24. A Hard to Murder Charlatan
Illiterate Siberian peasant, mystic, and charlatan faith healer Rasputin (1872 – 1916) – Russian for “the debauched one” – had a reputation for licentiousness since his teens. At 18, he studied at a monastery and joined a flagellant sect, but perverted its beliefs by inventing a doctrine that nearness to God is best achieved by “holy passionlessness”. The best way to get there, according to Rasputin, was with sexual exhaustion after prolonged bouts of debauchery by the entire congregation. That would get all the base passions out of their system, and allow them to focus on God without distractions.
He also had an inexplicable ability to soothe the suffering of the Russian Emperor’s young son and heir, who suffered from hemophilia. It won Rasputin imperial favor, which made him an incongruously powerful and influential figure in the Russian Empire’s final years. That made him enemies, who decided to murder Rasputin – only to discover that they had their work cut out for them.
