The only time Rasputin was right—and the tsar ignored him
Rasputin warned the tsar against entering World War I—one of his rare correct judgments—but the tsar never heeded him on military matters. Yet on personnel appointments, the tsar gave the empress and Rasputin a free hand, ultimately destroying the empire's entire administrative system.
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Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War forced the tsar to accept a power-limiting constitution
Rasputin's rise had deep roots: the tsar's humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War—land forces defeated, the Far Eastern fleet annihilated, and the Baltic fleet sent to circumnavigate the globe for revenge only to be destroyed en route. All responsibility fell on the tsar. By late 1905, he was forced to accept a constitution that curtailed the Romanov autocracy. It was amid this humiliation and turmoil that the imperial family's obsession with mysticism and shamanic figures reached its height, paving the way for Rasputin.
— Antony BeevorThe tsarevich's hemophilia crisis gave the empress near-absolute power
The heir apparent, Alexei, had hemophilia. During a hunting trip to Spala in Poland, an attack brought him to the brink of death; doctors prepared the parents for their child's passing. Rasputin, from elsewhere, merely phoned to say ‘the child will be fine’—and the boy recovered. From that moment, Rasputin held nearly absolute control over the empress. Everyone around the royal family watched helplessly as decision-making power fell into the hands of this Siberian.
— Antony BeevorRasputin's warning against entering the war was one of his rare correct calls
Rasputin opposed Russia entering the First World War and even wrote letters to the tsar warning it would be a complete disaster, possibly ending the entire autocracy itself. Events proved him entirely correct. Yet the tsar never accepted Rasputin's advice on military matters—the one counsel he should have heeded was precisely the one he ignored.
— Antony BeevorThe empress convinced the tsar to take personal command of the military
In 1915, the empress—working in concert with Rasputin—convinced the tsar that his cousin Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich was plotting a coup. She pressured him to assume personal command of the Russian army and move to Stavka, the highest command post. Britain, France, allied governments, and virtually all ministers (except the prime minister) warned it would be catastrophic. The tsar ignored them. The result was one of the largest retreats in Russian history: vast territories in Poland and Belarus were abandoned. From then on, every military defeat bore the tsar's name.
— Antony BeevorMinisters rotated constantly and no one could truly control any department
After the tsar left the capital, the empress, under Rasputin's influence, constantly replaced ministers and governors, retaining only those who obeyed her and Rasputin absolutely. This came to be called ‘leapfrogging of ministers’. The result: no minister had a real opportunity to master his own department or manage his subordinates' civil service systems. The entire state machinery ground to a halt.
— Antony BeevorKilling Rasputin became a farce marred by failure after failure
Three right-wing nobles, led by Prince Yusupov, conspired to assassinate Rasputin to ‘save Russia’—but bungled it into absurdity. Cyanide-laced Madeira wine and poisoned cakes failed; the sugar in the pastries neutralized the toxin. After being shot, he still tried to escape the courtyard. Only a bullet to the back finally killed him. The man known for predicting the future could not foresee his own death.
— Antony BeevorKilling Rasputin did not halt the monarchy's slide toward collapse
The conspirators expected that removing Rasputin would shatter the empress's psyche, even force the tsar to abdicate and reinstall Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich as commander. Instead, the opposite happened: the royal family withdrew further into isolation and ceased listening to any other Romanov relatives. The situation simply continued its descent toward revolution—and the new interior minister they appointed afterward proved even more catastrophic than the ministers Rasputin had influenced.
— Antony BeevorFrozen trains in the wrong places starved the capital and toppled the tsar
Protopopov, an interior minister elevated through Rasputin's influence, suffered from tertiary syphilis-induced psychosis—yet was put in charge of transportation. In January and February 1917, because he sent trains to the wrong depots, they froze solid in the harsh winter and became unusable. The capital did not lack grain; it lacked the ability to move grain into the city. This human-caused food shortage set hungry crowds in motion and finally brought down the tsar.
— Antony BeevorIn their own words · checked verbatim
the head of the provisional government, who says without Rasputin, there would never have been a Lenin.
Antony Beevor14:45
He telephones when he is contacted and tells them the boy is going to be all right. There is no problem.
Antony Beevor17:53
For goodness sakes, do not fight this war. This is going to be a complete disaster for Russia. It may end up to the end of your imperial regime.
Antony Beevor22:43
if you need courage, you have Rasputin's own comb, which he has combed his hair with. You comb your hair with this comb, and you will feel stronger and be able to face up your ministers.
Antony Beevor28:26
It was one of the most incompetent murders you could possibly imagine. It is another Russian farce in the worst order.
Antony Beevor37:08
here was Rasputin, who had this tremendous reputation for being able to foretell the future, and couldn't even foretell his own death.
Antony Beevor39:10
Glossary
- Stavka
- The Russian imperial army's highest command headquarters during World War I; the tsar personally took residence there in 1915.
How to listen
History readers interested in the origins of the Russian Revolution and the mechanics of tsarist collapse, and those seeking to understand how court mysticism can destroy an empire.
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