World War One was to have a devastating impact on Russia.

When World War One started in August 1914, Russia responded by patriotically rallying around Nicholas II. Military disasters at the Masurian Lakes and Tannenburg greatly weakened the Russian Army in the initial phases of the war. The growing influence of Gregory Rasputin over the Romanovs did a great deal to damage the royal family and by the end of the spring of 1917, the Romanovs, who had ruled Russia for just over 300 years, were no longer in charge of a Russia that had been taken over by Kerensky and the Provisional Government. By the end of 1917, the Bolsheviks led by Lenin had taken power in the major cities of Russia and introduced communist rule in those areas it controlled. The transition in Russia over the space of four years was remarkable the fall of an autocracy and the establishment of the worlds first communist government. Nicholas II had a romantic vision of him leading his army. Therefore, he spent much time at the Eastern Front. This was a disastrous move as it left Alexandra in control back in the cities. She had become increasingly under the influence of the one man who seemingly had the power to help her son, Alexis, afflicted by hemophilia. Alexandra believed that Rasputin was a man of God and referred to him as Our Friend. Others, appalled at his influence over the tsarina, called him the Mad Monk though not in public unless they wanted to incur the wrath of Alexandra. Rasputin brought huge disrepute on the Romanovs. His womanising was well known and he was considered by many to be debauched. How many of the stories are true and how many exaggerated will never be known, because after his death people felt free enough from his power to tell their own stories. However, his simple reputation while he was alive was enough to do immense damage to the Romanovs. Rasputin was a great believer in the maintenance of autocracy. If it was to be diluted, it would have negatively affected his position within Russias social hierarchy. Ironically, with the devastation that World War One was to cause in Russia, it was Rasputin who advised Nicholas not to go to war as he had predicted that Russia would be defeated. As his prophecies seemed to be more and more accurate, his influence within Russia increased. Rasputin had always clashed with the Duma. They saw his position within the monarchy as a direct threat to their position. Alexandra responded to their complaints about Rasputins power by introducing legislation that further limited their power. The Duma took their complaints directly to the emperor. In September 1915, their representatives met Nicholas at his military headquarters to express their discontent that there was no government ministry back in the cities that had the confidence of the people. He told them to go back to St Petersburg and carry on working. At the end of September, another group went to see Nicholas to ask for a government that had the peoples confidence. Nicholas would not see them. After this, Rasputins power in St Petersburg was unchallengeable. As long as he had the support of the tsarina, he had power as Alexandra all but dominated her husband. As long as Alexis, the sole male heir to the throne, was ill, Rasputin had power over Alexandra. When the Duma was dissolved in September 1915, Rasputin took charge of just about all aspects of government in St Petersburg. He held audiences on matters of state and then forwarded the problem discussed onto the relevant minister. Protected by the tsarina, Rasputin also involved himself in the war itself. He insisted that he looked at the plans for prospective campaigns and that he knew about the timing of the plans so that he could pray for its success. This was a gift for the sophisticated German Intelligence Service. Ministers who criticised Rasputin or who disagreed with his policies were summarily dismissed. Scheratov (Interior), Krivosheim (Agriculture) and Gremykim himself were all dismissed for daring to criticise Our Friend. Gremykim was replaced by Sturmer who simply agreed with everything Rasputin said. While he had the support of Alexandra because of the position he had adopted

towards Rasputin, Sturmer put his energy into embezzling the Treasury. Protopopov was appointed Minister of the Interior he had spent 10 years in prison for armed robbery. While chaos ensued at home, the war at the front was going badly. Poland was lost to the Germans in 1916 and they advanced to just 200 miles from Moscow. It became clear that the morale of the ordinary Russian soldier was extremely poor and desertion became a growing problem. Food supplies were poor and erratic. As the front line got closer to the home front, it became obvious to many that both fronts were in total chaos. In October 1916, rail workers in Petrograd (St Petersburg) went on strike in protest about their working conditions. Soldiers were sent from the front to coerce the strikers back to work. They joined the rail men. Sturmer, having recalled the Duma, was alarmed by this development but he also seriously misunderstood the implications of what had happened.
We can allow these wretches to talk themselves out of existence and draw the sting of unrest and draw up loyal troops. Sturmer

