1. He was born a peasant

Rasputin may be best-known for his dealings with the Russian royal family, the Romanovs, but he came from humble beginnings. He was born in a remote Siberian village to illiterate peasant parents, with his father a farmer.

2. His early years are something of a black hole

Much of what we think we know about the life of the enigmatic Rasputin is mere speculation and rumour. This is particularly true of his childhood and early adult years, a period about which almost nothing is known.

3. He had a wife and seven children

Grigori Rasputin may have later gained a reputation for being a sex-crazed womaniser, but he started out his adult years as a family man after he married a peasant girl named Praskovya Dubrovina at the age of 18, the couple went on to have seven children – though only three survived into adulthood.

Rasputin with his daughter Maria (rightmost), in his St. Petersburg apartment, 1911

Image Credit: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

4. He spent several months living at a monastery

In 1897, after 10 years of marriage, Rasputin went on a pilgrimage to the Saint Nicholas Monastery at Verkhoturye, some 300 miles from his home village. There, it appears he had some kind of religious awakening and returned a changed man.

For the next decade he travelled around the country – and possibly even further afield – as a self-styled holy man, preaching and claiming to have powers that included being able to heal the sick. His reputation eventually spread to the then capital, Saint Petersburg, where he was introduced to the Tsar and his wife.

5. It is unlikely he had mystical healing powers

After Rasputin appeared to stop the bleeding of the Russian Tsar’s haemophilic son, Alexei, one night, the Tsarina apparently became convinced of his healing powers – a belief that would see Rasputin gain increasing influence with the Romanov family.

It certainly seems as though Rasputin curbed a number of Alexei’s bleeding fits. But historians have suggested various possible explanations for this, including that Rasputin may have merely succeeded in calming the young prince down – possibly through hypnosis – or that he may have advised against Alexei being administered aspirin, a blood thinner.

It’s safe to say that none of these explanations include mystical healing powers, however.

6. He had terrible table manners

Rasputin is reputed to have licked spoons before using them to serve other people and to have regularly had pieces of food in his beard – which would sometimes rot. In fact, he was widely known for having terrible personal hygiene in general.

7. He described himself as a “Christ in miniature”

According to biographer Frances Welch, when accused of a drunken public incident in which he allegedly exposed his penis and bragged about having had sex with the Tsarina, Rasputin defended himself to the Tsar by saying:

Despite my terrible sins, I am a Christ in miniature.

Rasputin among admirers, 1914

Image Credit: Karl Bulla, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

8. He survived at least one assassination attempt…

On 12 July 1914, Rasputin was stabbed in the stomach outside his home by a peasant woman named Chionya Guseva. The 33-year-old was a follower of Iliodor, a former priest and supporter turned enemy of Rasputin – though she claimed to have acted alone.

Rasputin survived the attack but reportedly remained in pain until his death one-and-a-half years later.

9. …but succumbed to another

It is not known exactly what happened at the palace of Prince Felix Yusupov on the night of 29 December 1916. But it ended with Grigori Rasputin’s death.

According to Yusupov himself, he, along with other nobles who believed that Rasputin’s sway over the Tsar and Tsarina posed a threat to the monarchy, lured the mystic to the palace. They then proceeded to try and poison him with cyanide-laced cakes and drinks.

When Rasputin failed to die, however, Yusupov says the conspirators then shot him – though it seems it took more than one shot to kill the 47-year-old.

10. His body has three gunshot wounds

According to accounts by Yusupov and co-conspirator, the right-wing politician Vladimir Purishkevich, both men shot Rasputin. But neither mention inflicting a gunshot wound to the self-styled holy man’s head. Yet, that’s exactly what his body’s got: three gunshot wounds of various sizes, including one in the forehead.

Changes in society

For much of the 19th century, Russia remained relatively backward, with few roads and limited industrialisation, and a wide class divide. Following the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, agriculture remained in the hands of peasants and former landowners, relying predominantly on traditional methods.

Toward the end of the century, Russia experienced a large population increase, and its late and rapid industrialisation resulted in hundreds of thousands of people moving to urban areas out of financial necessity. This led to overcrowding and poor working conditions, with low wages, unsafe practices and few rights.

