,"" she wrote. Tyutcheva took her book to other members of the family. Nicholas's sister Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia was horrified by Tyutcheva's story. She wrote in her diary on 15 March 1910 that she could not understand the family's regard for Rasputin as ""almost a saint"" when she viewed him as only a ""khlyst"". Tyutcheva told Grand Duchess Xenia that the ""starets"" visited when Olga and Tatiana were getting ready for bed and sat there talking"
"went on a pilgrimage to Palestine. Despite the rumors, the imperial family's association with Rasputin continued until his murder on December 17, 1916. ""Our Friend is so contented with our girlies, says they have gone through heavy 'courses' for their age and their souls have much developed"", Alexandra wrote to Nicholas on December 6, 1916. In his memoirs, A. A. Mordvinov reported that the four grand duchesses appeared ""cold and visibly terribly upset"" by Rasputin's death, and sat ""huddled up closely together"" on a sofa in one of their bedrooms on the night they received the news. Mordvinov recalled that"
"that Rasputin was ever a member of the sect,"" and rumors that he was a Khlyst appear to have been unfounded. Word of Rasputin's activity and charisma began to spread in Siberia during the early 1900s. Sometime between 1902 and 1904, he travelled to the city of Kazan on the Volga river, where he acquired a reputation as a wise and perceptive ""starets,"" or holy man, who could help people resolve their spiritual crises and anxieties. Despite rumors that Rasputin was having sex with some of his female followers, he won over the father superior of the Seven Lakes Monastery"
"man,"" and credited his prayers with saving the ailing Tsarevich on numerous occasions. Anastasia and her siblings were taught to view Rasputin as ""Our Friend"" and to share confidences with him. In the autumn of 1907, Anastasia's aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia was escorted to the nursery by the Tsar to meet Rasputin. Anastasia, her sisters and brother Alexei were all wearing their long white nightgowns. ""All the children seemed to like him,"" Olga Alexandrovna recalled. ""They were completely at ease with him."" Rasputin's friendship with the imperial children was evident in some of the messages he sent"
"also the four grand duchesses. Rasputin had released ardent letters written to him by the Tsarina and the four grand duchesses. The letters circulated throughout society, fueling the rumors. Pornographic cartoons also circulated that depicted Rasputin having sexual relations with the empress, with her four daughters and Anna Vyrubova nude in the background. Nicholas ordered Rasputin to leave St. Petersburg for a time, much to Alexandra's displeasure, and Rasputin went on a pilgrimage to Palestine. Despite the scandal, the imperial family's association with Rasputin continued until Rasputin was murdered on 17 December 1916. ""Our Friend is so contented with our"
"known within the imperial family as ""Nikolasha"" and ""Nicholas the Tall"", while the Tsar was ""Nicholas the Short"". In his childhood, Nicholas, his parents and siblings made annual visits to the Danish royal palaces of Fredensborg and Bernstorff to visit his grandparents, the king and queen. The visits also served as family reunions, as his mother's siblings would also come from the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece with their respective families. It was there in 1883, that he had a flirtation with one of his English first cousins, Princess Victoria. In 1873, Nicholas also accompanied his parents and younger brother,"
"special favor of the Tsar – that he be permitted to change his surname to Rasputin-Novyi (Rasputin-New). Nicholas granted the request and the name change was speedily processed, suggesting that the Tsar viewed – and treated – Rasputin favorably at that time. Rasputin used his status and power to full effect, accepting bribes and sexual favors from admirers and working diligently to expand his influence. He soon became a controversial figure; he was accused by his enemies of religious heresy and rape, was suspected of exerting undue political influence over the tsar, and was even rumored to be having an"