The Duma met on November 14th 1916. Milykov, the leader of the Progressives, made an attack on the government, asking at the end of each comment he made about the government Is this folly or treason? Far more disturbing for the government was when the conservative Shulgin and the reactionary leader Purishkavitch made attacks on the government. Milykov would have been expected but not the other two. Sturmer wanted Milykov arrested. But in a rare example of decisiveness, Nicholas dismissed him on December 23rd 1916. He was replaced as premier by Trepov a less than competent conservative. Alexandra also remarked that he is no friend of Our Friend.Trepov lasted only until January 9th 1917, when he was allowed to resign. Government was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Nicholas was isolated at the war front but was frequently too indecisive to be of any use. Alexandra still tried to dominate the home front with Rasputin. Food was in short supply as was fuel. The people of Petrograd were cold and hungry a dangerous combination for Nicholas. On December 30th 1916,Rasputin was assassinated by Prince Yusipov. Alexandra bullied her husband into ordering an imperial funeral something reserved for members of the royal family or senior members of the aristocracy or church. Senior members of the royal family touted for how much support there would be for Alexis to rule with a regent a clear indication that they recognised the reign of Nicholas could not go on. Grand Duke Paul sent a letter to the army generals at the front to ascertain their views on whether Nicholas should be replaced. However, there was so much intrigue taking place that it is difficult to exactly know who said what to whom. By January 1917, it was clear that Nicholas had lost control of the situation. Yet in this month, amidst what must have seemed like chaos, a congress of Allied powers met to discuss future policies. On February 27th, the Duma met for the first time after the Christmas recess. It met against a background of unrest in Petrograd. There was a general strike in the city, which had been called as a result of the arrest of the public representative of the Public Munitions Committee. The city had no transport system. There was food stored in the city, but no way of moving it around. Food shortages and food queues brought even more people out onto the streets.

On March 12th, those in a bread queue, spurred on by the cold and hunger, charged a bakery. The police fired on them in an effort to restore order. It was to prove a very costly error for the government as around the city about 100,000 were on strike and on the streets. They quickly rallied to the support of those who had been fired on. Nicholas ordered that the military governor of the city, General Habalov, should restore order. Habalov ordered the elite Volhynian Regiment to do just this. They joined the strikers and used their might to disarm the police. The citys arsenal was opened and prisoners were freed from prisons that were later burned. What had been a small disturbance at a city bakers, had turned into a full-scale rebellion such was the anger in Petrograd. On March 13th, more soldiers were ordered on to the streets to dispel the strikers. They saw the size of the crowds and returned to their barracks, thus disobeying their orders. The Duma appointed a provisional committee, which was representative of all parties. Rodzyanko was selected to lead it. Alexander Kerensky was appointed to take charge of troop dispositions in an effort to defeat any effort that might be made by the government to dissolve the Duma. Kerensky was an interesting choice as he was a member of the Petrograd Soviet and had links with many factory workers committees within Petrograd. It is known that Rodzyanko telegraphed Nicholas requesting that he appoint a Prime Minister who had the confidence of the people. The last hour has come when the destiny of the country had the dynasty is being decided. Rodzyanko received no answer to his telegraph. On March 14th, rumours swept through the city that soldiers from the front were being sent in to put down the uprising. The Duma established a Provisional Government in response to this perceived threat. The important Petrograd Soviet gave its support to the Provisional Government on the condition that it summoned a constituent assembly, universal suffrage was to be guaranteed and that civil rights were to be enjoyed by all. In reality, the Provisional Government in Petrograd had little to fear from troops at the front. Discipline was already breaking down and thousands of soldiers deserted. The Petrograd Soviet had sent an instruction to the front that soldiers should not obey their officers and that they should not march on the capital. At this moment in time, Nicholas was caught between the war front and Petrograd. He received news of small disturbances in his capital and gathered together a group of loyal soldiers to put them down. He had no idea of the sheer scale of the disturbances. He also had no idea of the political input into this uprising. Nicholas did not make it to Petrograd because of a heavy snow storm. He was forced to stop at Pskov. It was only here that Nicholas received a copy of Rodzyankos telegram. It was also at Pskov that Nicholas learned that all his senior army generals believed that he should abdicate. On the night of March 15th, two members of the Provisional Government also arrived to request the same. With as much dignity as he could muster, Nicholas agreed and handed the throne to his brother, Michael. He confirmed the existence of the Provisional Government and asked that all Russians everywhere support it so that Russia would win her fight against Germany. Michael refused the throne unless it was handed to him after the people had voted for him. This was never going to happen and Romanov rule over Russia came to an end. The March revolution was not a planned affair. Lenin was in Switzerland, the Bolsheviks did not even have a majority in the Petrograd Soviet and the Duma had not wanted the end of the Romanovs. So why did it happen?

The ruling dynasty must take a great deal of the blame. Nicholas was an ineffective ruler who had let his wife dominate him to such an extent that the royal family became inextricably linked to a disreputable man like Gregory Rasputin. Such an association only brought discredit to the Romanovs. The ruling elite also failed to realise that the people would only take so much. They took their loyalty for granted. In February/March 1917, lack of food, lack of decisive government and the cold pushed the people of Petrograd onto the streets. The people of Petrograd did not call for the overthrow of Nicholas it happened as a result of them taking to the streets calling for food. People had to burn their furniture to simply get heat in their homes. Very few would tolerate having to queue in the extreme cold just for food food that might run out before you got to the head of the queue. The spontaneous reaction to police shooting at protestors in a bread queue showed just how far the people of Petrograd had been pushed. That it ended with the abdication of Nicholas II was a political by-product of their desire for a reasonably decent lifestyle. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/russia_and_world_war_one.htm

Rasputin arrived in St. Petersburg in 1905, and the Great Soviet Encyclopedia reports that he was not invited to the czar's palace until 1907. When Rasputin finally met the Tsar and Tsarina, he was needed as a healer for the young Aleksei who was having a bleeding episode. Nicholas and Alexandra were very secretive about their son's condition for fear that, if made public, he would never become tsar. Reluctant to invite Rasputin, they finally realized the extent of their son's infliction and the powerlessness of his doctors. The Tsarevich's disease, hemophilia, was common throughout European royalty and was passed on to him by his mother. Upon leaving from this bleeding episode, having temporarily cured Aleksei, Rasputin warned that the destiny of both the Tsarevich and the Romanov dynasty were "irrevocably linked to him" (Goetz, 948). Rasputin's life in St. Petersburg, though based on the Tsarevich's need, was not totally centered around the Romanov family. He remained an accessible holy monk and healer. His days consisted of a leisurely breakfast with family and close friends. Between 10 am to 1 pm, he had calling hours, open to any St. Petersburg citizen. Later in the afternoon, he called at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, the family's favorite residence, for the family's news. He only went to the palace when he was needed for healing or spiritual support. While in St. Petersburg, Rasputin did stay in touch with his family in Pokrovskoe, and in 1910 his daughter Maria moved to the city to attend the Seminary Academy. Soon after Maria's move, Rasputin's other daughter Varvara arrived and the girls attended the prominent Steblin-Damensky Gymnasium. Praskovia, Rasputin's wife, now made yearly voyages to the city to visit her daughters and husband. Beginning soon after his daughters moved to St. Petersburg, Rasputin went through different stages of acceptance with the Romanovs, other