Nevertheless, acquiring new skills gave them a sense of self-respect and confidence, increasing expectations and exposing them to new ideas. After 1905’s ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacre, strikes and public disorder from this new proletariat rapidly increased, no longer seeing the Tsar as their champion.

The Tsar’s incompetence

Tsar Nicholas II was a deeply conservative autocratic ruler. He believed he had been granted the power to rule by divine right and assumed this gave him the unquestioning loyalty of his people.

Detached from their plight, Nicholas refused to allow progressive reforms or accept any reduction in power. Religious faith was used as a means of political authority, exercised through the clergy and later through the Cossacks and secret police.

Tsar Nicholas II (Image Credit: Public Domain).

However, Bloody Sunday forced Nicholas to create the October Manifesto, making a number of concessions to decree limited civil rights and a democratically elected parliament, the Duma. Nevertheless, he worked to limit these to preserve his authority, dismissing the first two Dumas.

Nicholas was unprepared for the outbreak of World War One, but he was keen to restore Russia’s prestige after the Russo-Japanese War in 1904/5, and use the war to create national unity. However, he failed to choose skilled leaders, was disorganised in ensuring adequate supplies, and made poor strategic decisions throughout the war, leading to huge losses.

In Autumn 1915, Nicholas declared himself Commander in Chief of the army and departed for the Eastern Front, believing this would inspire the soldiers to fight with renewed vigour. By removing himself from a political role and now in sole command, he consequently bore more personal responsibility for any military failure. His absence also left a weakened government.

The Tsarina and the war

Nicholas’ departure left his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, in control. She wasn’t popular, and as a German princess, raised suspicions as to where her true loyalties lay.

Alexandra gained increasing influence over the appointment of ministers to the government and determined that no member should be in a strong enough position to challenge her husband’s authority. Consequently, the government tended to be filled with increasingly weak and incompetent men – leading to rumours she was a German collaborator.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with Rasputin, her children and a governess.

Rasputin and his influence over the Tsarina

Alexandra became strongly influenced by a Siberian monk, Rasputin, who was a mystic and self-proclaimed holy man. Although infamous for his drunkenness and womanising, Rasputin also gained a reputation as a healer who could perform amazing feats.

Nicholas and Alexandra had 4 daughters and a son, Alexei, who had haemophilia. Rasputin was summoned by Alexandra to pray for Alexei after he had an internal haemorrhage in spring 1907. After Alexei recovered, Alexandra became convinced Rasputin could control Alexei’s illness, and his influence over the Tsarina became considerable, advising her on government appointments and important decisions.

Rasputin soon became a controversial figure, bringing ridicule on the royal family. He was accused by his enemies of religious heresy and rape, and was rumoured to be having an affair with the Tsarina.

After Rasputin’s murder in December 1916 by Russian aristocrats, Alexandra’s behaviour became more erratic, and she failed to even attempt to address the challenges posed to government in Nicholas’ absence.

Impact of the First World War

Instead of restoring Russia’s prestige, the First World War led to the deaths of almost 2 million Russian soldiers and multiple military defeats.

When Russia entered the war, it was distinctly less industrialized than its allies, with a weakened navy following the 1904 Russo-Japanese War. The addition of the Ottoman Empire to the Central Powers cut off essential trade routes, contributing to munition shortages. Military defeats such as the 1914 Battle of Tannenberg sapped morale, as did the superior German army’s shift of focus to the Eastern front in 1915.

As the war progressed, many officers loyal to the Tsar were killed and replaced by discontented conscripts, with little loyalty to the Tsar. Soldiers were ill-equipped and staggering losses increasingly led to mutinies and revolts.

Tsar Nicolas II reviewing Russian troops. When Russia entered World War One, its army was the largest, but least modern of the major European powers. (Image Credit: Everett Collection / Shuttershock).

Economic problems

The vast demand for factory production of war supplies and workers resulted in labour riots and strikes, as did conscription, which took skilled workers from the cities, replacing them with unskilled peasants.

