Rasputin- The saint who sinned!
...at never left Rasputin. Opposing this is Rasputin’s daughter Maria, who claims that he “rejected the Khysty sect” and believed that “a body is a sacred gift from God”. At the age of 19 Rasputin returned to Pokrovskoe and married Praskovia Fyodorovna and having three children. Rasputin continued to wander - a self proclaimed holy man, who held the power to heal the sick and predict the future. According to historian and author Alex de Jonge, “holy men need to devote years to discipline their gifts and a sense of spiritual alone not enough”. He claims Rasputin had not accomplished this devotion by becoming a ‘strannik’ (religious wanderer). Rasputin was struck by a vision of the Heavenly Mother, and he was told of young Aleksei’s haemophilic condition. Rasputin's first move towards St. Petersburg was in 1902. Since this trip, he began to build an ever expanding group of disciples and acquaintances among the “polite society”, who saw him “as a man of God”. Nicholas and his wife could not bear to loose the only heir to the throne. When they heard of Rasputin the Tsarina called him in to heal the apparently dying Alexis. It was at this point in 1908 that Rasputin had firmly won himself a place in the royal palace of the Romanovs, as he gained Nicholas and Alexandra's undivided support. He was in a position where held the life of the royal offspring in his hands and the secret of their son’s complication from the people of Russia. Historian Goetz states, “Rasputin warned that the destiny of both the Tsarevitch and the Romanov dynasty were irrevocably linked to him”. That if he was removed from the palace the future Tsar will die. Alexandra grew completely dependent on the man, who not only became her son's faith healer, but also her trusted advisor. Rasputin took advantage and began to meddle in political decisions and ministerial appointments. When Rasputin would advise the Tsarina on a topic, his words would be enacted promptly. In August 1908, as WW1 progressed, the Russian imperial government collapsed due to the enormous efforts demanded by the armies and the poor leadership provided by Nicholas. Matters became worse when it was discovered that Nicholas was relying on Alexandra for the governmenta...