PRELUDE TO THE REVOLUTION: THE MURDER OF RASPUTIN
By
Ronald C. Moe
PRELUDE TO THE REVOLUTION: THE MURDER OF RASPUTIN
Preface Table of Contents Introduction I. St. Petersburg – 1903 A Special Visitor The Romanov Family Nicholas and Alexandra Canonization of Serafim
iii vii 1 15 23 40 54
II. Russian Empire in Crisis Autocracy Defined, Defended and Defeated The Occult and Precursors to Rasputin Police, Provocateurs and the Rise of the Right The Meeting
75 95 105 118
III. “Our Friend” Rasputin: The Early Years The Tsarevich and Hemophilia Anna and the Rasputin Circle Rasputin and Iliodor: Mortal Combat
139 139 147 157 168
IV. Rasputin Ascendent and Challenged The Duma Speaks Out The Princes Yusupov Prince Felix the Privileged The Future Conspirators
203 213 221 231
V. Last Years of Peace Halcyon Days Rasputin at Home Iliodor’s Revenge Russia Enters the War
253 265 272 278
VI. First Year of the War From Elation to Despair The Great Retreat and the Moscow Riots Nicholas Assumes Command and the Rise of the Progressive Bloc Rasputin and the Police
301 315 330 343
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VII. Monarchy Discredited Empress and Rasputin Appear to Rule Russia Khvostov Scandal Calumnies, Myths, and the Rasputin Legend The Tsars Increasingly Isolated
367 378 389 405
VIII. The Decision to Murder Rasputin on the Crest Stumbling Toward Revolution The Duma Erupts Last Warnings
429 436 451 459
IX. Death in the Cellar Felix Gathers Conspirators “Vanya Has Arrived” December 16th Murder By Degrees
489 505 521 526
X. The Aftermath Failed Deceit Rasputin’s Burial Banishment and Talk of Palace Coups The February Revolution
547 561 573 585
XI. The Apocalypse Fate of Rasputin and the Imperial Family Romanovs: Escape or Die Conspirators, Courtiers, and Politicians: Their Stories Prince Felix: World Celebrity
619 636 643 659
XII. Selected Bibliography
INTRODUCTION “The shot fired at Rasputin killed tsarist Russia.” Vasili Shulgin1 “Without Rasputin, there could have been no Lenin.” Alexander Kerensky2
This is the story of the dissolution of a mighty empire and of the man, Grigory Rasputin, whose murder sealed its fate. The Russian Empire at the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896 was one of the largest, territorially, in the history of the world, stretching from Warsaw in the west to Vladivostok in the east, from the White Sea in the north to Tbilisi in the south. The Tsar was autocrat of more than 180 million souls.3 The nineteenth century had witnessed the consolidation of this empire and also the rise of ideas and movements that placed the empire at risk. In addition to being an autocrat, the Tsar was head of the Romanov dynasty and family. The Romanovs celebrated three hundred years of family rule in 1913, but signs of change were everywhere. For the educated class the question was whether the political and social changes underway would be transitional and peaceful, following the English model of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries or abrupt and violent, as had been the case of France in 1789. In February 1917, with the collapse of the government and the Tsar’s abdication, the answer to this question was given. The changes were to be abrupt, apocalyptical, and permanent. When Nicholas was crowned Tsar in 1896, he became autocrat of all the Russias. All authority resided in his person. The autocratic principle, however, was already under attack from many quarters for many reasons. The poor showing of the Russian armies in the Russo-Japanese War had discredited the autocracy and there were strikes and uprisings across Russia. The price of peace to the Tsar was the assignment of extended rights to the citizenry and the granting of a semi-constitutional government centered in a legislative Duma in October 1905. After a brief period with Sergei Witte as his first Premier, Nicholas appointed Peter Stolypin. Under the latter’s capable leadership (1906-1911), relations between the Tsar’s government and the new Duma were becoming cooperative and productive. Economic development continued apace until in
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Rasputin and his admirers, 1915. Far left standing is Sana Pistolkors and her husband, Alexander. Standing second in second row is Anna Vyrubova. Seated immediately to Rasputin’s right is Munia Golovina. The gentleman standing next to the table is Efim, Rasputin’s father.
Rasputin in Tyumen hospital recovering from stabbing. From this bed Rasputin wrote telegrams to the Tsar and Tsarina pleading against entering the war.
Chionia Guseva. Disfigured lady, under Iliodor’s instructions, stabbed Rasputin in Pokrovskoe on 28 June 1914.
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Youssoupoff v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.” Atlantis. 2(June 2000): 16-30. Wegerer, Alfred von. “The Russian Mobilization of 1914.” Political Science Quarterly. 43(June 1928): 201-28. Wilcox, E.H. “Manasevitch-Manouloff.” Fortnightly Review. (October 1917): 568-80. -----. “Miasoyedoff’s Treachery.” Fortnightly Review. (August 1917): 267-76. Wortman, Richard S. “‘Invisible Threads’: The Historical Imagery of the Romanov Tercentenary.” Russian History. 16(1989): 389-408. Wolfe, Bertram D. “Lenin and the Agent Provocateur Malinovsky.” Russian Review. (Autumn 1945): 49-69. VII. Doctoral Dissertations and Other Documents Kilcoyne, Martin. The Political Influence of Rasputin. Ph.D diss. University of Washington 1961. Kulikowski, Mark. Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs. Ph.D diss. State University of New York at Binghamton 1982. IX. Interviews Georgi Blyumin. Moscow, Russia. July 1992, December 1995, December 1998. Victor M. Contreras. Cuernavaca, Mexico. March 2008, March 2009.. Prince George Galitzine. St. Petersburg, Russia. October 1987. Franz Hohenlohe (Prince). Desert Hot Springs, California. April 1996. Marvin Lyons. Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. July 1994. Countess Marie Madelaine Mordvinov. Paris, France. 1994. Serge Trufanoff. New York State. July 2001, May 2005. Alexis Shcherbatov (Prince). New York City. May 1993. Xenia Sifris, neé Countess Xenia Nicholaevna Cheremeteff. Athens, Greece. April 1993. St. Petersburg, July 1998. Countess Natalya Sumarakov-Elston. London, England. December 1995. Ian Vorres. Washington D.C. March 1996. Nicholas Vyrubov. Paris. November 1997. ______________