Rasputin and the 1914 Assassination Attempt: The Knife of Khioniya Guseva

Rasputin and the Tsarevich: Healer or Hazard

This episode digs into the most intimate and medically fraught relationship of Rasputin's life — his care for the hemophiliac Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. We trace the tsarevich's first major bleeding crisis in 1912 at Spala, Poland, where doctors gave up hope and the imperial family turned to Rasputin. We examine the actual medical details: hemophilia B, the role of Dr. Evgeny Botkin, the court physicians' resentment, and the controversial telegram exchange. Newly available archival letters from Alexandra to Rasputin reveal a desperate mother's faith. We also explore the political fallout: how the tsarina's reliance on the starets eroded the monarchy's credibility with the army, the Duma, and the public. Was Rasputin's intervention genuinely calming, or did his presence simply coincide with natural remission? We consider the medical debate, the role of placebo and stress reduction, and how this child's illness became a weapon against the Romanovs. #Rasputin #TsarevichAlexei #Hemophilia #Romanovs #SpalaCrisis #DrBotkin #TsarinaAlexandra #RussianEmpire #HemophiliaB #ImperialCourt #OrthodoxMysticism #1912 #Starets #TsarskoyeSelo #RussianHistory #FexingoHistory #History #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Hoax of the Rasputin Prophecy

In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the so-called 'Rasputin Prophecy' — a document that supposedly predicted the fall of the Romanovs and the rise of the Soviet Union, but which was almost certainly fabricated decades after his death. They trace its origins to a 1920s Russian émigré circle in Paris, explore how it was amplified by Cold War anxieties, and reveal why no contemporary evidence supports its authenticity. Along the way, they discuss the nature of historical hoaxes, the role of wishful retrospection in shaping collective memory, and what the prophecy's persistence tells us about the West's enduring fascination with Rasputin. The episode draws on archival research, the work of historians like Douglas Smith and Joseph T. Fuhrmann, and the political uses of 'mystical' texts in the 20th century. #RasputinProphecy #Hoax #RussianHistory #Romanovs #ColdWar #Émigré #Forgery #ConspiracyTheory #Paris #1920s #DouglasSmith #JosephFuhrmann #Mysticism #Propaganda #HistoricalFiction #FexingoHistory #History #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Siberian Economy: Peasant Enterprise in Pokrovskoye

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the often-overlooked economic life of Grigori Rasputin before his rise to fame. Drawing on archive records and recent scholarship, they trace how Rasputin transformed from a poor peasant into a successful small-scale entrepreneur in his home village of Pokrovskoye. From horse trading and grain speculation to his wife Praskovya's role in managing the household, the episode reveals a shrewd businessman who leveraged state connections and local networks. The hosts discuss the Siberian agricultural context, the impact of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and Rasputin's dealings with fellow villagers and merchants like Ivan Tolmachev. They also examine the financial scandals that dogged him in St. Petersburg, including the infamous 'Rasputin fund' and his ties to banker Dmitry Rubinstein. This episode offers a fresh angle on a figure usually reduced to political intrigue, showing how economic ambition shaped his path. #Rasputin #Pokrovskoye #SiberianEconomy #PeasantEntrepreneurship #TransSiberianRailway #PraskovyaRasputina #IvanTolmachev #DmitryRubinstein #Okhrana #RussianEmpire #EconomicHistory #HorseTrading #GrainSpeculation #Tobolsk #RasputinFund #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Sikhote-Alin Meteorite: A Siberian Sign

In February 1947, a massive meteorite streaked over the Sikhote-Alin mountains of eastern Siberia, scattering iron fragments across the taiga. But decades before that cosmic event, a different kind of celestial drama unfolded in the same region—one that Grigori Rasputin himself may have witnessed or even interpreted. This episode explores the connection between Rasputin's Siberian origins, his fascination with apocalyptic signs from heaven, and the little-known tradition of meteorite veneration among the Old Believers and indigenous peoples of the Ural Mountains. Lucas and Luna trace Rasputin's early life in Pokrovskoye, his pilgrimages to the Verkhoturye Monastery, and his encounters with the yurodivy—holy fools who read portents in the sky. They examine a mysterious event in 1908, the Tunguska explosion, and consider whether Rasputin ever saw it as a divine warning. With help from archival records of the Tobolsk Consistory and the Okhrana's surveillance files, they uncover how Rasputin's reputation as a prophet may have been shaped by Siberian celestial phenomena. The episode also touches on the later Soviet mythmaking around the Sikhote-Alin meteorite and how it was used to erase the region's mystical past. A rich, grounded exploration of faith, fear, and fire from above. #Siberia #Rasputin #Meteorite #Tunguska #OldBelievers #Yurodivy #Verkhoturye #Pokrovskoye #Okhrana #TobolskConsistory #CelestialPortents #SikhoteAlin #RussianHistory #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory #Apocalyptic #HolyFools Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Siberian Pilgrimage Network

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Rasputin's early years as a pilgrim, tracing his footsteps through the vast network of Orthodox monasteries and holy sites across Siberia and European Russia. They discuss his visits to Verkhoturye Monastery, where he met the starets Makary, and the remote hermitages of the Ural forests. The episode examines how these pilgrimages shaped Rasputin's spiritual identity, his reputation as a yurodivy, and his connections with peasant mystics and wandering holy men. It also covers the controversy surrounding his reported encounters with the Khlysty sect and the Okhrana's surveillance of his movements. The conversation reveals how Rasputin's travels gave him access to a web of informal networks that later proved crucial for his rise at court, including introductions to influential figures like Bishop Varnava and Anna Vyrubova. Drawing on recent scholarship, the episode challenges the myth of Rasputin as an isolated Siberian peasant, showing instead a savvy navigator of Orthodox pilgrimage culture. Keywords include: Grigori Rasputin, Siberian pilgrimage, Verkhoturye Monastery, starets Makary, yurodivy, Khlysty, Okhrana, Pokrovskoye, Tobolsk, Orthodox Church. #Rasputin #SiberianPilgrimage #VerkhoturyeMonastery #StaretsMakary #Yurodivy #Khlysty #Okhrana #Pokrovskoye #Tobolsk #RussianOrthodox #TsaristRussia #Mysticism #PeasantPiety #PilgrimageNetwork #EasternEurope #ImperialRussia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]