Conscripted peasants were also a large part of the Russian army. This led to a shortage of farm workers, hugely impacting production. By the end of 1915, there were signs the economy was breaking down due to wartime demand. The government attempted to address this by printing more money, but this led to high inflation. Underdeveloped railway systems led to food shortages and rising prices, with workers increasingly abandoning cities to seek food.

The Tsarina failed to address strikes and protests in late 1916 and by the time revolution hit, Russia’s economy was near collapse.

Peasant and worker discontent

The scorched earth policy during the 1915 Russian army retreat destroyed large areas of peasant farmland, ruining their livelihoods. Meanwhile living conditions deteriorated, with shortages in shops and a severe lack of food. This was made worse by peasants hoarding grain for themselves, and the railways being committed to the war effort, unavailable to transport supplies to the cities.

These shortages exacerbated social unrest, creating a powder-keg of despair and anger. Revolutionary groups continued to attract support, aided by the Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda. They believed a worker-run government should replace Tsarist rule, and the shortages provided the ideal opportunity to gain support.

In January 1917, to commemorate Bloody Sunday, thousands of workers went on strike in St Petersburg. In February, further rioting broke out, initially in response to an announcement on bread rationing. Strikers from the Putilov Engineering Plant joined the crowds at the celebration of International Women’s Day.

Meeting in the Putilov Works in Petrograd during the 1917 Russian Revolution. In February 1917 strikes at the factory contributed to the February Revolution. (Image Credit: Shuttershock).

As numbers increased, some of the Tsar’s forces opened fire. Angry protestors broke into the barracks of the city’s Pavlovsky Regiment, yet the Cossack soldiers refused orders to fire on the crowds, joining the protestors and mutinying against the Tsar.

Seize of Power

Dismissing this as short-lived, Nicholas attempted to return to St Petersburg to reclaim authority, but his train was diverted by revolutionaries to Pskov. Isolated and powerless, he was forced to abdicate.

A Provisional Government replaced Nicholas (after his brother refused the crown), but carried on fighting the war. Lenin claimed the government was imperialist in doing so, and undeserving of Socialist support. As the Provisional Government’s power waned, Bolshevik influence increased. As shortages and military defeats continued, Lenin and the Bolsheviks determined to seize power in the name of the Soviets.

Vladimir Lenin during the Russian Revolution of October 1917. (Image Credit: Alamy).

In October 1917 they stormed the Winter Palace, and arrested the Provisional Government, putting themselves in charge.

A year later the Tsar and his family were executed. Russia had changed forever.

The nobles who killed him were just as dissatisfied with the Tsar‘s regime as the men in the street.

The unashamed assassination of this man at the heart of the government by members of the Tsar’s own family was the first sign that something would have to give – and soon.

Illiterate peasant to mystic prophet

The figure of Rasputin has exercised a strange fascination over people ever since his death.

There have been many film portrayals of him from actors as distinguished as Christopher Lee and Alan Rickman, and he is just as well known from the Boney-M song which bears his name.

Born in Siberia as an illiterate peasant in 1869, he underwent a religious conversation after an experience as a teenager, and then confidently sold himself as a mystic healer and even a prophet with the ability to tell the future.

In the last troubled years of Tsardom in Russia even these dubious claims were hopeful enough to be listened to.

In 1908 the Tsar’s family turned to Rasputin when the heir to the throne of Russia seemed certain to die from the hereditary illness of hemophilia.

Rasputin among admirers, 1914. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Miraculously, after all the doctor’s efforts the boy recovered under the monk’s charge, and from 1908 onwards the mad holy man could do no wrong in the eyes of the Royal Family. Particularly the Tsar’s wife, Empress Alexandra.

Driven almost mad by concern over her son, she turned to the mystic for comfort and guidance. Inevitably, their closeness began to give rise to rumours, especially as Rasputin was a prodigious womaniser.

As famous for his great beard and mesmerising eyes as he was for holding drunken orgies and attempting to seduce the wives of aristocrats.

These rumours are likely nothing more than gossip without foundation, but by the start of the First World War they were widely believed and damaging for the Tsar’s fragile prestige.

Growing anger

By 1916, things had come to a head.

After a series of catastrophic Russian defeats in the opening months of the war, Tsar Nicholas II took personal charge of the Imperial armies, and left the business of governing the Russian Empire to his wife.

As a result, her favourite Rasputin began to exercise a degree of influence that alienated huge sections of Russian society. The powerful Orthodox church was furious about his public and immoral behaviour.

The ordinary people were suspicious of his relationship with the Tsar’s German wife, and most importantly the nobles were outraged over the influence this rustic peasant had over Government policy.

It did not help that the Russian government was a shambles under Alexandra’s leadership. By the end of the year most nobles agreed that something had to be done.

The plot to kill Rasputin

On the night of the 29 December, the Princes Yussupov and Pavlovich, both close relatives of the Tsar, lured Rasputin to the Yussupov place. The three men drank, ate, and talked various topics with Rasputin, who quickly became drunk.

Little did he know that both the food and the drink were laced with cyanide. To the dismay and astonishment of his would-be assassins, however, the monk refused to die and continued to talk as if nothing had happened.

In response, they decided to take more drastic action. Rasputin was unexpectedly shot from almost point-blank range and collapsed, bleeding, onto the floor.

Amazingly, however, after a little while he revived and attempted to flee the palace through an open window.

As he jumped he was shot again, and then viciously beaten by his assailants before being shot once more to the head and dumped in the frozen river nearby.

Felix Yusupov, husband of Princess Irina Aleksandrovna Romanova, the Tsar’s niece, 1914. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Incredibly, some accounts say that Rasputin was still alive, and even that claw marks had been found under the ice that froze over him as he tried to escape.

This time, however, he could no longer cheat death and his frozen corpse was found a few days later.

Yussupov and Pavlovich were open about their deed and both exiled, though the former survived to write a famous set of memoirs about these extraordinary times.

Unwittingly, these two aristocrats had helped to usher in the chaos that would grip Russian in February 1917.

With Rasputin dead, the Tsar’s last scapegoat was gone, and as the people of Russia’s cities continued to starve, and the peasants continued to be sent unprepared off to the front, a revolution became the only option available to the people.

These monarchs, warlords and popes lost their lives in the strangest ways: to monkey bites and nosebleeds, gluttony and laughter.

Here are 10 historical figures who died unusual deaths:

1. Rasputin

The Russian mystic, healer and society figure Grigori Rasputin led a life which was almost as unusual as his death.

Born a peasant in a small Siberian village, Rasputin became a close friend to the last Russian Tsar and his wife Alexandra. The royal family hoped Rasputin would use his alleged powers to heal their son, who suffered from haemophilia.

He quickly became a powerful figure in the Romanov court and was even rumoured to be having an affair with Tsarina Alexander herself. Fearing Rasputin’s influence over the royal family, a group of nobles and right-wing politicians conspired to kill him.

First they poisoned Rasputin with cakes laced with cyanide, but these had no effect on the monk at all. Rasputin then calmly asked the nobles for some Madeira wine (which they also poisoned) and drank three full glasses.

When Rasputin still showed no signs of ill-health, the shocked nobles shot him in the chest with a revolver. Thinking him dead, they approached his body. Rasputin leapt up and attacked them, then fled into a palace courtyard. The nobles pursued him and shot him again, this time through the forehead.

The conspirators wrapped up Rasputin’s body and dropped it into a river, just to be certain they had finished the job.

2. Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden

Adolf Frederick was King of Sweden from 1751 to 1771, and is generally remembered as a weak but peaceful monarch. His lifelong passions included making snuffboxes and fine dining.

Frederick passed away on 12 February 1771 after consuming a particularly enormous meal. At this dinner he ate lobster, cavier, sauerkraut and kippers, all while drinking copious amounts of champagne. This was topped off with fourteen servings of his favourite desert, semla, a type of sweet bun which he liked served in hot milk.

This astonishing amount of food was enough to end the king’s life, and he remains one of the few rulers in history to have eaten himself to death.

3. Captain Edward Teach (Blackbeard)

‘Capture of the Pirate, Blackbeard’ by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Blackbeard’s fearsome reputation for robbery and violence has persisted for 300 years. He is famous for forming an alliance of pirates to blockade the port of Charles Town, ransoming its inhabitants.

