Despite the negative things about Rasputin, finding out he helped eased a child's suffering and even did everything to stop WWI definitely gives me a new respect for the historic figure.
It was common opinion in the lower classes, wich suffered from constant famines, dictatorship of landlords and poverty long before the war. WWI was just a final straw. That's why majority of them fallowed the communists during Civil War.
@@Goran1138 That's not true though. After the february revolution they had an *election*. The bolsheviks lost. Peasants did not vote for the bolsheviks, the bolsheviks were mainly strong in the industrial towns, and even so, they were not as strong as the mensheviks.
@@GabrielNicho You forgot, that peasants usually voted for social-revolutionary party (Esers), wich was exen more radical socialist party, then Russian Social-Democratic party (bolishevik wing). So, communist and leftists ideas was popular among common people, any rightists almost did not had any support among peasants.Bolsheviks just won leftists infighting during Civil War.
@@Goran1138 True and not true. Yes, the peasants voted for them (I never said anything else), but the reason they did so was only for the promises of land reform.
Interesting fact-the children of Nicholas had an Irish nanny called Margaretta Eagar, and she spent so much time with the kids that some of them even started to develop slight Irish accents when they spoke English. For the rest of her life she would be haunted by the murders of the children she adored and helped raise.
And when russians shot the kids, bullets ricocheted off the jewelry... They were scared at God telling the murderers to stop, so they acted like russian soldiers always do and slowly beat children to death with rifles until the room was ankle-deep in blood.
I wonder if rasputin ever heard of lenin or stalin, and if he did, what was his opinions about them. Either way, it seems china cracked the code of how communism can "thrive"
He was a far cry from wrong. And not just about WWI. He was right about the end of the Romanov Dynasty in 1917... and the execution of Nicholas II and family in a dingy basement in Ekaterinburg a year later... 😞
@@davepeters4955 Probably. Or more than that, even. He was said to be a great lover, even if he was dirty, smelly, drank Madeira constantly, boasted about his connections to the royals, etc.
@@sanhcman666 If he did cross paths with them, he'd probably tell Nicholas II to hang them (Lenin's older brother had already been executed for revolutionary activity against Nicholas II's father, Alexander III).
Between this and the "fifth time's the charm" tale of the Archduke's death, I'm starting to think that no one could pull off a competent assassination until after WWI.
This is the age of idealistic morons dabbling in terrorism using unreliable bombs and small caliber handguns. Unfortunately police and security were also largely run by complete amateurs.
Rasputin had a lot of flaws, but I think in his own way he truly cared about the Russian peasantry and was smart enough to caution against war. In some ways, it's a shame the Tsar didn't heed his advice on that front - history might have been very different if he had.
Well you have a peasent that can actually talk to royalty. But only take him as a weird enterteinment. The moment the guy can put some policies of his own, he's seen as a threat and kill by reactionaries. You can't get more symbolic than that
It again depends on how one looks upon him. I think, he was aware that war means end for both Russia and tsar, and without Nicolas and Alexandra in charge, Rasputin would have been at very best exiled back to Siiberia. So, his anti-war pleas can be interpreted as an attempt to secure his position
Maybe he knew someone from the Crimean War, and learn that Russia was very ill prepared. Also the russian japanese war was by putting mildly ill received by russians. I hope those events are covered by extra credits soon enough.
While Rasputin was a crazy quack, his influence probably didn't effect the revolution. Nicholas had the political insticts of an unusually stupid brick.
If you want à revolting story, a story that lead the the Yellow Vests protests in France, look up "l'affaire Benalla" the protégé of président Macron, Macron even said: if they want a responsible : he is here, comme and get him !" (speaking about himself) the yellow vests nearly did get him
One of the greatest ironies in history. Rasputin has been portrayed a century now as a demon in human form manipulating the Tsar into leading Russia into ruin. And yet in this video alone we have three clear instances where Nicholas II really SHOULD have listened to Rasputin but did not, and it was those instances (particularly deciding to get involved in WWI) that lead to Nicholas' death and the end of the Russian empire.
@@KasumiRINA And this time we have an entirely different individual Russia's chief fortress (Kremlin comes from the word kreml, meaning fortress) who is tsar in all but name: Vladimir Putin.
and also one of the unluckiest, knowing some of Rasputin's narrative with the royal family was fabricated and mistrewn by what was the popular media at the time
Where the church encouraged him to deepen his prejuduces, the court pressured him to deepen his alcohol problems, the press demonized him, everyone ignored his better advice even if they took his worst advice, and then some of them killed him. O Fortuna!
