**Manipulation and exploitation are not forms of magical powers.** - Rasputin did not have magical powers. Mainly because manipulation and psychological abuse are not magical powers. - [Rasputin](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjTm8XO9LPyAhVChf0HHfobBTQQFnoECB8QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.history.com%2Fthis-day-in-history%2Frasputin-is-murdered&usg=AOvVaw15Et8-wQERzwWor9vPHzis) was ambitious, and clearly extremely clever. He managed to work his way into one of the most influential families in the world. But, he did this through recognising and exploiting their weaknesses. Not through magical powers. - He was smart, arguably evil, and unfortunately not magic.

**Who was Rasputin and what role did he play in Russian history?** 'Rasputin' [is believed to be Russian for](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grigory-Yefimovich-Rasputin) 'debauched one' . Originally named Grigori Yefimovich Novykh, Rasputin was a Siberian peasant with a penchant for 'sinful' and indulgent activities- stealing, womanizing, and drunkenness. His supernatural powers, or trickery implying such, saw to his rise as a pivotal figure in Russian monarchial rule during the early 1900s. As a child, he claimed to experience divine visions and possess the ability to heal horses, while [other sources](https://www.biography.com/political-figure/rasputin) lay claim to his committing atrocious acts of cruelty. The remote community he was borne into, Pokrovskeye in southern Siberia, was home to obscure and religious sects whose beliefs in the occult led them to [regard Rasputin as a devil-child](https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-life-and-death-of-rasputin-part-1-the-wandering-holy-man). From a young age, he developed a reputation for supernatural powers, with some believing him to be clairvoyant. After years of [pilgrimage and other travels](https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-life-and-death-of-rasputin-part-1-the-wandering-holy-man), he carried a similar reputation for mystical abilities and healing powers upon his arrival at St. Petersburg, where he was introduced to a desperate Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra to heal their sole haemophiliac heir. Rasputin's influence in the courts began thusly, as he 'healed' young Alexei and claimed that in his absence, the prince would not survive. After advising the royal couple to [reject the advice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dEf1ep3O9I) of Alexei's doctors, Rasputin's favour with the monarchy continued to grow. These doctors had been prescribing aspirin, a drug known to [exacerbate hemophilia](https://www.cigna.com/individuals-families/health-wellness/hw/hemophilia-aa66376) by causing gastrointestinal bleeding and interfering with blood clotting and platelet functioning. Rasputin's favour with the monarchs grew to the extent that he filled prominent positions in the high court with men of his selection, and attracted the antagonistic attentions of those seeking to influence the Tsar as well as those with profound suspicions of his intentions. His eventual assassination, committed in defense of the royals themselves, enraged the peasantry and may have, ironically, [catalysed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dEf1ep3O9I) the downfall of Russia's monarchy. Was Rasputin truly supernatural? There are several additional details in his story that are worth considering: - Tsarina Alexandra was a [believer in the esoteric](https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-life-and-death-of-rasputin-part-1-the-wandering-holy-man) and was actively seeking mystical solutions to her son's affliction before Rasputin's referral to the palace. - Rasputin was allegedly punished by the church for sinful sexual promiscuity with the aristocratic ladies. He would lead his followers to commit sin under the pretext that their forgiveness would later "bring them closer to God," and this sin often involved having sex with Rasputin himself. His teachings [are considered a perversion](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Khlysty) of the [Khlysty sects](https://culturacolectiva.com/history/rasputin-khlysty-unorthodox-russian-religious-sect). - Before his assassination, Rasputin [predicted](https://www.biography.com/political-figure/rasputin) that his death would precede the death of the royal family. 15 months after Rasputin perished, the Tsar was killed during the Russian Revolution, alongside his wife and son. - Rasputin reportedly 'survived' the ingestion of cyanide in his enemies' first assassination attempt. It [has alternatively been said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dEf1ep3O9I) that one of the co-conspirators "had a change of heart" and swapped the cyanide for an impotent substance, and that Rasputin therefore ingested no poison.