Grigori Rasputin, the enigmatic Siberian mystic who captivated the Russian Imperial family, met a death shrouded in legend and controversy. The official autopsy report indicates a relatively quick demise from a bullet wound to the head. Yet, the eyewitness testimonies of his assassins describe a far more protracted and bizarre sequence of events, culminating in his final moments in the frigid Neva River.
The night of December 29, 1916, saw Prince Felix Yusupov and his co-conspirators execute their plan to eliminate Rasputin at the Moika Palace. Their initial strategy involved poisoning. Rasputin was offered tea and cakes heavily infused with cyanide, followed by several glasses of wine laced with the same potent toxin. Astonishingly, he ingested the poison without any apparent effect, leaving the assassins bewildered.
The plot then turned violent. Yusupov shot Rasputin in the chest. The conspirators fled, assuming their task was complete. However, Yusupov’s subsequent check revealed Rasputin was still alive. The mystic reportedly sprang up with animalistic fury, attacking Yusupov before making a desperate escape into the palace grounds. Pursued by the assassins, including Vladimir Purishkevich, Rasputin was shot again, with a final, fatal shot to the head. The body was then disposed of in the Neva River, with hypothermia identified as the ultimate cause of death.
Rasputin’s rise to power was fueled by his supposed healing touch, particularly concerning Tsarevich Alexei’s hemophilia. His close relationship with Tsarina Alexandra made him a key figure, but his influence led to increasingly detrimental political decisions, eroding public trust in the Romanovs.
The assassination, intended to stabilize the monarchy, paradoxically accelerated its demise. Rasputin’s prophecies of doom for his enemies seemed to come true. With Rasputin gone, the Tsar became the sole target of public discontent, paving the way for the revolution that would overthrow the Romanov dynasty the following year.