Rasputin: The wrong man for the job

Stumbling through history. Some professional partnerships are so legendary we’re hard-pressed to imagine one partner without the other—Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan; Siegfried & Roy; Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Conversely, most poor pairings tend to fade into history. The pairing of charismatic Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin and the Romanov family, led by Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, the last monarchs to rule over Russia, has embedded itself into legend precisely because it was so explosively disastrous. Time and counsel could have turned the young, unprepared Romanovs into effective heads of state. Instead, they put their faith in a drunk sex addict—modern politicians would do well to take note. Born a Siberian peasant to farmer parents in early 1869, Rasputin’s pilgrimage from his hometown in 1897 led to a total metamorphosis. After shedding his old life (read: abandoning his wife and children) to become an itinerant preacher, he used his charisma and peasant charm to gain influence and a few followers. By 1904, Rasputin’s reputation had spread over much of Russia, which led to some face time with important Russian Orthodox Church members. Eventually, the drunken, carousing holy man with a reputation for bedding his female followers found himself face to face [with the tsar himself](. The rest is history. Bumbling, inept history. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Sponsored by [Quartz Weekly Obsession] Rasputin May 05, 2021 Stumbling through history --------------------------------------------------------------- Some professional partnerships are so legendary we’re hard-pressed to imagine one partner without the other—Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan; Siegfried & Roy; Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Conversely, most poor pairings tend to fade into history. The pairing of charismatic Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin and the Romanov family, led by Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, the last monarchs to rule over Russia, has embedded itself into legend precisely because it was so explosively disastrous. Time and counsel could have turned the young, unprepared Romanovs into effective heads of state. Instead, they put their faith in a drunk sex addict—modern politicians would do well to take note. Born a Siberian peasant to farmer parents in early 1869, Rasputin’s pilgrimage from his hometown in 1897 led to a total metamorphosis. After shedding his old life (read: abandoning his wife and children) to become an itinerant preacher, he used his charisma and peasant charm to gain influence and a few followers. By 1904, Rasputin’s reputation had spread over much of Russia, which led to some face time with important Russian Orthodox Church members. Eventually, the drunken, carousing holy man with a reputation for bedding his female followers found himself face to face [with the tsar himself](. The rest is history. Bumbling, inept history. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Brief (and Bumbling) History [1887:]( Rasputin, age 18, marries Praskovya Dubrovina in Abalak. [1897:]( Rasputin rekindles his love of God and leaves Pokrovskoye, his birthplace, on one of his many pilgrimages, where he meets and is “humbled” by a starets, or holy elder. [~1901:]( Rasputin, with a reputation as a strannik or holy wanderer, begins holding secret prayer meetings with his followers. [1905 or 1906:]( Rasputin meets Nicholas II, who records the fateful meeting in his journal as the day he and his wife “made the acquaintance of a man of God.” [1906:]( Rasputin uses his close personal relationship with Nicholas II to legally change his name to Rasputin-Noviy, or New Rasputin. [1907:](Rasputin is called by Alexandra to pray for her son Alexei while the boy was suffering from an internal hemorrhage. The prince woke up the next morning in full health and good spirits. [1909:]( Rasputin is accused of rape by one of his early followers. [1912:]( Alexei suffers another hemorrhage after a rough carriage ride, and Rasputin, who is in Siberia, sends a telegram with simple instructions for the prince’s caregivers. Alexei recovered in two days. [1916:]( Rasputin appoints Alexander Protopopov, a well-liked liberal politician in declining mental health, to a prominent government position. He is later executed by the Bolsheviks. The Romanovs would be executed two years later. Quotable “Evil comes from those dark forces and influences that have forced the accession to high posts of people incapable to occupy them… from the influences that are headed by Grishka Rasputin.” —[Russian politician]([Vladimir Mitrofanovich Purishkevich during a speech in November 1916]( Sponsored by Code42 What is Insider Risk? --------------------------------------------------------------- The files employees upload, download, email, and Slack every day may be leaving your organization—and you don’t even know it.[Here's what to do.]