A Brief History
On December 29, 1916, possibly the most cracked clergyman of all time finally met his doom, having been poisoned, shot, and drowned, thereby rivaling Blackbeard for the claim of bearded bad-ass who most went out “like a boss”!
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find the last royal court of Russia in the middle of turbulent times indeed, tangled in the morass of the First World War (or, at the time, The Great War) and the country on the brink of revolution.
In addition to the horrible political situation, the royal family (Romanov) of Czar Nicholas II had its own problems, especially with hemophilia plaguing the heir to the throne. With the czar (or tsar) occupied with affairs of state, along came a strange holy man to advise and comfort the royal family, especially Czarina Alexandra.
Not an actual monk, although usually referred to as one, Grigori Rasputin was some sort of charismatic religious groupie who traveled all over Russia, city to city and monastery to monastery, engaging in a weird combination of faith healing, fortune telling and quasi-religious activity.
Finding a place at the czarina’s side Rasputin mysteriously “healed” the young hemophiliac Prince (czarevich) Alexei when no one else could stop his bleeding. Having performed this “miracle”, he became close to the Romanovs and had great influence over the czarina who in turn passed along his advice to the czar.
The Russian public, already in a revolutionary mood before the war and now boiling with dissatisfaction at the royal family, was also upset that the Romanovs would have anything to do with Rasputin, who they viewed as somewhat of a goof and a charlatan (probably right!) and Rasputin’s drinking and whoring around did not help the sordid appearances. Some even believed the czarina had taken him as a lover!
Even before the situation began crumbling there were those that wanted to kill Rasputin. In 1914, a nose-less religious fanatic woman stabbed him in the guts and attempted to stab his genitals as well. Even partially disemboweled, Rasputin recovered, adding to his “Like a Boss!” legend.
The real legend concerned the next set of assassination attempts that ultimately resulted in his death, although he was not going to go easy! Relatives of the czar decided the Mad Monk had to go, and in the basement of the Yusupov Palace in St. Petersburg, putting cyanide in cakes and wine served to Rasputin seemed like the way to do it. Supposedly consuming these poisoned treats, Rasputin allegedly showed no ill effects! The distressed murderers then shot him in the torso, but even that was not enough. According to legend, Rasputin actually attacked one of his killers before being shot again, this time in the forehead.
Finally, the murderers wrapped Rasputin up and threw him into an icy river. Rasputin was dead, having died “Like a Boss!” Of course, some of the incredible events concerning his ultimate demise may have been embellished over the years and maybe simple explanations exist as to why he seemed so hard to kill.
Or maybe he really was a holy man!
Question for students (and subscribers): Do think Rasputin deserves any blame for the Russian Revolution? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
Regardless of what really happened on December 30, 1916, Rasputin has since become a legendary figure and the subject of everything from conspiracy theories to bizarre appearances in popular culture. For example, as a villain in…
Hellboy Rasputin & Hellbaby Action Figures Previews Exclusive. Mezuko.
Vintage Anastasia Action Figure Set: Rasputin and Bartok. Galoob.
…and yes, he also inspired a memorable character on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles named “Rasputin the Mad Frog“, because, well, why not?
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="927 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=927">93 Comments
As he did, in fact, cure the child maybe we shouldn’t sneer at him.
I think since he tried to save the child, people were way to harsh on him, and they shouldn’t have been.
I don’t understand why people were so mean to him.
I want to know why they killed him in such a harsh way after all he was not bad
He certainly was not treated well but then have people really changed for the better?
I would like to why they were so mean to him; it don’t make sense. I think it’s terrible how was treated.
It is not only interesting how they treated him, but also the fact that after all of those harsh beatings he continued to survive!
It is very interesting how he was able to with stand such a beating, but also he was treated very brutally and I am interested in the reasoning.
I thought is was disappointing that people could treated someone like that so poorly. I found it very interesting.
I think it was crazy that they beat him so harshly and he still ended up being able to live through that horrible experience. I didn’t think they needed to beat him so harshly. It is interesting to think of why they were treating him so badly.
