Was Rasputin to blame for the fall of the Romanov dynasty?

Authors Avatar

JUDE KENNEDY

HISTORY: EXTENDED RESPONSE

Was Rasputin to blame for the fall of the Romanov dynasty?

        

        The Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, abdicated from power in 1917 bringing to an end the 300 year old Romanov dynasty. This essay will be looking at the reasons for his fall from power, how much Rasputin had influenced this and will ask was it Rasputin or did other factors bring the Romanovs down?

                        Rasputin was born in a small Siberian village at around 1869. Even at a young age he earned himself such a reputation for devoted debauchery that his birth name was replaced with the surname of Rasputin, which is Russian for ‘debauched one’. He began wondering, eventually ending up at St. Petersburg at around 1903 and met up with a leading Orthodox priest who introduced him to St. Petersburg’s high society. He rather quickly established a reputation for his holiness but also for his insatiable sexual appetite.

        Within a matter of a few years he was introduced to the Tsar and Tsarina, Alexandra, who began to rely heavily on him to heal their sick son Alexei. Alexei had haemophilia, an illness he inherited from the Tsarina’s side of the family which meant if he was cut then the blood would not clot and Alexei could bleed to death from the slightest of wounds. Alexandra was a deeply religious woman and was amazed at Rasputin’s apparently magical healing powers, whom she believed was sent from God for the help of their sick son. The truth of the matter was Rasputin was a self-ordained holy man, although he most definitely had a certain mystical and hypnotic presence about him and it was more likely due to this that the Tsarina fell under his spell.

Join now!

                Rasputin used this special bond that had been formed between himself and Alexandra to influence the Tsarina, and in turn the Tsar, on matters of government decisions in the duma, a Russian parliament created in the October Manifesto after the shocking events of Bloody Sunday. Members of the Imperial family, government figures and even many normal Russian citizens were shocked at how this ‘mad monk’ could have such control over the Tsar and Tsarina. “The Tsar can change his mind from one minute to the next; he’s a sad man; he lacks guts,” said Rasputin, showing that Rasputin thought Nicholas ...

This is a preview of the whole essay