Synopsis

Grigori Rasputin, a barely literate peasant from Siberia, is one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in modern history. In a bizarre reversal of the Great Man Theory of History he had no official position and no mass following, yet unintentionally he became the major contributor to the collapse of the greatest autocracy in the world.

The Empress Alexandra’s infatuation with Rasputin, the only person who could heal her son, made the Tsar appear a weak or complacent cuckold. Scandalously false rumours that Rasputin was even sleeping with their daughters proved stronger than the truth. In Russia’s deeply patriarchal society [...]