The cruelty of people is disgusting.
They seemed to treat him a lot more poorly than he deserved.
Wow, crazy how horrible he was treated. Does not seem to make much sense why.
Worst way to die.
It was interesting to read how badly this man was treated. People can be very harsh towards others and it was horrible that they beat him that badly.
I wonder, if the story is true, how Rasputin managed to survive all these attacks. After all the accounts of his life and all the wrong doings he had done its no wonder the revolutionists where fed up with him and decided he had to go.
He sounds like a rather strange monk. It’s crazy how many times he should have died by gun shots or being stabbed or poisoned. Can’t believe he recovered from all of those.
It sounds like Rasputin just really didn’t want to die, but its terrible how they treated and tortured him!
I think its horrible how they beat him and tortured him! Crazy to think he survived all of that unnecessary punishment he went through.
Wow this story is pretty amazing just to think how he survived though all of those attempted murders. I’m not sure what he was but in human seems to fit him well.
I think that there is a lot of truth in this story, but I can’t help feeling that some of it is exaggerated a bit.
It is hard to believe that someone could survive all of those assassination attempts. While he was a little strange, it is possible that he was a holy man.
It is unbelievable that someone could live through so many attempts to kill him.
Its crazy all those murder attempts. I agree that he was a total bad ass.
I cant believe he didn’t die after the wine and treats! and then getting shot that many times! this is crazy! is it true, or are there little white lies here and there??
I think it’s absolutely terrible how they treated him, and I can’t believe how he survived so much.
I cant believe how many plots and plans it took they had to go through in order to kill him and how was he able to make it through all these harsh conditions.
I think that it is awful that they put this man through so much despite everything. But I can’t believe he survived through such harsh treatment.
Crazy article and the fact that he did make it through all that is bizarre. I think this man would be classified as a bad ass for sure.
Crazy that he survived everything he went though in his life.
With him living through all those attempts is amazing. He must have had some health problems that weren’t mentioned. Such harsh treatment, which sadly still happens to those who stick out of their own culture today.
this is truly amazing that he survived through everything
Its crazy that they put him through all of that to make sure that he was dead, but truly amazing to say the least. He definitely made a statement even in his multiple deaths that they put him through.
Its crazy that the cousins of the czar put a ton of cyanide in Rasputin’s food, yet he kept eating as if there was nothing wrong with the food and showed no sign of illness.
Unbelievable! The man went through so much and still survived.
It is truly amazing that he survived so much throughout his life!
The assassins should not have spent so much time attempting to kill him. I think they made it a little harder than it should have been.
I had no idea the antagonist from Hellboy was a historical figure. That’s kind of funny.
Unbelievable story. I have heard of him before but had no idea what he went through.
Is there any medical explanation to this? It’s still hard to believe. I wonder if there are any other people who endured that much but still survived for the time being.
As crazy as this guy was, you have to commend him for managing to weasel his way into Romanov favor. I can’t imagine that many people were able to do that. His timing was not ideal but he probably lived out his last years in some serious comfort.
Its quite crazy to hear that Rasputin has been shot multiple times in vital points and he did not die. I cannot think of a wayvthat that could be a possibility
I can not believe he survived all of that (if he really did). Also he must have been pretty good at what he does to work his way into the inner circle of the royal family whether it was coincidence or skill.
This almost sounds like a movie and it doesn’t even sound human. I just cannot see how anyone would be able to survive this by being shot multiple times.
According to Hollywood, it took Hellboy to finally defeat him…
I guess this dude was inspiration for the movie then 🙂
Then of course he’s also the villain in that animated Anastasia movie… So, yes, kids can play with Rasputin action figures! Uh, yea! 🙂
A few stabs to the guts and genitals? ehh thats nothing
Some poison? psh come on now
A shot in the stomach? ok a little better
A shot to the forehead? getting serious now
Beating him with a club? why not
Drown him in the lake? cherry on top..why not
It’s hard to believe that Rasputin survived such brutal attacks with out modern medications for infection or being sown up. Crazy!
i have a cat name Rasputin. that is all….
he is a magician and he is not to be touched
That definitely seems like a horrific way to go! — DAVID WARDLE
Hahaha geez talk about crazy. That legend has to be embellished!
