The Rise and Fall of Grigory Rasputin essays

The Rise and Fall of Grigory Rasputin essays No other figure in Russian history has ever received the amount of vilification and disapproval heaped upon Grigory Rasputin. The self-appointed monk, who received practically little education in the intricacies of the Russian orthodox faith, came from the rural areas of Russia and achieved great recognition as staretz or holy man in the high circles of St Petersburg society. From rags to social prominence the life of Grigory Rasputin holds many of the events leading to the eventual overthrow of the Russian imperial system, the dethronement of the house of Romanov and the assassination of the imperial family. Rasputin, which means debauched one was a name he earned due to all his sexual endeavours, originally he was called Grigory Yefimovich Norvykh, who was born on the 10th January 1872 in Pokrovskye, a small village in Siberia he was of solid peasant stock. Although he went to school he was semi-illiterate but since a young age was believed to possess psychic powers, this was evident when his father was arguing over the theft of a horse and Rasputin who had been sick in bed for days got up and correctly picked out the thief. As Rasputin grew up he was known for finding ways to get in trouble with the authorities for drunkenness, stealing and womanising among many other offences. Soon after, he was encouraged by a hermit named Makar to take up religion. In fact it was while on one of his escapades that Rasputin was first impacted with the mystical powers of the Orthodox religion and at Verkhoturye Monastery he became fascinated with a renegade sect within the orthodox faith, the skopsty. Followers of the skopsty firmly believed that the only way to reach God was through sinful actions. In reality what the skopsty endorsed was to sin to drive out sin considering that he was one of the biggest sinners in the province, he showed great potential. They gathered in crypts, indulging in flagellati...