Grigori Rasputin: Encyclopedia II - Grigori Rasputin - Healer to the Tsarevich

Grigori Rasputin - Healer to the Tsarevich

Rasputin was wandering as a pilgrim in Siberia when he heard reports of Tsarevich Alexei's hemophilia in 1904. The disease had been inherited from his great-grandmother (Queen Victoria). Rasputin was regarded as the last resort of the desperate Tsar and Tsarina. They had tried everywhere to find a cure for their son and in 1905 asked the charismatic peasant healer for help. He was said to possess the ability to heal through prayer, and he was indeed able to give the boy some relief. Skeptics have claimed that he did so by hypnosis, though during a particularly grave crisis, Rasputin, from his home in Siberia, was believed to have eased the suffering of the tsarevich (in Saint Petersburg) through prayer.

The Tsar referred to Rasputin as 'our friend', a sign perhaps of the trust the family put in him. Rasputin had considerable personal and political influence on Alexandra especially after Alexei encountered a bee attack in the summer of 1905. Rasputin allegedly ran to the boy's help and yelled at the bees, "ужальте его и вы умретe!" ("Sting him and you will die!”).Supposedly the bees left because of Rasputin's holy powers, but now it is more commonly believed that the bees left because their hive was no longer being threatened. His position within the church further enabled him to influence young Alexei; it was verified that before the pair were introduced, the Tsarina lamented her son 'made Jesus sad' with his blasphemous ways. However, upon meeting Rasputin, she proclaimed exultantly that Alexei had 'learned the error of his ways'. The Tsar and Tsarina considered him to be a man of God and a religious prophet, and Alexandra believed God spoke to her through Rasputin. This relationship can also be viewed in the context of the very strong, traditional, age-old bond between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian leadership. Another important factor was probably the Tsarina's German-Protestant origin: she was highly fascinated by her new Orthodox religion, but seems to have lacked some discernment regarding its practices.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Healer to the Tsarevich", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki