When the poison failed, they ruthlessly fired several shots at him. The last one straight in the face. They threw the body off the bridge. Who managed to eliminate the man who was shaking tsarist Russia? Were spies of an enemy power behind the plot?
The name of Rasputin was translated differently. Douglas Smith, author of his latest biography, Rasputin. Faith, power and the decline of the Romanov dynasty, writes:
Many have tried to combine it with the Russian word rasputnik - "lecherous" or rasputniczat - "behave debauchery" (...). Rasputa or rasputje means a crossroads, and in the old days they were considered favorite meeting places for evil spirits, so perhaps such a name was given to people who were suspected of having contact with these forces .
Who killed Rasputin:Russian aristocrats or the British? Or maybe both? Pictured is a posthumous photo of Rasputin.
At the end of his life, Rasputin was for some the incarnation of an evil spirit, and for others a "saintly old man." His opponents in public appearances, correspondence or conversations gave me the nickname:"Dark Powers" - because how else could they explain such an overwhelming influence of an ordinary peasant on the tsarist family? No wonder then that the plot against the Russian monk in the winter of 1916 was not the first. However, it turned out to be the last one.
Was the British behind everything?
In June 1916, the British suffered a great loss. A ship exploded, on board of which the British Minister of War, Count Horatio Kitchener, sailed from Khartoum to Russia. Only twelve sailors survived. The British press rightly blamed the tragedy on the German U-boats, but rumors of Rasputin and Tsarina Alexandra's espionage for the Germans began to spread in Russia as well. . The heir of the most powerful fortune in Russia at that time - Prince Felix Yusupov - either believed these rumors or took them as the perfect excuse to establish a conspiracy to kill Rasputin.
Prince Feliks Feliksovich Yusupov made history thanks to his participation in the murder of Rasputin. He even wrote two books about it, "The End of Rasputin" (1927) and "Memories" (1953).
Some researchers (including Andrew Cook) followed the trail that the British had planned an attempt on the life of the Russian peasant, pointing to Oswald Rainer - Prince Yusupov's friend from the time of his studies at Oxford. British intelligence was to send him during World War I to Petrograd.
Douglas Smith, in his latest biography of Rasputin, however, denies claims that British intelligence officers co-organized the attack on the monk and tries to refute the thesis that the British were significantly involved in the case. However, he admits that Great Britain wanted Russia to remain at war with Germany. Rasputin urged the tsar to withdraw his troops from the front.
The British rightly feared the conclusion of peace by Germany and Russia, because then a German army of several hundred thousand fighting in the East would be sent against the rest of the Entente members. But not only they wanted to get rid of Rasputin. Both in aristocratic circles and in the Duma (the lower house of the parliament of the Russian Empire) more and more talk was made of the need to free the tsar from the influence of "dark powers" and to bring order to the country. People's protests, which were fueled by the Bolsheviks, were also feared.
Circle of trusted
Already at the end of October 1916, Yusupov planned to kill the tsarist favorite and began looking for allies. As Douglas Smith argues in the book Rasputin. Faith, power and the decline of the Romanov dynasty :
Felix's father could not even stand his name being pronounced next to him, and her mother informed the Empress of her hatred of the man, which poisoned their relationship for good .
Zinaida Yusupova not only knew about her son's plans, but persuaded him to conspiracy herself, insisting that Rasputin's murder was a "necessity".
The first to be recruited by the prince was an eccentric Duma deputy, Vladimir Purishkevich. In the biography of the alleged monk, by Douglas Smith, we read that he made "the most virulent speech ever directed against Rasputin." Soon after, the conspirators were joined by Lieutenant Sergei Suchotin and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov - a friend of Yusupov.
Coming to visit Yusupov, Rasputin did not expect that this would be his last visit anywhere .. The photo shows the interior of the Yusupov Palace where he was murdered.
The coup was scheduled for mid-December 1916. Puriszkiewicz suggested one more participant, a doctor of Polish origin, Stanisław Łazowert, who was to professionally deal with the administration of the poison. The deputy - known for his prone to gossip - talked left and right about the planned attack. He even reached Samuel Hoare, the head of the British intelligence outpost in Petrograd with this news, but the conspirator would not believe the conspirator.
