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ellekeene's review
3.0
Started off promising, but devolved into a series of names and dates that were devoid of interest. The tome insists that the world might be better off had Rasputin never been born, but Rasputin was just an opportunist. Nicholas was passive and his wife was a domineering, unstable ostrich. Rasputin was a layered player on that scene, and he didn't always have evil at heart.
innashtakser's review
3.0
Somewhat disappointing, I'm afraid. Rasputin's story could be fascinating while seem in the context of contemporary Russian educated society's fascination with prophets coming from the people. That includes avid interest in sectarians as well as in artists who emphasized their peasant (Esenin, Kriukov) or worker (Gorky) origins. The author, to my regret, chose to simply tell us about Rasputin. This is simply not enough. After all Rasputin is mostly interesting not by himself, but as part of the context.
ealkotob's review
5.0
Very readable biography on Rasputin. It was easy to understand and that's what you want in a biography, especially when it involves Russia, the tsar, and WWI. There were a lot of Russian terms that needed definitions and Russian surnames that were hard to pronounce (not to mention, many share the same first name of Alexander, Nicholas, Gregory, Alexei, Anna, Maria...so it's easy to get people confused.)
I have always been interested in Rasputin ever since I heard how he died back in my junior year AP World History class. Also, I just loved "Rasputin" on the Just Dance 2 Wii edition. I mean, who doesn't love Boney M's "Rasputin"? That song is dope and you just gotta move to it:
Ra Ra Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen/Russia's greatest love machine/It was a shame how he carried oooonnnnnnn
Nevertheless, it was high time for me to actually read up on this mysterious figure in history who had so much power and influence. The author did a great job keeping me interested and outlining Rasputin's life, as well as Nicholas II and Alexandre, the tsar and tsarina whom Rasputin had so much impact on. If what you know about Rasputin comes from the animated movie Anastasia, you have so much to learn. For one, he wasn't necessarily a villain, at least from how this author details him. He was a peasant who went on pilgrimages, gave religious counsel, and would try his best to help the peasants (such as giving them a voice, providing alms, getting people out of jail who were wrongfully charged, healing people, etc.)
Rasputin was a bit of a cult leader in his attitude and his ability to convince people that his views were the right ones; he supposedly had piercing eyes that could see into the soul and hypnotize those who stared into them. Many men and women were enamored by his way of speaking and his gaze, even though he was not handsome and had a scary demeanor. It was just his aura that had so many people believe he was mystical and holy with spiritual foresight.
Rasputin had his enemies, as well as his supporters. I mean, he was not necessarily a good man, either, despite not quite being a villain. There are many accounts of him manipulating people, stealing, drinking to excess, using his wife's grocery money on alcohol, cheating on her, behaving in obscene ways, cursing, and molesting unsuspecting women who went to him for religious counsel. Yet, since he had so much power over the tsarina, these crimes and his misbehavior were disregarded; so many times there would be people accusing him of a crime, but then Nicholas II or Alexandra would step in and Rasputin was not held accountable. Sure, there were some investigations that went on, but they never fell through and he could never be convicted for anything. But, of course, some of these accusations were fabricated by his enemies so they had no standing, but others had clear evidence.
The reason for the tsar and tsarina's respect/closeness to Rasputin was that they believed he somehow cured their son's hemophilia. Rasputin's "holiness" was something they wanted near since they believed his presence was good for their son's health. Whether it was coincidence, hypnotism, or some secret medical remedy he performed, Rasputin seemed to ease Alexis's pain and stop his bleeding whenever he was near. This is why Rasputin got away with a lot, since he was seen as a healer and a "magical" man who could mend in ways doctors could not.
Overall, Rasputin was just a very interesting person to read about and it is crazy to think about how much influence he had on Russia. Also, the way he died is INSANE. By the end of the book, I suddenly felt pity for this man who history has declared a villain.
I have always been interested in Rasputin ever since I heard how he died back in my junior year AP World History class. Also, I just loved "Rasputin" on the Just Dance 2 Wii edition. I mean, who doesn't love Boney M's "Rasputin"? That song is dope and you just gotta move to it:
Ra Ra Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen/Russia's greatest love machine/It was a shame how he carried oooonnnnnnn
Nevertheless, it was high time for me to actually read up on this mysterious figure in history who had so much power and influence. The author did a great job keeping me interested and outlining Rasputin's life, as well as Nicholas II and Alexandre, the tsar and tsarina whom Rasputin had so much impact on. If what you know about Rasputin comes from the animated movie Anastasia, you have so much to learn. For one, he wasn't necessarily a villain, at least from how this author details him. He was a peasant who went on pilgrimages, gave religious counsel, and would try his best to help the peasants (such as giving them a voice, providing alms, getting people out of jail who were wrongfully charged, healing people, etc.)
Rasputin was a bit of a cult leader in his attitude and his ability to convince people that his views were the right ones; he supposedly had piercing eyes that could see into the soul and hypnotize those who stared into them. Many men and women were enamored by his way of speaking and his gaze, even though he was not handsome and had a scary demeanor. It was just his aura that had so many people believe he was mystical and holy with spiritual foresight.
Rasputin had his enemies, as well as his supporters. I mean, he was not necessarily a good man, either, despite not quite being a villain. There are many accounts of him manipulating people, stealing, drinking to excess, using his wife's grocery money on alcohol, cheating on her, behaving in obscene ways, cursing, and molesting unsuspecting women who went to him for religious counsel. Yet, since he had so much power over the tsarina, these crimes and his misbehavior were disregarded; so many times there would be people accusing him of a crime, but then Nicholas II or Alexandra would step in and Rasputin was not held accountable. Sure, there were some investigations that went on, but they never fell through and he could never be convicted for anything. But, of course, some of these accusations were fabricated by his enemies so they had no standing, but others had clear evidence.
The reason for the tsar and tsarina's respect/closeness to Rasputin was that they believed he somehow cured their son's hemophilia. Rasputin's "holiness" was something they wanted near since they believed his presence was good for their son's health. Whether it was coincidence, hypnotism, or some secret medical remedy he performed, Rasputin seemed to ease Alexis's pain and stop his bleeding whenever he was near. This is why Rasputin got away with a lot, since he was seen as a healer and a "magical" man who could mend in ways doctors could not.
Overall, Rasputin was just a very interesting person to read about and it is crazy to think about how much influence he had on Russia. Also, the way he died is INSANE. By the end of the book, I suddenly felt pity for this man who history has declared a villain.
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