The Mad Monk?
As Rasputin got closer and closer to the center of Russian power, the public grew more and more suspicious. The nobles and elite within the courts began to view Rasputin with envy due to the fact that he had such easy access to the Tsar, and, seeking to undermine the Tsar, they tried to position Rasputin as a mad man who was controlling the Russian government from behind the scenes.
To do this, they began to exaggerate some aspects of Rasputin’s reputation which he had carried with him since he first left Pokrovskoye, mainly that he was a drinker and a sexual deviant. Their propaganda campaigns even went so far as to convince people that the name “Rasputin” meant “debauched one,” despite the fact that it actually meant “where two rivers join,” a reference to his hometown. Furthermore, it was around this time that accusations of his associations with the Khylists began to intensify.
It should be noted, though, that some of these accusations were grounded in truth. Rasputin was known for taking many sexual partners, and he was also known for parading around the Russian capital showing off the silks and other textiles that had been embroidered for him by the royal family.
Criticisms of Rasputin intensified after when the enactment of the Constitution granted the press considerable more freedom. They targeted Rasputin more perhaps because they still feared to attack the Tsar directly, choosing instead to attack one of his advisors.
However, the attacks https://hookupdate.net/clover-review/ did not only come from the enemies of the Tsar. Those who wanted to maintain the power structures at the time also turned against Rasputin, largely because they felt the Tsar’s loyalty to him hurt his relationship with the public; most people bought into the stories about Rasputin, and it would have looked bad if the Tsar was keeping a relationship with such a man, even if almost every aspect of the stories were exaggerations. As a result, they wanted to take out Rasputin so that the public would cease worrying about this supposed crazy monk who was secretly controlling the Russian Empire.
Rasputin and Alexandra
The evidence we have seems to suggest that she trusted Rasputin greatly and cared for him. There were rumors that they were lovers, but this has never been proven to be true. However, as public opinion turned against Rasputin and members of the Russian court began to see him as a problem, Alexandra made certain he was permitted to stay. This caused more tension as many people’s imaginations continued to run wild with the idea of Rasputin was the real controller of the royal family. The Tsar and Tsarina made things worse by keeping their son’s health a secret from the public. This meant no one knew the real reason why Rasputin had become so close to the Tsar and his family, creating more specualtion and rumors.
This close connection shared between Rasputin and Empress Alexandra further degraded Rasputin’s reputation, as well as that of the royal family. For example, by the outbreak of World War I, most people in the Russian empire assumed Rasputin and Alexandra were sleeping together. Soldiers spoke about it at the front as if it were common knowledge. These stories got even more grandiose when people began speaking about how Rasputin was really working for the Germans (Alexandra was originally from a German royal family) to undermine Russian power and cause Russia to lose the war.
An Attempt On Rasputin’s Life
The more time Rasputin spent around the royal family, the more it seemed people tried to tarnish his name and reputation. As mentioned, he was labeled as a drunk and a sexual deviant, and this eventually led to people calling him a wicked man, a crazy monk, and a devil worshipper, although we now know these to be not much more than attempts to make Rasputin a political scapegoat. However, opposition to Rasputin grew enough that an attempt was made to take his life.
