You probably know about this guy by his last name only. Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a powerful mystic (i.e. many people thought he could speak to God) born in 1869 in Siberia as a lowly peasant. As is the norm with many controversial figures, little is known about his childhood. However, myths and allegories have sprouted up surrounding his apparent supernatural powers as a child. Regardless, he ended up spending three months in a monastery in Verkhoturye, where upon returning home he spoke of seeing the Virgin Mary. This spiritual awakening led him to make the decision to pursue the wandering mystics’ path. A calling that few people, even in those times managed to pursue.

During this molding period he was said, but not confirmed, to have spent time with the controversial Christian group the khlysty, who partook in mortification or whipping themselves. His association with this group would haunt him for his entire life.

Already married with three children and a reputation as a holy man in 1905, Rasputin was in Siberia wandering when he was requested to see the ailing Tsarevich Alexei or Tsar of Russia. Rasputin was able to give the boy, who was suffering from hemophilia, a reprieve from pain and subsequently became a very close confidant and friend of the family. He was considered a prophet and religious man that the Tsar and his family believed spoke to them straight from God. Needless to say, any sway he held over the royal family was considered to be too much by many popular figures of the day, and he was also accused of leading an unfettered sex life.

His eventual murder in 1916, two years after a prostitute named Khionia Guseva unsuccessfully tried to stab him to death, came at the hands of nobles, including a prince and a grand duke. He proved to be ridiculously difficult to kill, as he was first given cyanide laced food, which did not kill him, shot once in the back, unsuccessfully, then shot three more times, which incredibly did not kill him until finally he was bludgeoned unconscious. However, he was tossed into the nearby Neva River where he eventually drowned to death. There is also an urban myth that his penis was cut off, and until today is believed by many to be true. In fact the St. Petersburg sex and erotic museum claims to have the mystic’s large foot long penis in their possession! This monster schlong is quite a site, and could be proof of Rasputin’s sexual proclivities.

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