22. A Delinquent Teenager
Rasputin was born Grigory Yefimovich Novykh in a humble peasant family in a small Siberian village on January 21st, 1869. His father was a farmer who also worked as a government courier, and ferried people and goods between nearby settlements across and along the Tura River. Little is known of Rasputin’s childhood, except that he was not formally educated. He remained functionally illiterate until adulthood, and was barely literate thereafter. By his teens, Rasputin had become a delinquent heavy drinker, who disrespected the local authorities and was involved in minor thefts and other petty crimes. He was also accused of blasphemy and bearing false witness during this period. However, what really stood out was his licentiousness and passionate pursuit of women – many of whom eagerly welcomed his advances.
