WEBVTT - Ra Ra Rasputin 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:04.880 Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:08.760 and Mild from Aaron Manky listener, Discretion is advised. 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:24.720 We don't have sex in the USSR. Those are the 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:29.720 words that greet visitors in bold block lettering upon arriving 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:34.000 at the Museum of Love and Erotica in Saint Petersburg. 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:39.239 From the outside, the muse Arrows, as it's called, appears 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:44.080 fairly innocuous. Muted reds and grays, long since faded by 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:48.800 the sun paints the building's facade, blending into the equally 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:52.160 faded asphalt of the parking lot it shares with the 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:57.320 Shell gas station across the street. But once inside, the 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.440 pallid hues of the city give way to midnight blacks 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:08.600 and electric pinks. Decor unapologetically flaunting sex and kink over 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:13.720 every square inch of its curated studio space. Past the 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:18.240 throne of dildos and gift shop laden with leather accessories, 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:23.720 the museum offers exhibit after exhibit of artifacts dedicated to 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:30.600 the exploration of sex and sexuality through history. Fertility statues 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:35.880 stand proudly next to displays of vintage vibrators of I'll 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:41.039 Say Dubious historical accuracy. But perhaps the most interesting piece 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:44.840 in the entire space is sitting in a jar behind 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:48.400 a pane of glass. It isn't dressed in the same 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:52.600 jarring neon or velvet allure in keeping with the rest 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:55.640 of the exhibit, but then again, it doesn't need to. 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:00.960 The pound of flesh bobbing inside the formalda filled jar 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:07.560 speaks for itself. This artifact, of course, is the dismembered 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:15.799 penis of one Gregory Resputen. In the century since his death, 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:20.160 the infamous Russian mystic has become more myth than man, 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:24.160 though the latter is hard to ignore after catching a 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:28.919 glimpse of the astonishing appendage on display at the museum. 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:33.080 At least it would be astonishing if it were real. 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:39.839 False reports involving the aforementioned fallis have been in circulation 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.400 since the nineteen twenties, after a group of women in 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.359 France claimed to have kept it in an ice box 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:50.120 to take it out for use in certain fertility rituals. 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.919 Others say that was just a sea cucumber, and the 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:58.680 actual Genitalia resided with Maria, his daughter, until she sold 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:02.560 it sometime in the seventh these it's difficult to trace, 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:08.080 then what happened to the quote actual or quote false penis? 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:11.240 But in the year two thousand a man would pay 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:16.959 eight thousand dollars for something that claimed to be resputants penis, 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:21.520 and the man proudly stated, I am ninety nine percent 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:25.440 sure that it is real. Now there's a lot to 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.920 unpack there, After all, who pays eight thousand dollars to 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.800 only be ninety nine percent sure they have the real deal? 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:35.400 Or maybe it's worth taking a step back and asking 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:39.040 the more glaring question of why would someone want to 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:43.760 buy the penis in the first place. Unfortunately, or maybe 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:48.520 fortunately actually, I do not have the answers to those questions. 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:52.840 But here is one answer. If you were wondering whether 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.680 the organ is real, I can tell you that at 0:03:56.680 --> 0:04:01.280 the time of resputant's autopsy, his body was yes, riddled 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:06.360 with bullet wounds and blunt force trauma, but otherwise fully intact, 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:10.440 and the organ on display in the muse erros is, 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:15.040 at least in this writer's estimation, probably from a non 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:19.560 human animal with a size meant to shock audiences to 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:25.400 increase the mythology of its alleged source. Fascinating and deeply 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:28.840 compelling as the pickled mystery meat is. I think it's 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:32.520 even more interesting to examine the actual human who is 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:36.320 allegedly once attached to it when he was still alive. 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:41.279 Resputant aroused distrust and scandal without having to say a word. 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:44.159 One look at a photo of him with his long, 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:48.679 greasy black hair and his gaunt, deep set eyes provide 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:52.559 all the reason as to why, over one hundred years later, 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:56.880 his image is still deeply unsettling the story of his 0:04:57.040 --> 0:05:02.560 life is infamously debaucherous. Today, his name is synonymous with 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:07.360 villain in our cultural psyche. Though perhaps it's all too 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:12.040 common for stories to be lost to be consolidated over time, 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:17.920 the mad Monk's legend defies historical precedent. Instead of being 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:23.760 lost or diminished, histories are inexplicably being added, like Jenga 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.719 pieces stolen from the base of a teetering tower that 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:31.080 refuses to fall. So why is it that museum's boast 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:34.640 to have his most prized possession, even though it is 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:38.800 most certainly not real, And why has Resputant as a 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:43.359 myth persisted as a cultural phenomenon while the man himself 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:48.799 has really slipped into shadows. The answer is a fact 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:53.440 Resputin himself knew entirely too well. As long as people 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:57.760 want to believe something is real, the truth can afford 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:07.320 to be subjective. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:15.839 When Google searches of Resputant turn up picture after picture 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:21.440 of greasy beards, wild eyes, and political cartoons illustrating sexual 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:25.000 acts with Russian monarchs, it's sometimes hard to remember that 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:29.560 long before any of that, he was just Gregory Alfamovich Resputant, 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:33.719 a young man from a small village in Siberia, born 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:37.960 in eighteen sixty nine. He married young at eighteen and 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:42.360 fathered seven children, though only three made it to adulthood. 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:48.200 But such was life in late nineteenth century Siberia. Childhood 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:52.600 mortality rates were high, access to basic education was practically 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:56.360 non existent, and the Russian idea of subda, or God's 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:59.640 will was the guiding force for the majority of the 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:03.720 peasant and population. There is very little known about the 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.560 exact details of Hersputen's early life, most of which come 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.800 to us via a biography written by his daughter Maria 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.880 long after he had passed. It's safe to say that 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:20.440 this biography might have some historical inaccuracies. Early on, she 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.080 claims that a comet tore through the sky on the 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:26.320 night of Resputen's birth, when in reality we know there 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:30.320 is no recorded comment passing in Earth's view that entire year. 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:34.240 But we do know the one aspect of his adulthood 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:37.320 that would shape the rest of his life. When Resputen 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:39.960 was twenty eight years old, he took a trip to 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:44.080 a Siberian monastery and returned as a strunk or a 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:47.679 religious pilgrim, ready to share all that he had learned 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:51.880 on his travels and spread the word of God. According 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:56.960 to accounts from his closest acquaintances, his intentions began honestly enough, 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:02.160 but that didn't mean that he practiced quiet, quite the opposite. 