The mysterious life and death of Rasputin - Eden Girma
-
0:07 - 0:10On a cold winter night in 1916,
-
0:10 - 0:15Felix Yusupov anxiously prepared
to pick up his dinner guest. -
0:15 - 0:19If all went as planned,
his guest would be dead by morning, -
0:19 - 0:24though four others had already tried
and failed to finish him off. -
0:24 - 0:27The Russian monarchy
was on the brink of collapse, -
0:27 - 0:30and to Yusupov
and his fellow aristocrats, -
0:30 - 0:35the holy man they’d invited to dinner
was the single cause of it all. -
0:35 - 0:36But who was he,
-
0:36 - 0:42and how could a single monk
be to blame for the fate of an empire? -
0:42 - 0:46Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
began his life in Siberia, -
0:46 - 0:50born in 1869 to a peasant family.
-
0:50 - 0:53He might have lived a life of obscurity
in his small village, -
0:53 - 0:57if not for his conversion
to the Russian Orthodox Church -
0:57 - 0:59in the 1890s.
-
0:59 - 1:02Inspired by the humbled monks
that wandered endlessly -
1:02 - 1:04from holy site to holy site,
-
1:04 - 1:08he spent years on pilgrimages
across Russia. -
1:08 - 1:13On his travels, strangers were captivated
by Rasputin’s magnetic presence. -
1:13 - 1:19Some even believed he had mystical gifts
of prediction and healing. -
1:19 - 1:23Despite Rasputin’s heavy drinking,
petty theft, and promiscuity, -
1:23 - 1:27his reputation as a monk
quickly spread beyond Siberia -
1:27 - 1:32and attracted both laypeople
and powerful Orthodox clergymen. -
1:32 - 1:35When he finally reached the capital,
St. Petersburg, -
1:35 - 1:38Rasputin used
his charisma and connections -
1:38 - 1:43to win favor with the imperial family’s
spiritual advisor. -
1:43 - 1:45In November 1905,
-
1:45 - 1:50Rasputin was finally introduced
to Russian Tsar Nicholas II. -
1:50 - 1:55Nicholas and his wife Alexandra
devoutly believed in the Orthodox Church, -
1:55 - 1:58as well as in mysticism
and supernatural powers, -
1:58 - 2:02and this Siberian holy man
had them transfixed. -
2:02 - 2:07It was a particularly tumultuous period
for Russia and their family. -
2:07 - 2:10The monarchy
was barely clinging to control -
2:10 - 2:13after the Revolution of 1905.
-
2:13 - 2:17Their political struggles
were only intensified by personal turmoil: -
2:17 - 2:19Alexei, the heir to the throne,
-
2:19 - 2:23had a life-threatening blood disease
called hemophilia. -
2:23 - 2:27When Alexei suffered
a severe medical crisis in 1912, -
2:27 - 2:32Rasputin advised his parents
to reject treatment from doctors. -
2:32 - 2:36Alexei’s health improved,
cementing the royal family’s belief -
2:36 - 2:39that Rasputin had magical healing powers,
-
2:39 - 2:44and guaranteeing
his privileged place on the royal court. -
2:44 - 2:47Today, we know that
the doctors had prescribed aspirin, -
2:47 - 2:50a drug that worsens hemophilia.
-
2:50 - 2:53After this incident,
Rasputin made a prophecy: -
2:53 - 2:57if he died,
or the royal family deserted him, -
2:57 - 3:01both their son and their crown
would soon be gone. -
3:01 - 3:06Outside the royal family,
people had mixed views on Rasputin. -
3:06 - 3:09On one hand, peasants regarded him
as one of their own, -
3:09 - 3:13amplifying their often-unheard voice
to the monarchy. -
3:13 - 3:17But nobles and clergymen
came to despise his presence. -
3:17 - 3:20Rasputin never ceased
his scandalous behavior, -
3:20 - 3:23and they were skeptical
of his so-called powers -
3:23 - 3:26and thought he was corrupting
the royal family. -
3:26 - 3:28By the end of World War I,
-
3:28 - 3:31they were convinced
the only way to maintain order -
3:31 - 3:35was to eliminate this sham
of a holy man. -
3:35 - 3:37With this conviction,
-
3:37 - 3:40Yusupov began
to plot Rasputin’s assassination. -
3:40 - 3:43Though the exact details
remain mysterious, -
3:43 - 3:48our best guess at how it all unfolded
comes from Yusupov’s memoirs. -
3:48 - 3:54He served Rasputin a number of pastries,
believing they contained cyanide. -
3:54 - 3:56But unbeknownst to Yusupov,
-
3:56 - 3:59one of his co-conspirators
had a change of heart, -
3:59 - 4:02and substituted the poison
with a harmless substance. -
4:02 - 4:07To Yusupov’s shock,
Rasputin ate them without ill effect. -
4:07 - 4:12In desperation,
he shot Rasputin at point-blank range. -
4:12 - 4:16But Rasputin recovered,
punched his attacker, and fled. -
4:16 - 4:19Yusupov and his accomplices pursued him,
-
4:19 - 4:22finally killing Rasputin
with a bullet to the forehead -
4:22 - 4:26and dumping his body
in the Malaya Nevka river. -
4:26 - 4:29But far from stabilizing
the monarchy’s authority, -
4:29 - 4:32Rasputin’s death enraged the peasantry.
-
4:32 - 4:34Just as Rasputin prophesied,
-
4:34 - 4:38his murder was swiftly followed
by that of the royal family. -
4:38 - 4:40Whether the downfall
of the Russian monarchy -
4:40 - 4:42was a product of the monk’s curse,
-
4:42 - 4:46or the result of political tensions
decades in the making, -
4:46 - 4:48well, we may never know.
- Title:
- The mysterious life and death of Rasputin - Eden Girma
- Speaker:
- Eden Girma
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-mysterious-life-and-death-of-rasputin-eden-girma
On a night in 1916, Russian aristocrats set a plot of assassination into motion. If all went as planned, a man would be dead by morning, though others had already tried and failed. The monarchy was on the brink of collapse, and they believed this man was the single cause of it all. Who was he, and why was he to blame for the fate of an empire? Eden Girma explores the life of the notorious Rasputin.
Lesson by Eden Girma, directed by Hype CG.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:52
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for The mysterious life and death of Rasputin | ||
Elise Haadsma approved English subtitles for The mysterious life and death of Rasputin | ||
Elise Haadsma accepted English subtitles for The mysterious life and death of Rasputin | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for The mysterious life and death of Rasputin | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for The mysterious life and death of Rasputin |