1 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: One cell. November night in nineteen oh seven Saint Petersburg, Russia. 2 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: Most of the lights inside the winter Palace were out. 3 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: It was past midnight, and everybody was in bed. Everybody 4 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: that was, except for the Czarina. Alexandra had been pacing 5 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: the floor outside the room of her three year old 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: son Alexey for hours. Inside, her son was desperately ill 7 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: in bed, his leg horrifically swollen from internal bleeding caused 8 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: by hemophilia that no doctor could stop. And inside with him, 9 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: kneeling beside his bed was an unkempt stranger, muttering something 10 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: quietly under his breath, even when on his knee. The 11 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: man's broad frame loomed over the boy's slight and fragile body. 12 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: The man, a healer and mystic of some kind, had 13 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: been recommended to the Czarina by her aunt Olga, But 14 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: when he arrived earlier that evening, she could have been 15 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: forgiven for thinking what on earth she was letting herself 16 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: in for. Exactly with his strange mannerisms and lank hair, 17 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: he promised he would heal Alexe And with all other 18 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: options exhausted, Alexandra had no choice but to let him 19 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: At least try her. Last glimpse of her son had 20 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: been disturbing, the haunting dark patches under his eyes, his 21 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: face twisted in agony, and his legs so large it 22 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: looked as if it might burst. After what felt like 23 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: an eternity, the strange man finally emerged from the nurse 24 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: and quietly closed the door behind him. Alexandra walked towards him, 25 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: heading straight for the room, when the man held up 26 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: his hand to stop her. A little shocked by the gesture, 27 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: she couldn't help but allow it. There was something magnetic 28 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: about his eyes, his gaze, and almost physical weight. It 29 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: was as though he could see directly into her. Leave 30 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: him now, said the man, rest assured, you'll find him 31 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: much improved in the morning. Alexandra reluctantly did what she 32 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: was told. After a fitful sleep, she awoke to find 33 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: the pale light of dawn outside her window. Hurriedly, she 34 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: pulled on her robe and headed towards Alexey's room. She 35 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: opened his door and stopped in her tracks. Alexey was 36 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 1: sitting up in bed, tied and smiling, his fever broken 37 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: and the swelling of his leg almost completely gone. It 38 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: was a miracle. The stories about the Healer had seemed 39 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: too good to be true, a farmer turned holy man 40 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: who'd suddenly arrived in Saint Petersburg just when they needed 41 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: him most. But Alexey's smiling face was all the proof 42 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: she needed. The man, it seemed, was everything they said 43 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:44,559 Speaker 1: he was, and its name Grigory Resputin. Of course, Rasputin 44 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: was born sometime in the mid nineteenth century, the son 45 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: of farmers living in the Siberian village of Boklovska, with 46 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: a population of around one hundred. The village was perched 47 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: on the bank of the Tura River, which flows eastward 48 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: from the Ural mountains where Europe and Asia meet. To some, 49 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: Siberia was an inhospitable, wild and lawless place where, for 50 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: hundreds of years, those deemed criminals by the Russian state 51 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: had been frequently exiled. However, like many penniless and landless 52 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: Russians at the time, Rasputin's ancestors went to Siberia willingly 53 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: seeking a brighter future. To them, lawlessness meant freedom. In Siberia, 54 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: they could throw off the shackles of serfdom, in which 55 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: you were forced to work someone else's land for pittance 56 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: and keep their hard earned money for themselves. Resputin's parents 57 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,479 Speaker 1: scraped a living through manual labour, and after many years 58 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: they saved up enough money to afford a small plot 59 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: of land. Buoyed by their newfound financial security, they tried 60 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: to start of family, but several years of heartbreak followed. 61 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: The couple had four children, all of whom died within 62 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: a few days. But in January eighteen sixty nine, their 63 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: luck changed. Arna gave birth to a son and named 64 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: him Grigory. From day one, there seemed something different about 65 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: the boy. He seemed possessed with a clear and indomitable 66 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: will to survive. Rasputin's early life is largely a mystery. 