Rasputin's Effects on the Tsar.

As Rasputin seemed to be the only one who could treat Alexis, he became a very intimate friend to the Tsar and his family. He was their link to the outside world, therefore he often helped make decisions about running Russia. But was he really responsible for the collapse of Tsarism, or was he just the Tsar's scapegoat? I am going to discuss these two arguments so that it is possible for me to decide which statement I believe the most.

The first argument is that Rasputin played a major role in Russia's downfall. The first issue to be focused on is Rasputin's relationship with the Tsarina. Lots of people believed that they were having an affair, as the Tsar left Russia to lead the war, and Rasputin was left with the Tsarina. They believed this for several reasons. One is because Rasputin was such a womaniser, so it is possible that there was something between them. He had a reputation for participating in orgies at the many parties that he attended, and for visiting prostitutes. The Tsarina may also have been lonely without her husband, so she seeked comfort from Rasputin. We know that they were close, as historians have found adoring letters from the Tsarina addressed to Rasputin. Rasputin often 'helped' the Tsarina to rule whilst her husband was away, and she always followed his advice, even though it was often criticised by good ministers. Rasputin dealt with them, by sacking and imprisoning many of them. He then made it even worse by replacing them with ignorant and corrupt men. Rasputin's promiscuous reputation caused many Russians to dislike him. The peasants, because they were jealous, and the middle-class, because they were appalled that someone like him was basically running the country. They wanted their Tsar back, and not to be ruled by a common peasant. The Duma was a small government to help the Tsar, and most of them hated Rasputin. They believed that he was a German spy and that he was trying to destroy the country, but that was just a rumour without any actual evidence. They also thought that he was the cause of the economic collapse, even after Stolypin's help. He set up the Kulak, in which peasants could buy land and help keep the economy going. I do not see this argument to be as important as the next, as I feel that Rasputin only influenced the Tsarina, and the Tsar had made bad decisions throughout his reign. There were also some good things about Rasputin. He often donated money to people around Russia, and helped out as much as he could. He could have just been a genuinely good man, who just liked the pleasurable things in life, such as alcohol and women. His advice could have been innocent, but we just do not know.

The second argument is that Rasputin was just the Tsar's scapegoat. The Tsar made a very bad choice when he decided to go and take charge of the army himself. He knew that they were losing, so he could have just pulled out at any time and had a chance to save Russia. He also did not have much experience in running an entire army full of poor soldiers. The worst problem about taking charge was that he had to leave Russia. He was bad enough at ruling it, so when he left his wife in charge, Russia was destined to fall. She was easily persuaded, and German, so the Russian population disliked her. Rasputin was probably only trying to help the Tsarina, because running Russia was a huge responsibility, and it was a mistake for the Tsar to leave it in her hands. She did not have much help, as the Tsar was autocratic, and the Duma did not have much power. Another point is that the Tsar may have made the army even worse because he did not respect them. It was mainly made up of peasants, so they may not have been completely loyal because the Tsar treated them very badly. They did a lot of work for the country, but the middle and upper classes got everything. Without Rasputin's help, the Tsar's reign may have been even shorter, as he would have had absolutely no link to the peasant class, which was over 70% of the Russian population. The Tsar did make some mistakes when he decided not to take advice from Rasputin. For example, when the holy man predicted pain and tears in August 1914, but the ignorant Tsar did not listen. Then when he left for Mogilev, Russia collapsed and the war failed.