8. Rasputin’s Bad Reputation Reflected Badly on His Tsarist Patrons
The fact remained that the peasant strannik had a notorious reputation for lechery and a unique brand of religious practices with his female followers. Amid stories of the wild o-r-g-i-e-s he engaged in with his congregation, it was not long before rumors circulated that Rasputin was sleeping with the Tsarina and c-u-c-k-olding the Tsar. It was commendable of Nicholas II that he was secure enough in his wife’s fidelity to dismiss the rumors. However, he failed to realize that regardless of the truth, perception mattered. Rasputin’s proximity to the Tsar’s family, particularly his wife and teenage daughters, brought the imperial family into disrepute. It also opened the Tsar to mockery and ridicule as a c-u-c-k-old, thus damaging his dignity and prestige.