Such an awesome badass. I kinda wish he still would have lived somehow to tell his tale. Pretty sure no one could compete with that!
Such crazy ways! How did he not die?
Hard to believe he survived everything he went though..this story has to be embellished a lot..
amazing that it was that difficult to kill him
I’m still skeptical
I doubt that it took that much to kill him, but still an interesting story.
They really wanted this guy dead!
It’s incredible after being shot so many times still bein alive !
Rasputin is a badass! this is super creepy
Plot Twist; he wasn’t a man, but actually 7 squirrels in a suit, and each had to be killed individually.
It’s amazing, how much punishment a human body can receive and still keep on living.
I actually just told this story to some one this morning! This was some crazy knowledge to be able to pass on.
As a person who still owns a VHS copy of the movie “Anastasia”, I was familiar with the fictional character Rasputin, but I was not aware he was an actual person. It is definitely interesting to compare the fictional character I grew up with to the actual man that existed.
Hahah I agree! I loved that movie growing up, however, this puts a totally different spin on things! It’s funny how details are left out of stories when they are told to children
I agree as well! Usually in Disney movies they change a lot of the details of the original more gruesome stories, but it seems as though with “Anastasia” they left a lot of it the same. Its hard to believe that a royal family would become that desperate that they would allow such a crazy person to provide advice and counsel to the Czar.
if it actually took that long to kill the man it is amazing the power of adrenaline, and mental strength to keep carrying on a fighting for his life!
He’s a straight boss if he survived through all that. They tried numberous amouts of times trying to poison him but showed no ill effects. Finally got tried of him showing no effects so they just decided to kill him.
I can only imagine what the royal family thought after this happened. In everything we’ve discussed in lecture we never went over if the family knew this was going to happen or if they were surprised by the killing. This could of been a clue for what would eventually happen to the family.
Wow he seemed like a crazed machine hahah. He just had it in him to put up a fight
It’s pretty weird how he survived all that.
Hard to imagine anyone surviving all of that! Makes one wonder if all of it is true.
Rasputin easily trumps Blackbeard. Dude survived so many different attempts to murder him, and took a freaking bullet to the head and was beaten, and STILL lived.
numerous failed attempts and the man still lived. eventually was killed, but he survived like a “boss”. just like the title says so.
Must have been pretty embarrassing for the assassins to watch him eat that cake.
Crazy to think that this was monk lol
The man lived through all that, I bet no one hired those assassins again!
Can’t believed he survived all of that. Imagine the look on those guys faces as he’s eating the cake all happy and what not
If i was there id be freaking out cause that guy is clearly a terminator
Talk about a brutal way to die just shows you don’t mess with Russians.
RA RA RASPUTIN LOVER OF THE RUSSIAN QUEEN. What a great song. I find it still weird that the ruling of his death was that he drowned. Oh those Russians.
Haha i hope i can relate to this when my time comes.
Such as hard to kill.
Russia has the best historical stories
This man seemed to be invincible! Wow that’s insane!
What a horrible way to go but, what a trooper he was, dedication.
It is crazy how much that man was put through before he actually died. I do not understand how he did not die after being shot in the forehead.
went out with honor i guess….
I won’t be messing with the Russians anytime soon. Haha
I knew that Rasputin was assassinated but I never knew it took poisoning him, shots to the organs, and finally a shot to the head to kill him. He really went out like a boss.
I still don’t understand why the Russian people hated this man so much.
That man was stabbed, poisoned, shot in the forehead, and beaten in the head yet he still managed to stay alive I think that would be impossible.
That is crazy that man was able to survive all of that! I can barely live after stubbing my toe, so he is definitely a trooper in my book!