67 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: The little that is known is ambiguous and heavily contested, 68 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: but Rasputin's upbringing was undoubtedly a brutal and isolated one, 69 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: surrounded by desolate landscapes and hardened laborers. He quickly developed 70 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,799 Speaker 1: a tough shell. As soon as he was strong enough, 71 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: he began helping his father out with manual labour around 72 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:04,159 Speaker 1: the farm. But Rasputin was restless, and with little to 73 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: occupy his young mind, he soon started getting into trouble. 74 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: According to some reports, he was charged with stealing horses 75 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 1: and often accused of unruly behaviour. As he grew older, 76 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: he became more and more rebellious and began drinking heavily. 77 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: Even his neighbors gave him a wide berth. He drooled 78 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:34,479 Speaker 1: constantly and always seemed to be covered in dirt. But 79 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: despite his unappealing appearance, there was a mystique building around Resputin. 80 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: There were rumors that the boy had mystical powers, that 81 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: he could heal animals, and that he had even had 82 00:06:50,360 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: divine visions. Back in six Deen thirty six, in a 83 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: small hut at the back of a churchyard, a widow 84 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: named Maria was fast asleep. The place was a balach 85 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: on the bank of the Yatish River in Siberia. As 86 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: Maria slept deep inside her unconscious mind, three faces appeared 87 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: to her. One she recognized as Theotokos be eased, an 88 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: Orthodox term for the Virgin Mary, and the others were saints. 89 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: Then a voice began to speak, ordering her to tell 90 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: everyone what she'd seen and to request another church be 91 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:46,239 Speaker 1: built in the churchyard dedicated to the Virgin Mary. But Maria, 92 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: too scared and confused by the dream, kept it to herself. 93 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: It is said she had the same dream four times, 94 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: but still she would not share it. The day, while 95 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: traveling to Tubolsk in Siberia, she suddenly found herself lost 96 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: in fog. From out of the thick swirling cloud, a 97 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: grand looking figure emerged, who she took to be Saint Nicholas. 98 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: Pointing at Maria, he told her again to share her 99 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: dreams with the people, and so finally she did. Two 100 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,239 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty years later, in the summer of eighteen 101 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: eighty six, a seventeen year old Rasputin left his family's 102 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: village for the first time. He traveled more than one 103 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: hundred miles northeast to the village of a Baralak on 104 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: the banks of the Irtysh River. He went to see 105 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: the Holy Snamensky Monastery, a religious complex born from the 106 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: dreams of a widow named Maria, or so the story goes. 107 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: There he visited the monos famed icon of the Virgin Mary, 108 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 1: which was believed to have healing powers. What he was 109 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: looking for there exactly is unclear, but during his time 110 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: there he met a young woman from a nearby village, 111 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 1: Prascovie du Brovina. After a few months of courtship, Just 112 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: after Rasputin's eighteenth birthday, he and Prascovie were married. The 113 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 1: couple went on to have seven children together, but only 114 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: three of them survived longer than a few days. Having 115 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: returned home, Rasputin continued working on his family's farm, but 116 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: soon grew tired of his mundane existence, Convinced he was 117 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: destined for much greater things. However, unable to see how 118 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: he might ever achieve this, he took to drinking more heavily. 119 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: Over time, his mental health deteriorated. He began to suffer 120 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: from insomnia and an unwelcome reoccurrence of bed wetting, which 121 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: had plagued him since his childhood. Until one night everything changed. 122 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard mc lane Smith. 