Assassination
Yusupov immediately went into action. He asked his friends to arrange a meeting with Rasputin on the pretext of chest pain. During subsequent paramedical sessions, he grew closer and closer to him, until dared to propose a meeting with his wife. Rasputin, fond of feminine charm, accepted the invitation .
The prince prepared for the guest's visit. Below the main stairs of his palace, he had the room renovated and converted into a luxurious lounge with an adjoining boudoir. Expensive items and knick-knacks, as well as the fire burning in the fireplace, were supposed to give the impression of a cozy shelter. As Rasputin entered the palace, he heard the voices of the feasters. Yusupov explained that these were his wife's outgoing guests. In fact, the old man heard the conspirators, and Irina remained far away in the Crimea.
Rasputin was considered a real Russian Casanova. Was it the attraction to women that had lost him? In the photo with the children.
There were two kinds of biscuits on the table in the prince's living room. According to the arrangements, Dr. Łazowert was to impregnate one of them with poison, which he also intended to add to the wine. At first, Rasputin did not touch the sweetness, but after a while he was tempted. How great was Yusupov's surprise when the victim did not fall either after eating cookies or drinking wine. The impatient prince shot the man in the chest.
The remaining conspirators immediately appeared in the salon. Lazovert examined Rasputin and pronounced him dead. They left the body in its place and went upstairs. After some time, Yusupov went downstairs to make sure that the old man was indeed dead. When he checked Rasputin's pulse, Rasputin awoke and stalked at the prince, who was standing still . He managed to free himself from the hands of the tsarist favorite, but Rasputin fled upstairs and ran out of the palace.
During the chase, Puriszkiewicz fired two shots, which rendered the victim harmless. The man lying in the snow was shot to the head from a very close range. The body was then wrapped in a fur coat, weighed down, and thrown from the bridge into the river where the ice was thinnest.
Who took the last shot?
Undoubtedly, all the conspirators are responsible for Rasputin's death. He had as many enemies as supporters. Therefore, the killers, despite the initial investigation, freely talked about the last moments of the tsarist favorite. Each of them, however, stuck to its own - different from the others - version. Puriszkiewicz and Łazowert admitted shooting after the escaping Rasputin. But neither of them named the author of the last, killing shot.
The English researcher - Andrew Cook - put forward the hypothesis that it was returned by the aforementioned British intelligence agent and friend of Yusupov, Oswald Rayner. According to Cook, a re-examination of the photo of the fatal wound shows that the projectile was fired at close range by a professional who could undoubtedly be considered a British agent. Yusupov later wrote that he was having lunch the next day in the company of Rayner, who knew about the plot and came to inquire about its results.
Rasputin and his followers (1914):Duchess Aleksandra Pistolkors (pregnant, standing on the left), Prince Aleksander Pistolkors (second from the left), Anna Wyrubowa (standing fourth from the left)
We can assume he knew them. However, we will not find out what it really was. Rayner cared about the lack of publicity, so he must have been relieved by the behavior of the other conspirators, especially Yusupov, who took on all the splendor of the glory. They were treated like heroes in many circles.
The involvement of a British agent in the plot may, however, be evidenced by a note that his supervisor Stephen Alley wrote to Captain John Scale. We read in it:
Although things did not go completely as planned, the goal was achieved. Everyone took the death of the "Dark Powers" well, although uncomfortable questions began to be asked about the broader involvement in the plot . Rayner doesn't do anything right now and will undoubtedly keep you informed when you return .
After the murder, the conspirators bound Rasputin and drove him to the Neva, where his body was thrown off a bridge (pictured).
If British intelligence was involved in the attack on Rasputin, care was taken not to let anyone know about it. Oswald Rayner left Russia before the end of the war and from 1920 he worked for the Daily Telegraph as a Finnish correspondent. He never disclosed the information about the attack. He also did not leave any documents and took the secret with him to the grave. He died in 1961. The only trace of his friendship with Prince Yusupov was the middle name of his son, John Felix Rayner, who died four years after his father.