Fun fact: Rasputin's assassination (or rather Yusupov's account of it) is what lead to the "All resemblances to real events and people, living or dead, is purely coincidental" disclaimer that appears in every film
The fact that a drunken, sex-addicted peasant from Siberia was not only the smartest advisor but also kind of the most sympathetic person at the court (IMHO) tells you a lot about the state of the late Russian Empire and the intelligence of the Tsar.
And yet scandal wafted around him to the point where people loathed him with an undying passion. I think perhaps his most scandalous moments (that didn't involve his womanizing) was his boasting about his connections to the Imperial Family and a time where he went to a restaurant, opened his pants, and proceeded to wave his junk in the faces of diners.
I always just imagine the whole assassination ordeal as Screaming, Screaming and even more Screaming while a bunch of guys are running around panicking
I imagine it being like this. "He didn't die!" "Oh no no no! He knows! We're cursed!" "Gun! Give me!" _BAM!_ "Is he dead?!" "I don't know?!" "His clothes! Get someone else to wear for a diversion!" "Ewww ewww eww! Dead smelly man!" "Here's the gun!" "No no no! That gun be cursed!" "Wait wait he's waking u- Aaaah!" "Aaaah! No no! Go away!" "He's running away!" "Shoot shoot him!" _BAM!_ "Is he dead?!" _BAM! BAM!_ "Ewww! Blood! Brains! Ewww!" "What do we do?!" "Dump him! Dump him!" "Is he dead?!" "He's still blinking!" "Aaaaaaaaaah!!!" "Run run! Pray! Oh god! Oh god!"
7:03 At that moment, I kinda wish they made a "The Death of Rasputin" story. Much like "The Death of Stalin", a dark political comedy. Just imagine if Rasputin's assassins go into a screaming panic over if the man is dead or not, maybe even missing their shots as they keep arguing if he's dead or not. "Oh god, he's alive!!!" "Are you sure?! You shot him!" "He's getting up!!! Augh!!!" *they miss three shots(screaming the whole time) as Rasputin barley stumbles out the door*
@@strategicgamingwithaacorns2874 If you took WWI by itself, you could make a fair case that Western Civilization, at least as it existed in June 1914, died because of it. But you always have to remember that the war's unfinished business led to an even bigger detonation in 1939, which completely flattened the place-- certainly in a moral and intellectual sense. It was like a fire in a warehouse setting off ammonium nitrate. Debris is still falling from that one, and it's not clear, even after 80 years, what the final shape of the new culture will be.
i think Rasputin gave the Romanov's a little more time in the throne, because after he was killer everyone noticed that the tsar was indeed an idiot instead of just a naive ruler.
In many ways Alexandra was the exact opposite of Catherine, which is ironic since both of them came from Germany. You honestly could not find a couple more ill-suited to be the absolute monarchs of a country at the start of the 20th century then Nicholas and Alexandra. But in many ways Rasputin's story perfectly captures the insanity, and paranoia of Imperial Russia, which in some ways persists till today.
@@troyjardine5850 their incapability is actually overstated. Louis would have made a fine monarch if he inherited a healthy nation. The issue was the king before him mismanaged the country so badly the best Louis could have hoped for was to avoid disaster. (Though supporting America was a legitimately stupid decision. There was nothing to force america to favor trade with France and no gurrante France could take the richer English colonies in India or the Carebbean.
@@jacoblevenson7934 France thought they would get an ally in the region against Britain. America then promptly decided to not pay back any debts and effectively annulled their alliance.
@@troyjardine5850 That and times were just changing to the point where their roles are becoming more and more outdated (thanks to a philosophical movement we call the Enlightenment).
well clearly he is a DND monk Deflect Missiles Starting at 3rd Level, you can use your Reaction to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged weapon Attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the Attack is reduced by 1d 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level. also Purity of Body - Purity of Body. At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison. he used deflect missiles to reduce the gunshot damage and purity of body to negate the poison.
In an urban fantasy setting I wrote up for a GURPS campaign, Rasputin was a vampire. He survived and now lives in a California trailer park as an aged hippie named Greg with his granddaughter Annie...
According to Pathfinder, he's an 18th level oracle. Then again, he's depicted there as the actual son of Baba Yaga, so you might be closer to truth here.
Yusupov: "Oh right, the cyanide. The cyanide for Rasputin, the cyanide made specially to kill Rasputin, Rasputin's cyanide? That cyanide?" Pavlovich: "Yes, that cyanide!" Yusupov: "Gotcha covered."
There is a reason why Europeans often say that the 20th century began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and ended with the fall of the Soviet Union. As an American, I believe that politically, it started with the Spanish-American War and ended on September 11th.