high standing officials and socialites. Nicholas and Alexandra, worried about rumors of Rasputin's mistresses and his life in the city, began some research on his past. For more information about him, they asked close friends whose judgments they respected. There was also general consensus among officials that Rasputin was negatively influencing Alexandra, and in turn affecting the entire country. Rasputin is as famous for his death as he is for his life. One evening at a meeting of Russian officials, it was decided that Rasputin was putting the entire nation in danger. Three men, Prince Feliks Yusupov (husband of the Tsar's niece), Vladimir Mitrofanovich Purishkevich (a member of the duma) and the Grand Duke Dimitry Pavlovich (the Tsar's cousin) took control of the situation. With an intricate plan, the three invited Rasputin over to the Yusupov Palace on December 30, 1916 to meet the Tsar's beautiful niece. While waiting for her to appear, the men fed Rasputin poisoned wine and tea cakes. They did not affect him. Dismay came over Yusupov and he shot Rasputin. Miraculously, Rasputin staggered out into the courtyard where Purishkevich and Pavlovich were preparing to leave the palace. Purishkevich shot the staggering Rasputin again, but it was only when they bound his body and threw it into the Neva River that he died. There is much controversy over Rasputin's life, from his mistresses to his mystical healing powers. But what is certain is that he had an irrefutable affect on the Romanov family and the Russian Empire.
http://www.propheties.it/rasputin.htm

Grigory Rasputin, a wondering peasant who eventually exerted a powerful influence over Nicholas II and Aleksandra, the last Tsar and Tsarina of Imperial Russia, is one of the most mysterious and dark individuals of Russian history. Grigory Rasputin was born 10 January 1869 in the small and remote Siberian village of Pokrovskoe. Even as a young man he astonished people; there was talk about him having visions and the ability to heal. According to one legend, one day Rasputin was lying in bed sick when a group of peasants walked in to find out who had stolen a horse. Grigory rose from his bed and pointed at the thief among them. The insulted peasant denied it, and Grigory was beaten. That night, two wary peasants followed the suspect and saw him leading the horse out of his shed and into the forest. Rasputin gained a reputation as a visionary, although some were scared of the boy and thought he was possessed by the devil. It was a time and place where all possible magic and heeling powers were a way of life. Grigory himself thought that he was taken over by a higher force. He was also a drunk, got into fights and harassed women. He got married when he was around twenty and had four children. A visit to a monastery in Verhoturye changed him; it was his first encounter with a ritual form of religion. He ended up staying there for months. Rasputin then left his

home to become a strannik, a pilgrim or wonderer. His journey took him as far as Greece and Jerusalem. He sometimes walked for days without eating or stopping; he didnt wash or even touch his body for months and wore shackles to increase the hardship of his journey. It is believed that during his travels he may have encountered a secret sect called the hlysty. They organized a particular kind of worship in which there were no priests; in one part of the service they sang and prayed and became almost drunk by spinning; in the other part they indulged in flagellation and orgiastic sex. This type of worship, they thought, would bring them closer to God. Driving out sin with sin was the concept that Rasputin later adopted. After his travels of more than two years he returned to his village of Pokrovskoe. The locals saw a change in him; he was perceived by some to have a luminescent religious essence and was even called a staryets, a wondering holy man, by others. Even before his arrival in St. Petersburg in 1903, the city was agog with mysticism and aristocrats were obsessed with anything occult. Rasputin met Bishop Theophan, who was at first shocked by Rasputins dirty look and strong smell, but he was nonetheless mesmerized by the holy man and shortly introduced him to the Montenegrin princesses, Militsa and Anastasia, who also fell under his spell. He was then introduced by the sisters to Nicholas II and Aleksandra (the Tsar and Tsarina). Aleksandra was impressed by him straight away and he became a regular visitor to the palace; she spent hours talking to him about religion. Rasputin would tell her that she and the Tsar needed to be closer to their people, that they should see him more often and trust him, because he would not betray them, to him they were equal to God, and he would always tell them the truth, not like the ministers, who dont care about people and their tears. These kinds of words touched Aleksandra deeply; she absolutely believed that he was sent to the royal family by God, to protect the dynasty. To her, Rasputin was the answer to their hopes and prayers. The Tsar and Tsarina shared with him their concerns and worries, most importantly, over their son Alekseys (the only male heir to the throne) health. He suffered from hemophilia. Rasputin was the only one who was able to actually help their son, how he did it will always remain a mystery, but Aleksey got better. The palace governor wrote in his memoirs: From the first time that Rasputin appeared at the heirs bed, he got better. Everybody at court remembers the episode in Spala, when no doctor could help the suffering and moaning child, but as soon as a telegram was sent to Rasputin, and they received an answer that the boy would not die, his pain eased straight away. Everyone who met Rasputin remarked on his eyes and how hypnotic they were. Elena Dzhanumova wrote in her diary: What eyes he has! You cannot endure his gaze for long. There is something difficult in him, it is like you can feel the physical pressure, even though his eyes sometimes glow with kindness, but how cruel can they be and how frightful in anger Nicholas also trusted Rasputin. He became his advisor whose one word was enough to place an unknown person as a minister at court. But Nicholas sometimes decided government questions of a higher scale by himself. Rasputin was strongly against the First World War (1914 - 1918) and tried to convince the Tsar to make peace with Germany, but Nicholas held his ground and took Russia to war, which was a disaster for his country, with more than four million Russians loosing their lives. Rasputin lived in an apartment on Gorohovaya Street. There, peasants and aristocrats came to visit him. Peasants and the citys poor worshiped Rasputin and

