Rasputin the Rascal Monk

1918

Pulp DK254 R3 LD78

Melbourne: Melville & Mullen

In 1869, Grigori Efimovich Rasputin was born in a village in Siberia, the only surviving child of ten. From a young age, he was deeply religious, and believed he was ‘endowed with mystical gifts’. Rasputin left his home several times on religious pilgrimages, and in 1905, met Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) and his wife, Alexandra (1872-1918). He ingratiated himself into the Imperial family. He was a well-known figure in St Petersburg. Some thought he was a talented religious healer, while others denounced his sexual deviancy and self-promotion. Rasputin’s power reached its zenith in 1915, and in 1916, several noblemen assassinated him, believing that he had undue influence over the Tsarina. Here is Anglo-French writer, William Le Queux’s take on Rasputin, ‘the rascal monk’.