You know what is surreal for me? That after romanovs fall, all leaders of the URSS somehow acted like a tsar. In some cases, it worked (Who reach space first?) but in anothers (Stalin was worse than the failed austrian painter in terms of special prisons and its mortality rate)
@@tada-kun982 To be fair to Ron, I think he's saying that the "political 20th century" began and ended on those dates for the USA (and comparing that with the traditional 1914 - 1991 Eurocentric claim). I don't think he's making a claim that's meant to be valid for everyone everywhere.
Well there is a one thing to note about the cyanide: It reacts with sugar, and is no longer dangerous. Vine and cakes have sugar in them. This is one way, that Rasputin could have survived the possible poisoning and a reason why there wouldn't be a clear trace of poison to find.
The advice to delay the draft might have been beneficial for a second reason, as Russia experienced severe arms shortages during the war, and they did have the manpower to fight, but by delaying the draft, it might have allowed them more time to spin up the arsenal system to produce much needed equipment
Rasputin: You should wait until the last of the crops have been harvested before winter hits, THEN perform a draft. Tsar: Nah, I want soldiers now *famine hits, causing a massive riot that ultimately leads to the toppling of the monarchy Tsar: *surprised Pikachu face
It's almost like the age of Monarchs being able to ruthlessly exploit their subjects without consequence had passed. I can't say he didn't have it coming, but what happened to his innocent family was also undeniably an atrocity.
@@CABRALFAN27 He didn't want to get rid of the rules of the hereditary Monarchy, so they just shrugged and said "okay, the rules say if you have no living heirs, your dynasty ends, right?'.
He just wasn't taken seriously, probably due to his background as a peasant, and partly because he was dirty, smelly, had a sex addiction, drank tons of Madeira, boasted nonstop about his connections to the royals, oh, and then there was that one time where he went to a restaurant, unzipped his pants, and waved his junk in the faces of diners.
Can we all stop a moment to appreciate Nick's awesome animation at 6:22? Done? Ok. Awesome work as always bud! Now where we? Ah yes? There lived a certain man, in Russia long ago.
I'm not sure how "I heard" stacks up against the historical research of the channel saying he had a bullet through his forehead At least link a source or something.
@armia krajova Apparently not. Fluid does not enter your airways if you are not breathing. Also, you can survive a bullet to the head. Heck, some have even survived two! Considering how those people aimed, I'm surprised that they even managed to hit Rasputin in the head at all.
I feel like the plot by a group of inexperienced and incompetent conspirators to murder Rasputin, and failing over and over, could make for an excellent dark comedy
Can't say I'm sad to see the Tsardom go, but I do wish the Mensheviks or someone had taken power instead of the Bolsheviks. Instead, one dictatorship replaced another.
this series is yet another example of why this channel is so good since it helps demystify history and remind us how much we love as human beings to tell tall tales, exaggerate, and make legends which is fine as long as we don't take it as truth in any way
Here's what I think happened: Prince Yusipov purchased what he thought was poison, but turned out to be fake once Rasputin consumed it. He then got the revolver, and shot Rasputin in the back. Rasputin feigned death until his conspirators checked to see if he really was dead. Rasputin attacked the conspirators, and Yusipov, now panicked, fired a shot into his head. The third into the chest was to ensure he was dead.
@@M.E.ANDHistory Nah, the assassination attempt seems more likely. He had tons of enemies, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the people who carried out the assassination bribed whoever was performing the autopsy.
There were gunshots heard at 2:30 in the morning, then there were more heard at around 6 in the morning outside in the courtyard when the police changed shifts (the police station was right acrross the river from the palace. According to the ballistics report, the bullets were of various calibres, so different guns. The poison was provided by Dr Lazovert who was present in the palace during the assassination.
@@M.E.ANDHistory The autopsy still found several bullet wounds in him, and the conspirators allegedly threw him into the Neva. You can't drown if you aren't breathing, implying that he survived everything but the involuntary swim.
Marie Antoinette, though she did speak German prior to going to France, was Austrian, not German. Germany didn't even become its own country until the Iron Chancellor arrived on the scene (and played a role in getting Kaiser Wilhelm I crowned in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles).
@@hans3000 She was, but Austrian was considered something along the lines of how Saxons are considered today. The thing that (may have) changed that outlook today, is that modern day citizens of Germany are called German
This was probably the video series that fasinated me the most. As someone who wrote a large 8 page, final project last year on Grigori Rasputin and his effects on the Russian Revolution- I only now realize how wrong I was. He wasn't perfect, and wasn't great per say- but he definitely wasn't as terrible as I believed him to be for so long. So thank you!