believed in his holiness and sometimes asked for help and money, and aristocrats, knowing his influence at court, visited him only to gain his favor and use it for their career growth or just because it was fashionable. He also seduced women with his charm, preached and entertained. It was rumored that he organized his own sect performing religious sex rituals. Many reports of Rasputins unholy behavior reached Nicholas. But he dismissed these reports of Rasputins outings to bathhouses, beatings and violent sex with society women and prostitutes. He laughed them off by saying the holy are always slandered. Even Bishop Theophan tried to tell Nicholas to distance himself from Rasputin, but for this he was relieved of his post and banished. In December 1916 Rasputin sent a letter to Nicholas about his own death: I feel that I shall leave life before January 1st. I wish to make known to the Russian people, to Papa (the Tsar), to the Russian Mother (the Tsarina) and to the Children what they must understand. If I am killed by common assassins, and especially by my brothers the Russian peasants, you, the Tsar of Russia, will have nothing to fear for your children, they will reign for hundreds of years. But if I am murdered by boyars, nobles, and if they shed my blood, their hands will remain soiled with my blood for twenty-five years and they will leave Russia. Brothers will kill brothers, and they will kill each other and hate each other, and for twenty-five years there will be no peace in the country. The Tsar of the land of Russia, if you hear the sound of the bell which will tell you that Grigory has been killed, you must know this: if it was your relations who have wrought my death, then none of your children will remain alive for more than two years. And if they do, they will beg for death as they will see the defeat of Russia, see the Antichrist coming, plague, poverty, destroyed churches, and desecrated sanctuaries where everyone is dead. The Russian Tsar, you will be killed by the Russian people and the people will be cursed and will serve as the devils weapon killing each other everywhere. Three times for 25 years they will destroy the Russian people and the orthodox faith and the Russian land will die. I shall be killed. I am no longer among the living. Pray, pray, be strong, and think of your blessed family. Rasputin was mostly hated among the nobles, especially Nicholass family members. He appeared to them as a drunk, a dirty man who infiltrated his way into the royal family, who appointed and dismissed ministers, and for over ten years was the central figure in Petersburgs scandal news and at the same time ruled over the Tsar in some strange way. Prince Felix Yusupov (husband of the Tsars niece Irina) wanted him dead and wasnt alone. The Tsars cousin, Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, and Vladimir Purishkevich, a member of parliament wished to get rid of Rasputin and his demonic influence. The three invited Rasputin to the Yusupov Palace on December 30, 1916 to meet the Tsars niece. While waiting for her to appear, Rasputin was offered wine and his favorite cakes laced with a tremendous amount of cyanide. Hours went by and the poison did not affect Rasputin. Dismay and fear came over Yusupov who reached for his gun and shot Rasputin. Everyone was sure that it was the end of him, but miraculously he staggered out of the palace. Vladimir Purishkevich ran after Rasputin and shot him again in the back, but it was only when they threw his body into the Neva River that he died. Just ten weeks after

his death, the Romanov dynasty was overthrown during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Less than two years later, Nicholas and his entire family were executed.
http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/history-and-mythology/grigory-rasputin/