123 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 1: One summer night in eighteen ninety seven on his farm, 124 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,439 Speaker 1: Rasputin awoke with a start. He tossed and turned frustrated 125 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: at the prospect of another sleepless night, when he suddenly 126 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: became aware of a presence in the room. Turning his head, 127 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,079 Speaker 1: he was startled to see some one standing next to 128 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: his bed with their back to him. Rasputin looked on 129 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 1: aghast as the figure apparently then turned round and revealed 130 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: itself to be Saint Simeon, the Russian Orthodox patron saint 131 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: of the Ural region where Resputin lived. In the Orthodox faith, 132 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 1: Saint Simeon is regarded as a healer of both the 133 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: body and soul, a miracle worker who alcoholics often pray 134 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: to as they try to get sober. Then, as Resputin 135 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:34,319 Speaker 1: would later have it, Saint Simeon began to talk. Rasputin 136 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,079 Speaker 1: claimed to have listened in wonder as the figure told 137 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 1: him that he could cure all of his ailments and 138 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: exalt him to a higher plane of existence. All he 139 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: had to do in return was give up everything he 140 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: had and devote himself entirely to God. From that day forward, 141 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 1: Rasputin stopped drinking and smoking, and refused to even eat meat. 142 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 1: A second vision apparently followed soon after, this time of 143 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: the Virgin Mary telling him to go wander and cleanse 144 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: the people of their sins. There was little Rasputen's wife, Prascovia, 145 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: could do, pregnant with another of their children, when he 146 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: told her he had to leave and that he didn't 147 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,680 Speaker 1: know when he'd be back, And so, at the age 148 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: of twenty eight, Rasputin left his village and his family behind. 149 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: He set out in the early morning, traversing his way 150 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: through the rugged and sparse landscape surrounding his hometown. His 151 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: only plan to head west toward the ural mountains, which 152 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: lined the horizon before him and seemed to be beckoning 153 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: him closer and closer. His final destination was Verkatordia, the 154 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: home of Saint Simeon, more than three hundred miles away. 155 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 1: There he visited the Saint Nicholas monastery and seemingly continued 156 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: his religious awakening. But it was that day's long walk 157 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: that really set the tone for Rasputin's next chapter. On 158 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: the move, he felt happier than he ever had in 159 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: his entire life. Suddenly it all seemed so clear the 160 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:32,079 Speaker 1: reason he wasn't happy at home. He wasn't a laborer 161 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: destined to be chained to the land. He was a wanderer. Now, 162 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: at twenty eight years old, he felt his life was 163 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: finally beginning. Rasputin spent months at the monastery in Verkatoria, 164 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: where he became more and more convinced of his own 165 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: powers of healing. That was his true destiny. He believed 166 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: there would be no returning to life as a farm worker. Now, 167 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: he spent the next decade as a traveling pilgrim, moving 168 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:14,559 Speaker 1: around the country, spending time in different towns and villages. 169 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: It wasn't an easy existence. He regularly walked up to 170 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: thirty miles a day and often went for days without 171 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: food or water, but it was worth it to him, 172 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: not only because he felt free, but also because, for 173 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 1: the first time, he felt powerful. Each time he arrived 174 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: at a new village, he introduced himself as a holy man, 175 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,320 Speaker 1: and despite the fact that Resputant had never been ordained 176 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: or trained as a priest, people bought it. More than 177 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: that they flocked to him. His confidence in his own 178 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: abilities was dazzling, as was his deep and fluent knowledge 179 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 1: of scripture, his story telling ability, and its clear commitment 180 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: to life as a holy wanderer. But Rasputin wasn't content 181 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: to simply travel the country. He wanted to see more 182 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: of the world. He traveled to Mount Athos in Greece, 183 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: a holy site that houses more than a dozen monasteries 184 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: and monastic settlements. On his travels, he relied on the 185 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: kindness of strangers, often taking shelter in their homes overnight. 186 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 1: Through this, he came into contact with all kinds of people, 187 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: from fellow farm workers to priests, nuns, soldiers, and even nobility. 188 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: Despite his lack of formal education, these experiences gave Resputin 189 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: a sophisticated understanding of Russian society and of human psychology. 190 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: He seemed to know everything about someone before they did met, 191 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: not least of all their vulnerabilities, and swiftly earned their trust. 