On 21 November 1718 Lieutenant Robert Maynard of HMS Pearl launched a surprise attack against Blackbeard as he entertained guests aboard his ship. After a long struggle, Blackbeard was surrounded by Maynard’s men who began to shoot him and slash at him with their swords.

Blackbeard finally perished after sustaining an extraordinary number of injuries. An examination of his body showed he was shot five times and received twenty sword wounds. Equally shockingly, a letter was discovered on his corpse which showed the Governor of North Carolina was colluding with Blackbeard and his pirates.

4. Sigurd the Mighty

Sigurd Eysteinsson was an Earl of Orkney in the 9th century. His deeds during the Viking conquest of Scotland earned him the epithet ‘the Mighty’. Sigurd’s unique death was caused by the tooth of a decapitated rival.

Near the end of his reign, Sigurd tricked and killed his enemy Mael Brigte, beheading his enemy’s corpse. He then tied Brigte’s head onto his saddle as a trophy.

As Sigurd rode off, Brigte’s tooth scratched the Viking’s leg, which became inflamed. Soon after, the scratch became a major infection which killed the Viking warlord.

5. Pope Adrian IV

Born Nicholas Breakspear, Pope Adrian IV is the only Englishman ever to become pope.

When he died, Adrian was involved in a diplomatic struggle with the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I. Shortly before the Emperor could be excommunicated, Adrian perished while choking on a fly which was floating in his wine glass.

6. Attila the Hun

Attila the Hun built a vast empire for his people across Eurasia, and nearly brought both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires to their knees. Despite his successes as a warlord, Attila was killed by a nosebleed.

In 453 Attila held a feast to celebrate his latest marriage to a girl named Ildico. He had married countless other wives, but Ildico was renowned for her great beauty. He drank copious amounts of wine at the party, and when he passed out on his back in bed he suffered a heavy nosebleed.

Attila was unable to wake owing to his drunken stupor, and blood streamed down his throat and choked him to death.

7. Martin of Aragon

Martin of Aragon was King of Aragon from 1396 until he passed away in strange circumstances in 1410. Several reasons for his death have been recorded: one source states that he succumbed to the plague, others that he died of kidney failure or even poison.

Another famous account relates how Martin perished from indigestion and laughter. One night, the king was suffering from severe indigestion (after eating an entire goose) when his court jester entered the room.

Martin asked Borra the jester where he had been, and he replied with a joke about a deer he had seen in the vineyard. On hearing the quip, the sickly king died of laughter.

8. King Edward II

Infamous for his alleged homosexual relationship with Piers Gaveston, Edward II was forced to abdicate and was imprisoned in 1327. Edward’s death was surrounded by rumours. However, a common account which circulated among contemporary chroniclers was immortalised by the English playwright, Christopher Marlowe.

This story relates how Edward was pinned onto the ground by his assassins and a red-hot poker inserted into his anus.

9. King Alexander I

Alexander was King of Greece from 1917 to 1920. He caused controversy during his life for his decision to marry a commoner, a Greek woman called Aspasia Manos.

While walking through the grounds of his palace, Alexander tried to stop his German Shepherd from attacking his steward’s pet monkey, a Barbary macaque. While doing so, Alexander was attacked by another monkey which bit him on the leg and torso.

His wounds were cleaned and dressed but not cauterised, and Alexander asked that the incident not be publicised. The monkey bite soon became severely infected and Alexander died five days later.

10. Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots was sentenced to death after a letter emerged revealing a plot to murder her cousin Queen Elizabeth I

On 8 February 1587 Mary was led out to the execution block to be decapitated by a man named Bull and his assistant. Bull’s first blow missed Mary’s neck entirely and hit the back of her head. His second blow didn’t do much better, and Mary’s head remained attached to her body by a bit of sinew.

In the end, Bull used an axe to saw Mary’s head from her shoulders and held it aloft by the hair, with her lips still moving. Unfortunately, Mary’s hair was actually a wig, and her head tumbled to the ground. Adding to the strangeness of the execution, Mary’s dog chose this moment to poke out from beneath her skirts.