"the growing public unrest, and of the perception that Nicholas was governed by his German-born wife Alexandra and the self-styled holy man Rasputin. Nicholas and Alexandra refused to listen. In December 1916, Dmitri and four of his friends killed Rasputin. Michael learned of the murder at Brasovo, where he was spending Christmas with his family. On 28 December, according to the French ambassador, there was a failed attempt to assassinate Alexandra; the lone assailant was caught and hanged the next day. The Duma President Mikhail Rodzianko, Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna and British ambassador Buchanan joined calls for Alexandra to be"
"in the small village of Pokrovskoye, along the Tura River in the Tobolsk Governorate (now Tyumen Oblast) in Siberia. According to official records, he was born on and christened the following day. He was named for St. Gregory of Nyssa, whose feast was celebrated on January 10. There are few records of Rasputin's parents. His father, Efim (sometimes spelled Yefim), was a peasant farmer and church elder who had been born in Pokrovskoye in 1842, and married Rasputin's mother, Anna Parshukova, in 1863. Efim also worked as a government courier, ferrying people and goods between Tobolsk and Tyumen The couple"
"of the Virgin Mary, or of St. Simeon of Verkhoturye – while still others suggest that Rasputin's pilgrimage was inspired by his interactions with a young theological student, Melity Zaborovsky. Whatever his reasons, Rasputin's departure was a radical life change: he was twenty-eight, had been married ten years, and had an infant son with another child on the way. According to Douglas Smith, his decision ""could only have been occasioned by some sort of emotional or spiritual crisis."" Rasputin had undertaken earlier, shorter pilgrimages to the Holy Znamensky Monastery at Abalak and to Tobolsk's cathedral, but his visit to the"
"military duties were ill-defined and he was able to spend much idle time in Saint Petersburg retaking his social life with Kschessinska. Empress Alexandra took notice, complaining to Nicholas II. By 1916, Grand Duke Andrei joined other members of his family in political intrigues against the Empress who was in charge of the government in Saint Petersburg while Nicholas II was away at Russia's war military headquarters. In December 1916, the Assassination of Rasputin, in which Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and Prince Felix Yusupov took part, divided the Romanov family further. Grand Duke Andrei joined many of his relatives in"
"to treat Alexei. Their treatments generally failed. Burdened with the knowledge that any fall or cut could actually kill her son, Alexandra turned toward religion for comfort, familiarising herself with all the Orthodox rituals and saints, spending hours daily praying in her private chapel for deliverance. In desperation, Alexandra increasingly turned to mystics and so-called holy men. One of these, Grigori Rasputin, appeared to have a cure for her son. Rasputin's debauched lifestyle led Nicholas at times to distance him from the family. Even after Alexandra was told by the director of the national police that a drunk Rasputin exposed"
"psychological perspicacity. For a time, Bishop Hermogen and Rasputin became allies in the struggle against freethinking and modernism. His rhetoric was so outrageous that local officials suppressed the newspaper of his diocese. In 1909, Rasputin visited Hermogen in Saratov and Iliodor in Tsaritsyn. Within two years the three men became bitter enemies. In December 1911, Hermogenes and Iliodor came into conflict with Rasputin, who chose a different strategy and had almost free access to the Imperial family. Hermogen started rumours that Rasputin had joined the Khlysty, an obscure Christian sect with strong Siberian roots. After having been beaten by Hermogen,"
"Alexandra asks that Rasputin move in with the family and gives him his own chamber in the palace. Rasputin begins to become acquainted with Nicholas’s daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia; worrying Nicholas after he hears rumors of Rasputin’s womanizing and flings with prostitutes. Nicholas soon asks Rasputin to leave the palace. Later, Alexei suffers a severe nosebleed and Alexandra begs for Rasputin to be brought back to heal her son again. Rasputin returns and heals Alexei, converting Nicholas in the process, although Dr. Botkin remains convinced that Rasputin is merely hypnotizing Alexei. Dr. Botkin vents his suspicions to Russian"