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:06.360 In fact, he immediately garnered attention from other villagers with 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:11.120 his peculiar ways. He stopped eating meat and drinking alcohol, 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:15.800 But his most unusual affectation was the way he performed 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:21.480 during his services. With crazy glances and grimaces, he became 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:26.920 impossible to ignore, and fairly quickly his strange confidence and 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:33.240 charisma led to followers. After that initial pilgrimage, Resputant didn't 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:37.439 stay home for long. He continued traveling across the continent, 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:40.720 going so far as Greece, but never failing to make 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:44.439 his way back to Russia. But the more that he traveled, 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:49.000 the less it seemed that Russia wanted him back. People 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:53.480 were becoming more skeptical of the uncom poly man roaming 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:58.360 their streets, especially since a large portion of his disciples 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:02.040 were women, which have been so bad if he didn't 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:06.480 openly kiss them in public. So that was troubling, as 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:10.560 were the vague allegations of sexual assaults that tended to 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:14.440 follow in the wake of his travels. Even before Gregory 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.920 had married, he had amassed quite the reputation as a 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:21.360 young ladies man. So you can imagine the type of 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:24.960 power dynamic at play when Resputin found himself in a 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:28.120 position where people not only listened to what he had 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:33.839 to say, but respected him praised him. Resputin found a 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:39.520 way to exploit his power for personal gain. In one instance, 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:42.600 when a woman came to him distraught after a sexual 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.240 encounter between the two of them that she had felt 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:50.280 coerced into, he simply replied that quote, there was no 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:53.040 sin in what they had done. They had simply been 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:58.640 celebrating the Holy Trinity. Another report accounts that two sisters 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:02.960 aged fifteen and twelve were manipulated into sexual acts with 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:06.080 the man after being lured into a bath house. When 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:10.600 their mother confronted Resputants, seething with anger, he merely looked 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:13.920 at her calmly and said, quote, now you may feel 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:17.920 at peace. The day of salvation has dawned for your daughters. 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:22.560 In Resputant's mind, or at least the way he spun 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:26.600 his religious teachings to his followers, opening oneself to the 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:31.760 possibility of sexual encounters, i e. Stripping in bathhouses was 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:33.920 a way to prove to God that they were able 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:38.440 to resist temptations of the flesh, and sometimes those trips 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:44.320 did end in abstinence. Temptations resisted, but only sometimes. For 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:48.120 his part, Resputant did openly admit to being a sinner, 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.079 explaining that while he did try to resist sin, he 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:56.080 was ultimately exempt from judgment because he was quote a 0:10:56.120 --> 0:11:01.560 man of God, succumbing to these sins while in his service. Now, 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:04.080 I am of the belief that if something looks like 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:07.040 a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's most 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.800 likely a sexual predator, and that Resputant was using the 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:15.559 religious rhetoric of confronting temptations as a way to exploit 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:21.280 vulnerable women. Unfortunately, at the time, his exploits were seen 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:26.320 as merely salacious. Monks will be monks. But as gossip 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:29.800 around his personal life spread, so did rumors of his 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:34.439 abilities as a mystic. One night, the Virgin Mary supposedly 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:38.640 came to him crying, tears streaming down her face as 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:42.280 she told him to quote, go wander and cleanse the 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:46.160 people of their sins. Resputant believed that he had been 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:49.120 chosen by God, and he made it his job to 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:55.040 let everyone know. For however creepy and manipulative this man was, 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.960 he was also smarter than most people gave him credit for. 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:03.480 He was an expert at the long con planting seeds 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.720 of gossip that would flower exactly when he needed them to. 