Grigori Rasputin

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (Russian: ????????? ????????? ?????????) (1870(?) – December 16, 1916 (O.S.)) was a Russian mystic with an influence in the later days of Russia's Romanov dynasty.

Reputation

The contemporary press, as well as sensationalist articles and books published in the 1920s and 1930s (one of them even by Yusupov, Rasputin's main murderer), turned the charismatic peasant into something of a 20th century folk myth. To Westerners, Rasputin became the embodiment of purported Russian backwardness, superstition, irrationality and licentiousness, and an object of sensational interest; to the Russian Communists, he represented all that was evil in the old regime and had been overcome in the revolution. Yet to some Russians, he remained a symbol of the voice of the peasantry, and some (Russians) to this day reject the myths, honoring the man. However, the Moscow Patriarchate has condemned the fledgling movement seeking canonization of Rasputin. In reference to Rasputin's promiscuity, His Holiness Alexei II said in a statement in 2003: "This is madness! What believer would want to stay in a Church that equally venerates murderers and martyrs, lechers and saints?"

Related Topics:
1920s - 1930s - 20th century - Communists

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Since the end of Communism in Russia in the 1990s, some Russian nationalists appeared to have tried to whitewash Rasputin's reputation, and use the powerful 20th century archetype he has become for their own end. New evidence that has surfaced since the end of the Soviet Union, however, at first appeared to refute their claims of his saintliness.

Related Topics:
1990s - Soviet Union

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This documentation is primarily in the form of notes written by individuals paid to keep surveillance on Rasputin's apartment, and to record his comings and goings as well as make note of visitors. This was no secret at the time, and Rasputin occasionally expressed his annoyance. It has been remarked in books written as early as 1919 that those notes are, at best, highly questionable, intending to "prove" the allegations of those who paid to have such "proof" documented.

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A brand of vodka, made in Germany, and once heavily advertised in Russia, also bears the name Rasputin. It features a hologram of Rasputin's face, which appears to wink when the viewing angle is changed.

Related Topics:
Vodka - Hologram

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