The whole murder of Rasputin story is a part of history where advanced critical thinking skills come into play. Personally, I tend to follow Yusupov's account (given that it's the most common one used), but then again, I could be (VERY) wrong about the tale of Yusupov and his cyanide-laced goodies. For the next video, I'd enjoy a series about one of the following: 1) The French Revolution. 2) The Lincoln Assassination (complete with JWB's conspirators and the military tribunal that followed). 3) Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. 4) The Inquisition (I have that song from History of the World, Part 1 playing in my brain as I type this). 5) Peter the Great (they did a series on Catherine; we need to know about Peter, too). 6) The Time of Troubles (and the beginning of the Romanov Dynasty itself). 7) A mini-video about the Ōtsu Incident.
Including a prediction he made about the execution of Nicholas II and family that took place in a dingy basement at Ekaterinburg in mid-July 1918. "If I'm killed by my brothers, the Russian peasants, you have nothing to fear. If it is your relations who have brought about my death, then none of your family will remain alive for more than two years. They will all be killed by the Russian people." 😞
Is there a way to contact Extra Credits to propose a idea for a video about some mythologies of the Sami people of Norway? We have some cool stories and creatures, and would love if there was a video about them
Ironic when you take a closer look at Rasputin and see that despite all the claims he was controlling the imperial couple, things might have turned out better if he had been
I know it might be foolish to compare Rasputin with Bismarck, but he was one of the FEW people who knew that "a Balkan mess" could result in a catastrophe.
They don't go into it much in this series, but Nicholas II of Russia often tied with Lois XIV of France in people's mind for the title of most bumbling monarch in modern European history.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was recognized even as a teenager as a complete disaster from the start. He gave the Austro Hungarians Carte blanche to start a war then went on vacation with no contact or instructions. Maybe autocrats and monarchies are a bad idea
So he was a hippie doctor who hated the government and most people of high standing and he’s standing to be a doctor led him to get more prestige with the family through Alexandra and also gave advice that may have saved the empire.
Russia's war and loss to Japan almost led to revolution. It didn't take genius or magic to see the calamity. The problem was that these are in his advisors had relied upon Pan-Slavicism to try to keep the empire together after 1905. The logical result of this believe that Russia was the protector of all Slavic people's was that they had to take the side of the regicidal terrorist backing Serbs.
I mean predictions are really just being able to guess the future based on people in power's personalities and motives as well as the general populace's feelings toward something. A lot of people believe Matt Groening can predict the future because of things said in the Simpsons and Futurama, but really he's just good at guessing things based on the political climate and such.
What a wild ride. If there hasn't been a truly good, semi-historical/dramatised feature film based on the story of Rasputin (I'm thinking Hellboy doesn't quite count) I wish there were. This is the sort of tale that one cpuld spend ages casting actors and imaginging the drama and how each could chew a scene.
When Hammer Horror did a film version of Rasputin in the 1960s, they had to get the script run past the last remaining assassin (still alive!), lest they get sued.
Its pretty funny that both Rasputin and Otto Von Bismarck said not to start or join a War in the Balkans and yet no one listened and it just amplified from there.
3:46 I thought we learned our lesson in the great loot episode that many Ottomans were not dark colored especially Sultan Mehmed V who was just a white and blue eyed as a European
FYI, for future animations... ...the Yusupov palace is in urban Saint Petersburg. It is, and was, basically a townhouse on a canal. There are no open lands around it...just the streets and other buildings. :)
I have no info on the foot soldiers. But the ringleaders of his assassination all survived WW1. Valdimir Purishvick died in 1920, the Grand Duke in 1942, and Felix Yusupov in 1967.
Actually, getting sent far away from the capital before the revolutions broke out might've accidentally saved Dmitri P's life. (Learned this from a biography of Coco Chanel, who he went on to have sex with)
That bit about 'scooping buckets of water from the river as if it was holy' as a sign of the 'old Russia' showed me something I didn't know before but that seems hugely important: Russian culture was devided on a deep cultural issue. And between what exactly? What was 'the old' that some wanted to keep, and what 'the new' that some felt it needed to be replaced by? If you want to understand Russia, it seems important to understand that bit of it quite well.
That's actually kind of disappointing, for me at least. I always thought rescued and made for a great villain in works of fiction. Oh well. As the old saying goes "don't believe everything you see in the moving pictures."
its insane to me that rasputin was around during the first world war, i wish history class explained what was happening around the world at certain times instead of following each individual civilization through their whole timeline
Actually, some of historians like Radzinskiy note that only Yusupov was vacilating to kill Rasputin and didn't like to shoot people in general, while Dmitriy Pavlovich had good military experience and was more cold-blooded in killing enemies. That's why there were scandals over suspect of shooting. And other relatives of Royal Family tried to protect Dmitriy at all costs from the title of killer. And yeah, read the book about Rasputin by Edward Radzinskiy. Fascinating book. It's like in EC WW1 story, while you read, you think of story as some masterful fiction until you realise that this story is very real and mystic in general! Thanks EC for inspiring me to find that book!