192 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: On occasion, Rasputin returned home to his family. His children, 193 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: Maria and Dmitri, were enthralled by his stories of his 194 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: travels and begged their father to take them with him 195 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: next time, but he never did. Rasputin's life as a 196 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: wanderer was far from child friendly, and not just because 197 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: of all the physical challenges involved. Many of Rasputin's most 198 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: devoted acolytes were said to be young women, whom he 199 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: paid special attention to. He took meetings alone with his 200 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: female followers, often at public bathhouses, during which some decidedly 201 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: unholy acts took place. Before long, Rasputin's reputation began to 202 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: precede him, upsetting the more established local priests and other 203 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: men of God, who accused him of being a charlatan, 204 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:13,920 Speaker 1: and soon the rumours began to fly too. Some claimed 205 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,920 Speaker 1: that Rasputin forced his female followers to ceremonially wash him, 206 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: and that he was teaching his acolytes mysterious, possibly blasphemous rituals. 207 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 1: But in spite of it all, Rasputin's fame only seemed 208 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 1: to grow. Aside from his charm, his worldly air, and 209 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: his unnerving ability to get inside people's heads, Rasputin's fame 210 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:52,119 Speaker 1: was also built on his seemingly miraculous healing powers. He 211 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 1: began describing himself as a healer early in his pilgrimage years. 212 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:03,120 Speaker 1: The specifics of his so called miraculous healing abilities are murky. Certainly, 213 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: there are no reliable witness accounts describing how they manifested exactly. 214 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: But regardless of the lack of evidence, many came to 215 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:17,920 Speaker 1: consider Resputine a faith healer, a self declared holy person 216 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:23,200 Speaker 1: able to cure someone's disease simply by laying hands on them, 217 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: acting as a physical conduit for divine intervention. The notion 218 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: of faith healing dates back millennia and remains popular to 219 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: this day. According to a twenty sixteen survey, almost ninety 220 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,879 Speaker 1: percent of Americans have turned to healing prayer at some 221 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: point in their lives. Almost a quarter have practiced a 222 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 1: traditional laying on of hands as it is caught in 223 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 1: a bid to cure illness. For years, Rasputin traveled from 224 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 1: place to place, bestowing his blessings and famous health hands 225 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: on whoever wanted them. Many were impoverished, sometimes hundreds of 226 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:12,360 Speaker 1: miles from medical care. Having such a renowned, supposedly wise 227 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 1: holy man paying attention to them would have, no doubt 228 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:22,359 Speaker 1: felt extraordinary. But Rasputin, ever restless, had his sight set 229 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 1: on a new life. By nineteen hundred, then in its thirties, 230 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: he'd spent the better part of a decade as a 231 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 1: traveling pilgrim, and he was tired. The adulation and gratitude 232 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,160 Speaker 1: he received from acolytes was no longer enough to make 233 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: up for the physical demands of his lifestyle. Walking miles 234 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: and miles a day was not going to be an 235 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: option for much longer, And though he'd never let his 236 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: followers know it, Rasputin considered himself far superior to most 237 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 1: of the people he encountered. He didn't want to spend 238 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: the rest of his life skulking around tiny villages, giving 239 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 1: out charity to the poor and needy, so that year 240 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,920 Speaker 1: he set out for one place he'd never been before, 241 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:27,159 Speaker 1: Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire in the 242 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds. The city of Saint Petersburg was a 243 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 1: bustling hub of activity when it was founded by Czar Peter. 244 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: The first two decades earlier, it was dubbed Russia's window 245 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: on Europe thanks to its direct access to the Baltic 246 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Between its stunning neoclassical architecture 247 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:55,119 Speaker 1: and its many interlaced rivers and canals, Saint Petersburg was 248 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:59,440 Speaker 1: the kind of place that made life feel beautiful. Few 249 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 1: people in and that magnificent metropolis had any sense that 250 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: these were the last days of the Russian Empire. Soon 251 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: after arriving in the city, Rasputin quickly began to ingratiate 252 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: himself in aristocratic social circles. At the time, interest in 253 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: spirituality and the dark arts was hugely popular. Seances, hypnotism, 254 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 1: and chiromancy, the practice of reading someone's future through the 255 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: lines on their palm, were all gleefully and openly practiced 256 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: by the wealthier elements of society. This belief in the 257 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: mystical had infiltrated the very highest echelons of Russian society. 