Biggest Myths about Rasputin that people still believe today
Biggest Myths about Rasputin that people still believe today
Updated on August 26, 2022 15:30 PM by Sally Harbor
There is perhaps no man as popular in mystery and mythology as Grigori Rasputin. He was born in an obscure Siberian peasant village in 1869 and was a religious convert.
His career went on as a traveling holy man and healer but this career and occupation of his later brought him to the court of the Russian royal family, where he became their closest confidant, chief advisor, and one of the most powerful men in the empire.
But Rasputin was not any general man out there. He was filled with mysteries that are fascinating and repulsive, even to the ones who listen to him today. As a result of his immense popularity, the media, both at home and abroad, used him as a handy weapon to push their agendas, leading to him becoming the most hated man in Russia and his assassination in 1916.
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But the stories revolving around him, ranging from exaggerations of the truth to the outright fictitious, have become so common that they are still believed over a century later. So here are some myths about the great Grigori Rasputin that people still believe in in the modern-day era.
Rasputin was a diehard Empress Lover

The anti-monarch media in Russia accused Grigori Rasputin of being the lover of Queen Alexandra. The media often drew cartoons of them both canoodling. These were designed, of course, to discredit the pair, who were both hated by the public by 1916. Indeed, even films and plays were written suggesting the pair enjoyed an illicit affair as if it was an unquestionable fact.
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But there is no evidence to confirm that their relationship was anything more than just platonic as Rasputin gave Alexandra spiritual companionship during a challenging time which was World War I when Emperor Nicholas II was commanding the forces near the front lines, and letters between husband and wife show a passionate romance that never fizzled. For all the criticisms aimed at Alexandra, she was without question a deeply religious and loyal woman, madly in love with her husband.
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He was Sex God
Yes, Gregori Rasputin did sleep around here and there a little bit which is undeniable as his wife, who was ever patient and understanding, talking of his behavior said that his affairs were “his crutch to bear.” Most of Rasputin’s followers were female; he spent a lot of time in the company of women and was known to visit brothels.
However, his o behavior was far from that of a crazy sex maniac who exposes himself publicly while intoxicated. Rather, the reality of the situation was that Rasputin found himself led into temptations: plenty of well-off, bored women became some of his most devoted followers, and some threw themselves at him. Of course, he was as much to blame as they were, but like much in his life, the actual reality was immensely exaggerated by the media as part of their campaign against him.
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The idea of a mystical Russian peasant arriving in well-to-do Russia, exposing himself in public, and sleeping with the wive’s of the upper classes was a powerful weapon for the media to defame him but on the other hand, it was certainly only based partly on truth.
Rasputin was a spy of the Germans
As Nicholas II had rushed off to take control of his army during the World War, Queen Alexandra, his wife, was left behind to govern. Although Nicholas still wrote letters to his home, Rasputin stepped in regularly to give advice and recommendations to her in her husband’s absence and often suggested who should be appointed for various governmental positions.
But the thing is, even before Nicholas left for the front, Rasputin regularly gave political advice in the guise of visions and dreams coming directly from God, which often influenced the deeply religious royals.
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But one commonly spread story known by many is that Russia’s failure on the battleground was due to Gregori Rasputin. And it is also said that it was not because of any accident. He was intentionally misadvising the Emperor and Empress to help the Germans win and even claimed that the queen herself was on the German payroll as well.
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But Rasputin was followed constantly for the last few years of his life, including by British intelligence; there is no evidence of him working for the Germans or anyone for that matter nor is there anything linking him to the German Kaiser.
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A spiritual healer who had kept the Heir of the country alive

Now, this is technically true, but the myth surrounding how he did it, which is still not known for sure today, is often wrapped in magic and mysticism.
The only son of the royal family was Alexei, who was a weak boy who inherited hemophilia from his mother’s side and wasn’t expected to live long into adulthood. The disease stops blood from clotting, meaning a simple tumble could result in an almost fatal internal hemorrhage.
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Known throughout Russia as a faith healer, even before he first met the royal family, Rasputin had become indispensable to Nicholas II, and Queen Alexandra as their only son, could seemingly only be kept alive by the mystic power and no one else. But this was certainly not spiritual healing.
Some say it was simply a matter of Rasputin sending the doctors from his side and ordering them to leave Alexei alone. This makes sense, considering the common treatment for hemophilia at the time was aspirin, which today is known for thinning the blood.
Rasputin died due to drowning
Another common misconception of his death, although a little lesser known, is that Rasputin was still not dead when his body was disposed of. He was thrown over the railing into a hole in the ice by his alleged murderer Prince Gelix Yusuposav and his accomplices after they drove him to the Little Nevka River and weighed down his body.
False reports, however, immediately spread after his body was discovered a short distance downstream, claiming that water had been discovered in his lungs, indicating that he must have been breathing when he was thrown into the water and that his cause of death was drowning.
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Again, this was simply another feather in the bow of the several myths surrounding Rasputin, a further way of highlighting that the mystic man was a force of evil with supernatural powers of forever undying but in reality, the autopsy report revealed nothing of the sort. He died of a gunshot wound at point-blank range to the forehead, which a husband fast lesser known.