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:11.520 His actions seemed erratic at times, but every move was 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:16.600 calculated to cultivate this man of God, persona which he 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:21.960 was honestly probably narcissistic enough to believe was true. But 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:26.320 at the time, especially in more elite social circles, people 0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:30.960 took him pretty plainly at face value. He was a peasant, 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:35.480 most likely simple minded, and he therefore posed very little threat, 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.520 So what if he had a reputation as a philanderer. 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:47.920 Surely only the weak fell for such ploys. Right, before 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:51.480 we go any further into resputant story, I'd like us 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:56.040 to pivot for a moment towards Saint Petersburg. Behind the 0:12:56.080 --> 0:13:01.840 waves of civil unrest and political turmoil, Romanovs sat comfortably 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:06.480 inside the walls of Alexander Palace, confident in their nearly 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:11.040 three hundred year old dynasty and there obviously God given 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:14.760 authority to rule. At least if they told themselves that 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:19.840 enough times, maybe it would finally become reality. In truth, 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:24.560 the royal family was harboring a possibly dynasty ending secret. 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:30.280 The Tsarevich was sick. Alexei, the fifth child but only 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:34.200 son of Zar Nicholas and the Tsarina Alexandra Fedorovna, had 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:38.760 been diagnosed with hemophilia, a rare blood disorder that inhibits 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:43.800 blood from clotting, normally subjecting its victims to possibly fatal 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:47.320 internal bleeding at the drop of a hat. The tsar 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:52.040 and Zarina were understandably distraught concerning the health of their son, 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:56.120 though his illness posed a greater threat to the Russian monarchy, 0:13:56.160 --> 0:14:00.320 as a whole. Alexei was their only son, and if 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:03.880 you remember our past episode on Paul the First of Russia, 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:07.960 his grudge match against his mother, Catherine the Great still 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.200 persisted into the twentieth century in the form of a 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:15.560 law that only sons could inherit the Russian throne. The 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:19.360 tsar and Tzarina had desperately waited for a son. With 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:23.240 each pregnancy, their hopes were renewed, and with each daughter, 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:30.280 their hopes were dashed. Four times in a row, girl, girl, Girl, Girl. 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:35.000 The Tsarina Alexandra had been so desperate for a son 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:38.680 that she had turned to the church and mysticism for help. 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:44.640 Though originally of German descent, Alexandra converted to Russian Orthodox 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:48.960 Christianity upon her engagement to Nicholas, and she adopted the 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:53.640 practice wholeheartedly into her life. It's easy to laugh at 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:57.040 the idea of mysticism now, but in the turn of 0:14:57.080 --> 0:14:59.880 the twentieth century in Russia, it was not an un 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:06.560 common practice, especially amongst the aristocracy. People craved excitement, anything 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.480 to break up the monotony of their day to day lives. 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:12.480 I mean, think about the way wealthy people today talk 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:17.440 about moon juice and alkalized lemon water and healing crystals. 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.400 But at that time, for those inside the palace walls, 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:27.000 mysticism had genuine credence. One of the crown's closest religious 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:30.960 advisers would tell the Tsar, God sends consolation to his 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:34.040 people from time to time in the guise of righteous men, 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:38.040 and they are the mainstays of Holy Russia. Considering that 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:41.200 the Tsar and Tzarina truly believed that they had been 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.800 chosen by God to rule the people of Russia, their 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:50.480 belief in mysticism compounded. God had chosen them, so obviously 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:53.400 he had chosen these mystics to carry out his work 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:58.320 as well. So after one mystic claimed to be able 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:01.560 to influence the gender of a child during pregnancy, and 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.920 then the sarena gave birth to a son, the practice 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:08.640 of mysticism came to