"was escorted to the nursery by the Tsar to meet Rasputin. Tatiana and her sisters and brother were all wearing their long white nightgowns. The children appeared to be friendly with Rasputin and comfortable in his company. Rasputin's friendship with the children was also evident in some of the messages he sent to them. In February 1909, Rasputin sent the imperial children a telegram, advising them to ""Love the whole of God's nature, the whole of His creation in particular this earth. The Mother of God was always occupied with flowers and needlework."" Eleven-year-old Tatiana wrote a letter asking Rasputin"
"Princess Milica of Montenegro (1866–1951), daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro (1841–1921). The Grand Duke and Duchess had four children: In 1907, his elder brother, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, married Grand Duchess Militza's sister, Princess Anastasia of Montenegro, known as Stana. The two couples were socially very influential at the Russian Imperial Court in the early 20th century. The Grand Duke joined a cult nick-named ""the black peril"", a group interested in the occult. They are credited with introducing first a charlatan mystic named merely Philippe, and then, with graver consequences, Grigori Rasputin (1869–1916) to the Imperial family. Prince"
"eventually resulted in the monk Gregory Rasputin being introduced to the Imperial Family. Rasputin arrived at St. Petersburg in 1907, won admirers, and was adopted in 1908 by Anna Vyrubova, a close friend of the Tsarina. Marianne's older brother, Alexander Erikovich von Pistohlkors, was married to Alexandra Taneyeva, the sister of the Tsarina's lady in waiting, Anna Vyrubova. Alexander and his wife were thus drawn into Rasputin's circle of supporters, and their conversation at family gatherings strongly affected the opinions of Princess Olga and Grand Duke Paul. According to Burke's Peerage, Marianne herself married three times: firstly in 1908 to"
"Nicholas of Japan Saint Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan, born Ivan Dimitrovich Kasatkin (; – February 16, 1912) was a Russian Orthodox priest, monk, bishop, and saint. He introduced the Eastern Orthodox Church to Japan. The Orthodox cathedral of Tokyo (metropolitan diocese of Japan), Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral, was informally named after him as ""Nikorai-do"", first by the local community, and today nationwide, in remembrance of his work. Nicholas was born in the Smolensk prefecture in the Russian Empire to Dimitry Kasatkin, a Russian Orthodox deacon. His mother died when he was five years old. In 1857, he entered the Theological"
"was spent at Brasovo as a family, where Natalia's daughter was ""thrilled to the core"" to hear that Dimitri had helped murder Rasputin, Tsarina Alexandra's self-styled spiritual mentor. After the February Revolution in 1917, Nicholas abdicated in Michael's favour, but Michael refused to accept the throne until ratified by the will of the people. By naming Michael as his successor, Nicholas effectively reversed the long-standing law that morganatically married dynasts forfeited rights of succession, but his actions were ultimately irrelevant. Power lay with the revolutionaries, not with the Tsar, whether it was Nicholas or Michael. Michael and his family were"
"Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin, who sends men to spy on Rasputin. A woman named Princess Marisa visits Rasputin, asking to be blessed. Rasputin tells her that before one can ask for absolution one must sin, and convinces her to have sex with him. Stolypin’s spies watch this happen. Stolypin approaches Nicholas with his findings, and with news that rumors are circulating throughout Russia regarding Rasputin’s stay at the palace and closeness to the Imperial Family, particularly Alexandra. That night, a drunken Rasputin makes some obscene comments about the Imperial Family and is brought before the Tsar. Nicholas banishes Rasputin from"
"Russia was celebrated with great festivities, during which she was visited by her son, Nicholas II, who came without his wife. Empress Alexandra wrote to the Tsar: “When you see Motherdear, you must rather sharply tell her how pained you are, that she listens to slander and does not stop it, as it makes mischief and others would be delighted, I am sure, to put her against me…” Maria did ask Nicholas II to remove both Rasputin and Alexandra from all political influence, but shortly after, Nicholas and Alexandra broke all contact with the Tsar's family. When Rasputin was murdered,"