258 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:52,439 Speaker 1: It had even reached the House of Romanov. It was 259 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: a heady, febrile environment, custom made for a man like resputins, 260 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:03,919 Speaker 1: strange and enigmatic death charms. In nineteen oh four, Czar 261 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:09,640 Speaker 1: Nicholas the Second and his wife, the Czarina Alexandra, received 262 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: devastating news their infant son, Alexey, the heir to the 263 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:20,920 Speaker 1: Russian throne, was diagnosed with hemophilia. It's a rare condition 264 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: where a person's blood doesn't clot as it should. It 265 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: can cause uncontrolled bleeding, both externally and internally. Today it's 266 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:37,119 Speaker 1: broadly treatable through blood infusions, but in the early twentieth 267 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: century it was far more dangerous. In the year following 268 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: Alexey's diagnosis, the royal couple had become increasingly desperate and 269 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: increasingly disillusioned with the many doctors they'd sought advice from. 270 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: They were beginning to fear their son was beyond help, 271 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:11,360 Speaker 1: at least beyond and traditional help. Even before their son's diagnosis, 272 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: the Czar and Czarina had a history of putting their 273 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 1: faith in the other worldly. Several years earlier, they befriended 274 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,200 Speaker 1: a self styled French mystic named Philippe Nazier Vachot, who 275 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,480 Speaker 1: claimed to be able to predict the future. Nazier Vachot 276 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,760 Speaker 1: had predicted that Alexandra would finally give birth to a 277 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: male heir after several disappointments. When Alexey Julie arrived, they 278 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:45,240 Speaker 1: credited Nazier Vachow with helping their wishes to come true. 279 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: But now the man was gone and the couple were 280 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:54,359 Speaker 1: in search of a new miracle worker. Soon, stories of 281 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: a strange new arrival on the Saint Petersburg social scene 282 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 1: wormed their way to the Winter Palace. Both couldn't help 283 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: but be intrigued by the story an impoverished farmer from 284 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: a deprived corner of Siberia who had become a nationally 285 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:16,200 Speaker 1: renowned man of God, seemingly with no help from anyone 286 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,840 Speaker 1: save for the Lord himself. And when they learned of 287 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: Rasputin's supposed healing powers, they summoned him immediately to the palace. 288 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 1: When he stepped into the Tsar's chambers to meet with 289 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:33,959 Speaker 1: the Tsar and Czarina, it was hard not to be 290 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:39,000 Speaker 1: impressed by him. He was certainly hard to ignore. He 291 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: was six foot three with broad shoulders. His hands were 292 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: unusually large, too, seemingly built for a lifetime of farm work. 293 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: And yet there he was not a farmer, but a 294 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,720 Speaker 1: man whom many believed channeled nothing but divinity through them. 295 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: Buttin had an uncannyability to read people, to see the 296 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:07,359 Speaker 1: truth of them, and tell them what they wanted to hear. 297 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:12,640 Speaker 1: And there in that first meeting he realized that Alexey's 298 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:23,639 Speaker 1: illness was only one part of the Czar's trouble. In 299 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:28,400 Speaker 1: the early nineteen hundreds, political unrest was mounting across all 300 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,600 Speaker 1: of Russia. In January nineteen oh five, a peaceful demonstration 301 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: ended in bloodshed when hundreds of protesters were shot dead 302 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 1: by armed police. It became known as the Bloody Sunday massacre. 303 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: It sparked a revolution among citizens across the country, many 304 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: of whom had already been questioning the monarchy's authoritarian rule. 305 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: That year, much of Russia ground to a halt amid 306 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: national strikes, military mutinies, and widespread protests. By the autumn, 307 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: Czar Nicholas was compelled to take action. In a concession 308 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 1: to the masses, he signed a document called the October Manifesto, 309 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:22,399 Speaker 1: which radically transformed Russian society. The Manifesto guaranteed basic civil liberties, 310 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:28,000 Speaker 1: including freedom of speech, and created a legislative body whose 311 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:33,360 Speaker 1: members would be elected by the people. Just overnight, Russia 312 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:38,919 Speaker 1: went from an autocracy to a constitutional monarchy. Although it 313 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 1: had the desired effect quelling the flames of revolution, Nicholas 314 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,280 Speaker 1: was deeply uncomfortable with the step he'd been forced to take. 315 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: Upholding another generation of autocratic power was to him his 316 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 1: sole duty, and he'd failed. It was shortly after enacting 317 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: the Manifesto that Nicholas was introduced to Rasputin. Resputin was, 318 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: of course well aware of the political climate, and perhaps 319 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: also sensed that the Tsar's fears about his heir's