be consulted on all matters of 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:12.720 everyday life, and that man not Resputin yet just some 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:17.440 other random guy, became a mainstay at court. After the 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:21.880 diagnosis of her son, Alexandra sought the help of that mystic, 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:27.720 more desperate to alleviate her son's suffering. But over time 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.320 members of the court began to grow skeptical of that 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:36.640 religious adviser whispering in the queen's ear. After a considerable 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:40.280 amount of pressure from his staff, Zar Nicholas was forced 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:45.440 to send Alexandra's beloved mystic away. But before the mystic left, 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:50.800 he foretold one final prophecy quote, Someday you will have 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:54.120 another friend like me who will speak to you of God. 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:59.280 The dust had barely settled on that mystic being fired 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:04.760 before Resputen was suddenly knocking on the palace door, well 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:09.720 metaphorically knocking. Resputin knew that the road to power ended 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:13.760 on the Romanov doorstep, but he also recognized how nearly 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:16.720 impossible it was going to be for him to get there. 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:20.960 After all, he was a peasant with no connections to 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:24.880 the capitol and only a questionable reputation to his name, 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.560 But he wouldn't let that stop him by virtue of 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:33.080 his chosen profession. By nineteen oh five, Resputin had become 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:38.080 an expert in finding spaces for himself in social circles 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:43.480 where none had existed before. He was a social climbing assassin, 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:47.040 using people and then burning bridges like he needed the 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:50.199 tender to keep warm, and maybe he did, but that 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:53.360 didn't mean the flames would never catch up to him, 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:57.520 as it were. In nineteen oh five, Resputin found himself 0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:00.720 in Saint Petersburg in the company of three of the 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:06.680 Tsar's closest acquaintances. Years of travel and power grabbing all 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:10.600 came down to one tea on an innocuous autumn afternoon. 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.840 So what did the Siberian peasant do to woo the 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:21.480 god divined rulers of Russia? Absolutely nothing, or rather, he 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:25.240 made the nobles feel as though they were nothing, certainly 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:27.919 no more important than any of the peasants that he 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:31.960 often met on the street. He used the informal Russian 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:35.800 you pronoun that used for friends and family instead of 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:40.600 the respectful you reserved for elders and people of higher birth, 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:45.080 And when Resputen met the Tsar and Tsarina, he addressed 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:50.440 them as Batushka and Matushka, or little father and little mother, 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:53.600 which was the common name the peasant class took to 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:59.760 calling the royal couple, and infuriatingly enough, they ate it up. 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:04.600 Nicholas and Alexandra hated all the pomp and circumstance that 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:09.120 typically followed them as Russian monarchs, so when Resputen, who 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:13.200 had been waiting years for this very encounter, showed them 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:18.080 the same ambivalence he showed say soap. The royal couple 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:24.240 was immediately smitten. After years without a quote unquote man 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:28.160 of God at her side, the Czarina remembered the parting 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:32.119 words of her last trusted religious adviser, some day you 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:34.840 will have another friend like me who will speak to 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:38.840 you of God. And as she watched with wide eyes 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:42.600 and bated breath while the mysterious holy Man stood over 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:47.000 her son and her son's muscles finally unclenched after days 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:51.240 of restlessness, there was no doubt in her mind her 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:57.320 friend had arrived. News of Resputant's present in the palace 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:02.320 quickly made the rounds in Saint Petersburg. Unsurprisingly, people were 0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:07.480 skeptical of the unkempt, self proclaimed spiritual healer who spent 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:11.159 so much of his time around the royal family. His 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:15.480 infamous reputation as a sexual predator had followed him on 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.240 his travels to the capital, and yet the Czar and 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:22.200 Czarina kept him in their inner circle, unwilling to listen 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:26.240 to anyone who disparaged their new found friend. Worse yet, 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:30.600 the rumors were beginning to fester. After all, what exactly 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:34.360 was he doing with the royal family? They had five children, 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:38.080 four of them young girls. Someone with a past like 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:42.439 his shouldn't the Tsar and Tzarina be more concerned. For 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:47.560 once peasants and nobles were in agreement, Resputin needed to go. 0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:52.520 He was not known for his reticence in sharing political opinions, 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:56.040 and the last thing that anyone wanted was for Resputin, 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:59.919 notorious sex fiend parading around as a religious holy man, 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:04.960 to have influence over the Russian government. Public outcry trickled 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:07.480 its way into the palace, but would be destined to 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:11.879 fall on deaf ears. For the Czarina, Resputant's place in 0:21:11.920 --> 0:21:17.040 the palace was indisputable. His prayers were keeping her son alive. 0:21:17.440 --> 0:21:21.480 Alexei's hemophilia was still a state secret, one that the 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:24.760 crown couldn't afford to get out for fear that their 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:28.800 God given right to rule would crumble under the ailment 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:32.760 of the crown prince. After all, if God had chosen them, 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:36.000 why wouldn't he have given them a healthy air. Their 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:39.760 silence would ultimately only add more fuel to the fire 0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:45.160 of rumors swirling around the city. Before long, speculation as 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:49.240 to the nature of Resputant and the Czarina's relationship was 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:54.280 being called into question, especially after correspondence between the two 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:58.880 was leaked to the press. Quote I know that much 0:21:58.920 --> 0:22:01.639 of what I do and think is not good. I 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:04.639 want to be a good Christian, a good person, but 0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:08.000 it is so hard, Alexandra had written in a private 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:11.080 letter to the monk. Quote so often I have to 0:22:11.119 --> 0:22:14.679 fight bad habits. But help me, don't abandon me. I 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:19.000 am weak and not good end quote. Suddenly, all of 0:22:19.040 --> 0:22:22.440 the bridges where Sputant had burned to reach the Romanovs 0:22:22.560 --> 0:22:26.080 had their flames, threatening to burn down the entire palace. 0:22:26.760 --> 0:22:32.240 Even beyond the basic accusations of infidelity, other more disturbing 0:22:32.359 --> 0:22:35.840 allegations were coming to the forefront. People were beginning to 0:22:35.960 --> 0:22:40.200 question the paternity of the Tsarevich himself, with others accusing 0:22:40.320 --> 0:22:44.080 the mad monk of sexually assaulting the young Romanov daughters, 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:49.640 even possibly getting one pregnant. Before long, the entire country 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:54.119 was alight with conspiracy, conspiracy that would carry on for 0:22:54.320 --> 0:22:59.359 far longer than one lifetime. Bony M's now iconic lyric 0:23:00.160 --> 0:23:04.080 rah rah Rasputine Lover of the Russian Queen is no 0:23:04.200 --> 0:23:08.159 doubt a clever couplet, but its evidence is placed on 0:23:08.440 --> 0:23:12.399 faulty ground. The Czarina may have had her faults, but 0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:15.320 if she was anything, it was a devout Christian and 0:23:15.520 --> 0:23:19.040 loyal wife. And in addition to keeping her son's illness 0:23:19.119 --> 0:23:22.360 out of the public eye, she also suffered from chronic 0:23:22.480 --> 0:23:27.560 pain in secret. After five difficult pregnancies, her body had 0:23:27.600 --> 0:23:31.080 taken a fair amount of abuse, leaving her with sciatica 0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:34.760 that would sometimes keep her bedbound for days. She was 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:37.440 not in a condition to be carrying on an illicit 0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:40.520 love affair, even if she wanted to, which, based on 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:44.160 her character, I don't think she did. But of course, 0:23:44.480 --> 0:23:48.600 once again, the truth didn't matter. Before the rumors could 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:52.760 have just been dismissed. But after personal letters surfaced and 0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:56.399 were proven legitimate by the star himself, the crown was 0:23:56.440 --> 0:24:00.600 looking as unstable as ever. The people thought that the 0:24:00.600 --> 0:24:05.760 infidelity rumors were true, and the Czarina was furious. The 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:10.320 question remained, who had leaked the letters? How did this happen? 0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:15.200 The obvious answer lies with the recipient, But Resputen was 0:24:15.240 --> 0:24:18.760 a trusted friend, surely he never would have done such 0:24:18.760 --> 0:24:22.480 a thing. It should come as no surprise that no 0:24:22.520 --> 0:24:26.639 one was a bigger fan of Resputin than Resputen, so 0:24:26.720 --> 0:24:30.520 when the Czarina herself began sending him not just letters 0:24:30.560 --> 0:24:36.120 but personal confessions, he couldn't keep them to himself. Years earlier, 0:24:36.200 --> 0:24:40.119 an acquaintance of Resputants had found himself inside the Monk's 0:24:40.200 --> 0:24:45.040 Saint Petersburg apartment, where Resputen was showing off his personal 0:24:45.119 --> 0:24:49.000 letters from the Czarina. He was boasting about his status 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:54.119 as one of her closest spiritual advisers. The acquaintance smiled 0:24:54.200 --> 0:24:57.760 and nodded, acting impressed when he was called to do so, 0:24:58.200 --> 0:25:00.800 but in the back of his mind he was taking notes. 0:25:01.440 --> 0:25:06.040 Perhaps he asked to see the letters up close. Fast 0:25:06.080 --> 0:25:09.760 forward three years, and the Tsarina's letters were being printed 0:25:09.800 --> 0:25:13.640 and dissected by every major news outlet around the world. 0:25:14.320 --> 0:25:18.560 Resputin attempted to do some damage control, but Alexandra would 0:25:18.640 --> 0:25:23.240 no longer permit him inside the palace walls. After years 0:25:23.280 --> 0:25:27.320 of begging, the Tsarina was finally taking the advice of 0:25:27.720 --> 0:25:32.520 nearly every one of her advisors, and she sent Resputin packing. 0:25:33.520 --> 0:25:36.760 After all, her son hadn't had a severe attack. In years, 0:25:37.160 --> 0:25:41.840 there was no immediate need for resputant services, so that autumn, 0:25:41.840 --> 0:25:45.320 on a family vacation to their hunting launch, nobody thought 0:25:45.359 --> 0:25:48.760 twice when their carriage took an unusually hard bump in 0:25:48.800 --> 0:25:53.080 the road. That was until the young Tsarevich could no 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:57.360 longer contain his screams. After what seemed like no time 0:25:57.440 --> 0:26:00.800 at all, Alexei went from playing on the ground to 0:26:00.920 --> 0:26:06.000 crying helplessly in agony. On his deathbed, Nicholas and Alexandra 0:26:06.280 --> 0:26:11.200 were beside themselves. Their family vacation had turned into their 0:26:11.280 --> 0:26:16.280 worst nightmare. Their son lay pale and incoherent, while his 0:26:16.480 --> 0:26:20.479 leg and hip swelled with blood. He was in pain, 0:26:20.720 --> 0:26:24.639 so agonizing that the staff took to putting cotton in 0:26:24.720 --> 0:26:29.520 their ears to deafen his blood curdling screams. The doctors 0:26:29.640 --> 0:26:33.320 worked on him tirelessly, but the crown Prince showed no 0:26:33.480 --> 0:26:38.159 signs of improvement. When Alexei was finally read his last rites, 0:26:38.560 --> 0:26:42.160 the Czarina could no longer sit and watch helplessly as 0:26:42.200 --> 0:26:46.320 her one and only son slipped away painfully into the night. 0:26:47.040 --> 0:26:51.560 Rising from her son's bedside, Alexandra used what little energy 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:57.080 she had to compose a telegram to Gregory Resputen, asking him, 0:26:57.359 --> 0:27:02.920 begging him to help save her son. When Resputant received 0:27:03.000 --> 0:27:07.320 word of the young boy's condition, he was remarkably unbothered. 0:27:08.040 --> 0:27:10.840 The doctors had told the royal couple their son would 0:27:10.840 --> 0:27:14.879 be dead by mourning, but the mystic simply scoffed. God 0:27:14.880 --> 0:27:18.160 has seen your tears and heard your prayers, he assured 0:27:18.200 --> 0:27:21.639 the queen. The little one will not die. Do not 0:27:21.760 --> 0:27:26.040 allow the doctors to bother him too much. Upon receiving word, 0:27:26.440 --> 0:27:31.760 Alexandra immediately relaxed. She walked back to her son's bedside 0:27:31.840 --> 0:27:35.680 with renewed vigor, announcing to the others holding vigil that 0:27:36.160 --> 0:27:39.280 during the night, I received a telegram from Father Gregory, 0:27:39.600 --> 0:27:45.920 and he has reassured me completely and miraculously, Despite quite 0:27:46.080 --> 0:27:51.439 literally being on the brink of death, Alexei recovered within days. 0:27:51.480 --> 0:27:55.040 His fever broke, the swelling began to receive, and his 0:27:55.119 --> 0:28:00.280 appetite returned. It was a miracle, one that seemingly only 0:28:00.320 --> 0:28:04.639 took place under Resputant's command. None of it made any sense, 0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:07.840 and yet it didn't have to. All that mattered was 0:28:07.880 --> 0:28:10.919 that the Tsarevich was alive and the monarchy was safe 0:28:11.080 --> 0:28:18.600 for another day. Over a century later, Alexei's recovery remains 0:28:18.640 --> 0:28:22.680 a mystery to historians, but of course there are several theories. 0:28:23.160 --> 0:28:27.040 The first and probably most likely has everything to do 0:28:27.119 --> 0:28:31.280 with the final words of Resputant's telegram to Alexandra, do 0:28:31.359 --> 0:28:34.479 not allow the doctors to bother him too much. To 0:28:34.560 --> 0:28:38.000 this day, there is still no cure for hemophilia, but 0:28:38.080 --> 0:28:42.000 given the advancements in medical knowledge, we are now certainly 0:28:42.040 --> 0:28:45.800 aware of how not to treat the disease. Rule number one, 0:28:46.360 --> 0:28:51.360 don't give the patient blood thinners. Unfortunately, for Alexei, aspirin 0:28:51.720 --> 0:28:55.080 seemed to be the royal doctor's drug of choice. The 0:28:55.440 --> 0:28:59.560 new at the time miracle drug, now widely known as 0:28:59.600 --> 0:29:03.040 a blood thinner, seemed to be a cure for so 0:29:03.280 --> 0:29:06.520 many common ailments, so why not try it against the 0:29:07.120 --> 0:29:11.760 well rare blood disorder that prevents blood from clotting. But 0:29:11.920 --> 0:29:16.360