( By the emoji 🥴 Rasputin was drunk so often that his followers developed [a scale for his alcoholism](, which included “very drunk” and “totally overcome with drink.” [🤷🏻‍♂️]( There are no records to prove the charges of horse theft, bearing false witness, and public drunkenness that [history has leveled against him](. 👸👸 [Princesses Anastasia and Milica of Montenegro](, called the black princesses, were aristocratic sisters who took Rasputin under their wing during his initial stints in St. Petersburg. Wives of cousins of the tsar, they were Rasputin’s emissaries to the upper crust. 💊 The source of Rasputin’s healing powers [may be less mystical than practical](: Aspirin, which was relatively new to the world at the time, is lauded for its healing powers despite its side-effect as a blood thinner, a dangerous symptom for a sickly hemophiliac. When Rasputin ordered caretakers to leave Alexei alone, doctors likely stopped administering aspirin, allowing his blood to return to normal. Giphy Conclusion story How it all ended --------------------------------------------------------------- Rasputin used his influence with the Romanovs to fill government roles with his supporters, and his healing powers kept him in Alexandra’s good graces. By the end of his life, Rasputin had done more than his fair share of making the lives of everyday Russian people more difficult by doing his best to keep up his cushy lifestyle. Apparently, enriching yourself at the expense of a nation can piss people off. Prince Felix Yusupov, alongside Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and Vladimir Purishkevich, led a group of nobles who lured Rasputin to a palace that belonged to Yusupov’s family in December of 1916. You’ll want to cue up “[Yakety Sax](” before you continue reading. After arriving, Rasputin was led to the basement, where he was fed tea and cake laced with cyanide. Showing little effect, Rasputin was served three glasses of cyanide-laced wine. Hours later, vexed and out a ton of good wine, Yusupov shot Rasputin in the chest, which dropped him to the ground. The motley crew set out on their way to Rasputin’s apartment to make it appear as if he had made it all the way home. When they returned to the palace to make sure Rasputin was dead, he leaped from the ground, attacking Yusupov. After Yusupov broke free, he was chased upstairs, where Rasputin was promptly shot by Purishkevich, who once called Rasputin “the evil genius of Russia.” After shooting him two more times and wrapping him in palace cloth, the noblemen threw the unholy holy man into the frigid Malaya Nevka River. Though his body was badly mangled, a postmortem found a single bullet and three gunshot wounds, including a forehead wound at close range. Giphy Pop Quiz Which nickname did Rasputin actually give himself? Miniature ChristThe Imperfect MessiahA Young GodRussia’s Best Hope Correct. Despite his terrible sins, Rasputin claimed he was living a holy life. Incorrect. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t think it. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Fun Fact! One of Rasputin’s daughters, Maria, lived until 1977. She moved to the United States and worked as a lion tamer for a time. Rumors persist that she [sold her father’s penis]( to an erotica museum in St. Petersburg shortly before her death, as she had come across the relic after learning of a group of women who were handing out bits of her dad’s bits as little blessings. YouTube Watch this! You’d be forgiven for gleaning the extent of your knowledge of Rasputin from Boney M’s disco banger named after the 20th-century mystic. That’s because it’s as cheeky and informative as it is funky. Giphy Poll Which famous couple would you have loved to advise? [Click here to vote]( Kobe Bryant & Shaquille O’NealJack & Jackie KennedyHelen of Troy & Menelaus Quartz Get the Essentials --------------------------------------------------------------- Unlike Rasputin, Quartz is a partner that will only improve your life. Our newest feature, [Quartz Essentials](, is like the anti-Rasputin to the news coverage on our site. Think of it like a Weekly Obsession email attached to a story—like this one on why it’s so [infuriatingly difficult to get a bike right now](. As a Weekly Obsession reader, we know your curious mind immediately wants to know more about bicycles, by the digits. Scroll down, reader. This trusted adviser has got you covered. Check out our latest to see what the modern world’s been up to while you were going down the Rasputin rabbit hole—and play around with the Essentials while you’re there! [Read Quartz's latest]( 💬 let's talk! In last week’s poll about the [2×2 matrix](, using a 2×2 matrix for scenario building narrowly edged out using a 2×2 matrix to analyze other 2×2 matrices. ✉️ Dan wrote in to offer another favorite use: “Four square court, of course!” 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?]( 💡 [What should we obsess over next?]( 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Jordan Lebeau](, edited by [Susan Howson](, and produced by [Jordan Weinstock](. 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