What overall effect of influence had Rasputin had on the royal family as a whole and on the tsaritsa (Alexandra)?
Rasputin gave the royal family a bad reputation as heavily reliant on him and his advice to them. He made several bad political decisions through the tsar and tsaritsa which caused the people (and the tsar) much trouble. He was one major reason for the downfall of the Russian royal family. Hence, one may safely state that he had a very negative influence on the royal family in general. Alexandra considered Rasputin a very close and intimate friend, to herself and to her family in general. She adored him for his ability to help Alexei with his hemophilia, and she fell under his spell of influence to a great degree. He exacted serious control on the tsaritsa, influencing nearly all of her decisions, even for minor day-to-day living matters. The tsaritsa listened intently to Rasputins word, and saw to it that it be passed on and carried out by Nicholas II, as she felt it was compulsory in order for her family to stay safe and alive. Had she adopted an opposite disposition when regarding Rasputin, it is even possible that her family would have carried on peacefully for years to come, possibly averting the murder of the royal family.

Describe his "mystical powers."

Rasputin had the apparent abilities to know what others knew privately (telepathy) and to heal people in conditions which were impossible to heal by the day's medical means. By simply speaking to Alexei, for example, Rasputin would cause bleeding to cease. He could also predict future events and conditions to take place involving the tsar and his family. Near the end of the film Rasputin, the tsaritsa read a letter from Rasputin, written prior to his death, stating that if Rasputin is killed by people that are unrelated to the tsar or the tsaritsa, no harm will come to the tsar and his family, but if a relative is responsible for the murder of Rasputin, within two years the royal family will perish completely.

Why was it "unseemly" for Rasputin to be so accepted at the royal court?

It was not a good public relations activity to have Rasputin in the royal court because he was a poor man from peasant stock in Siberia, and the tsar was not thought of as associating with peasants in such a close manner; it tarnished his reputation as an elite gentleman among the nobles. Also, although his techniques worked (for the most part) on Alexei, he could not tell others how to repeat the techniques so that they could perform this healing as well. This led many to believe he did not disclose his method because he had no grounds to base it, and he wanted to remain in court in a parasitic relationship to the royal family. He had a rather poor look in terms of hygiene and personal physical upkeep, which only served to further lower him in the eyes of the nobility. Many of the people of Russia felt that the tsar and his family, which were all supposed to be great leaders and independent decision-makers, relied on

Rasputins strange, unfounded decisions for most problems that came the tsars way, diminishing the tsars reputation as a strong and competent leader.

How did he become known to the royal family?

Rasputin came to be known to the royal family through the Russian Orthodox Church. Earlier in his childhood, he had gained a reputation as a prophet, as one who could see the truth in the past, present, and in the future. When a young man in Siberia, he is shown in the film to have claimed in church one day that he had seen the Mother of Christ, Mary, and could describe her beauty and radiance. At first, the minister scrutinized him for this claim, but soon fell for Rasputins charismatic lure. Once Rasputin became famous enough in the Orthodox Church, the tsar would be informed, as the tsar was the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Rasputin soon had nearly everyone around him convinced that he was a holy man, a person endowed with special powers by the Creator, and when tsar Nicholas II was searching and ready to try almost anything to heal is son, Alexei, someone summoned Father Rasputin.
http://liamk.tripod.com/#9

Rasputin had a significant impact on the royal family as well as Russia during the reign of Czar Nicholas II. Rasputin was a staret that worked his way into the royal family. The influence of Rasputin on Alexis, the heir to the throne, gave him great power. The power given to Rasputin had a notable impact among the Russian people as well as Russia. Grigory Efimovich, better known as Rasputin, was born in the town of Pokrovskoe in 1871.