health 320 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:19,160 Speaker 1: were tied into something bigger, a looming sense of existential 321 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:25,120 Speaker 1: dread about the future of the monarchy. Either way, by 322 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: the end of that first meeting, Resputin had convinced Czar 323 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra that he could heal Alexey, But 324 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,359 Speaker 1: he also wove in reassurance of a different kind. He 325 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: told the Czar that he was the rightful leader of 326 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: Russia and that he should demand obedience and loyalty from 327 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: its subjects. It was exactly what Nicholas and Alexandra wanted 328 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:57,920 Speaker 1: to hear. After years of mounting opposition and hatred from 329 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 1: the public. Here was a man of the people, a 330 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,960 Speaker 1: lowly peasant, no less as they saw him, at least 331 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:12,480 Speaker 1: by birth, reaffirming their authority. Rasputin's impressive reputation, they agreed 332 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: later that night, seemed well earned. Sometime after his first 333 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: introduction to the Czar and Czarina, Rasputin was summoned back 334 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 1: to the Winter Palace to attend to Alexey, who'd fallen 335 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 1: ill again. The boy, now three years old, had fallen 336 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: in the palace gardens and hurt his leg. For most 337 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: other children, this would be a scrape, but for alexe 338 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: it set off an uncontrollable internal bleeding. His legs swelled up, 339 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,960 Speaker 1: causing him to writhe an agonizing pain. Before he'd even 340 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:01,440 Speaker 1: set foot in the boy's room, Resputin commanded that Alexey's 341 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: doctors cease all medical treatment. He told the Czar and 342 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:10,520 Speaker 1: Czarina that his abilities required a blank slate, and that 343 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 1: any interference from secular medicine could interfere with the process 344 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: of divine intervention. By then, the couple had lost all 345 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: confidence in doctors anyway, so they didn't take much convincing. 346 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 1: Their medical team was summarily dismissed. Rasputin spent several hours 347 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: with Alexey that night, during which he prayed at the 348 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: foot of his bed. Finally, he emerged from Alexey's room 349 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,120 Speaker 1: in the early hours of the morning to find Alexandra 350 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 1: waiting anxiously outside. He told her to go to bed 351 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,719 Speaker 1: and promised that Alexey would be better in the morning. 352 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: Sure Enough, the next morning, Alexandra walked into Alexey's room 353 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:04,680 Speaker 1: find him sitting up in bed, his gaze clear and 354 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: the swelling in his leg almost entirely gone. She could 355 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: barely believe her eyes. Even when medical treatments had worked 356 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: in the past, it had taken days, sometimes weeks, for 357 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 1: Alexey to be well enough to get out of bed. 358 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: Rasputin had seemingly achieved what no doctor ever had. He 359 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,239 Speaker 1: had healed the air to the Russian throne in a 360 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: single night. Rasputin had solidified his position in the csars 361 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: in a circle, effectively making him one of the most 362 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 1: influential men in Russia. It was the beginning of a 363 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: new life for him and for the royal couple who 364 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: felt the weight of years of anxiety lifted from them. 365 00:30:55,400 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: Yet unknown to them then it was also the beginning 366 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 1: of the end. This triumphant, miraculous evening would be the 367 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: ruin of them all. This episode was written by Emma 368 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:18,760 Speaker 1: Dibden and Richard McLain Smith. You've been listening to Unexplained 369 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: Season seven, episode fifteen in His Eyes A Flaming Glow. 370 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 1: Part one. The second and final part, will be released 371 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 1: next Friday, February sixteenth. Unexplained as an Avy Club Productions 372 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: podcast created by Richard McClain Smith. All other elements of 373 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,800 Speaker 1: the podcast, including the music, are also produced by me 374 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: Richard McClain smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, with stories 375 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 1: never before featured on the show, is now available to 376 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 377 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the 378 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 1: show wherever you get your podcasts, and feel free to 379 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the 380 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an 381 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 1: explanation of your own you'd like to share. You can 382 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: find out more at Unexplained Podcast dot com and reach 383 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,440 Speaker 1: us online through Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at 384 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:27,160 Speaker 1: Facebook dot com. Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast