Many years ago I read a book by a long-dead Russian price-Prince Geory Youssipov, who was the man who plotted the murder of Grigory Rasputin. As we all know, Rasputin was the favorite of the royal family of Russia, and because of his influence over the Tsar Nicholas, he (Rasputin) was widely hated by the Russian nobility.
Youssipov and three friends lured Rasputin to a cellar room, where he was fed poisoned cakes, and wine that had been poisoned by potassium cyanide. When Rsputin appeared to be dead, the conspirators decided to wrap the body in a sheet, and dump it in the Neva River. Instead, Rasputin woke up, and attempted to grapple with Youssipov. He was then shot, but kept going. Youssipove reported that he (Rasputin) was still alive, even as they pushed his body into the river.
Was this story true? I’ve never been able to find anything more about the fate of Rasputin.
I was told (again years ago) that Rasputin made a prophecy about his own death-he said that if he were murdered, Russia would be plunged into revolution, and the monarchy would fall.
Anybody know more-was Youssipov lying?
Ah, it was an early example of a nineteen twen…
nah…never mind.
A documentary I saw on either A&E or The History Channel indicated that when the corpse was found, it was in some kind of state or position that indicated Rasputin had in fact died while in the river, rather than prior to being dumped in… as if he had been trying to swim or get out.
That’s not the worst cite in GQ today, but it’s far from being the best. Sorry I don’t remember the name of the show.
Rasputin was not poisoned. There is no possible way he, or anyone else, could survive the type and dose of poison (95 times the lethal dose) that it is claimed he was given. Furthermore, a description of his corpse revealed none of the obvious signs of poisoning that would have been present. Rumour has it that the doctor that was supposed to provide the poison chickened out, instead substituting a placebo.
For more information, see “Forensics: True Crime Scene Investigations” (pages 146-148) by Dr. Zakaria Erzinclioglu, ISBN# 0-7607-4076-3.
If I remember my college history, they found water in his lungs when they pulled him from the river, so apparently he drowned.
Rasputin II: Die Hard with a Vengeance
He was killed by a 1920’s-style death ray.
No. Sorry. He was probably indeed drowned after several tries to do him in. My encyclopedia is old and haggard, but it says (emphasis mine):
So we apparantly have it on the word of the only surviving witnesses to the event. I suspect it’s medically possible - people survive the darndest thing sometimes. Whether his murderers might’ve exaggerated a little for their own reasons is something we’ll never know.
Rasputin III: Die Rasputin Die!
Just wait for the movie. From Hollywood Stock Exchange:
“Rasputin is based on the life of the insane Russian monk. Before the Russian revolution, Rasputin dominated the court of the Russian czar. He was assassinated shortly after his rise to power, which was partly due to his remarkable influence and powers of healing and hypnotism. Paul Verhoeven will direct the historical adventure film written by Roselyne Bosche.”
Love 'em or hate 'em, Verhoeven will make it interesting. Prolly not entirely factual, but interesting.
Kudos to Mr2001. I was just checking in to post the Boney M lyrics myself.
Source: The Home of Rasputin
History’s Mysteries: The True Story Of Rasputin
Seems to be much death disputin’ about Grigory Rasputin …
I remember reading once that when he was fished from the river, the fingers of Rasputin’s right hand were found held over his chest in a sign of benediction.
No cite – it was one of those 'weirder than science" books, and sounds like an embellishment to me – would you care about your final hand position as you struggled for your life?