Rasputin and the Million Ruble Bribe: Sergei Witte's Secret War

Rasputin and the Million Ruble Bribe: Sergei Witte's Secret War

In 1916, as World War I dragged on and Rasputin's influence at court reached its peak, a strange figure emerged from the shadows: the former Prime Minister Count Sergei Witte. The architect of Russia's industrial revolution and the man who forced Japan to the negotiating table in 1905, Witte had been sidelined by Nicholas II. But in the winter of 1915-1916, he launched a secret campaign to bribe Rasputin's inner circle and discredit the starets, hoping to force the Tsar to dismiss Alexandra's favorite and save the monarchy. This episode uncovers the little-known story of Witte's million-ruble bribery scheme, the mysterious banker Dmitry Rubinstein who served as intermediary, and why the plot collapsed when Witte died suddenly in March 1915 — or did it? We examine the evidence from Okhrana files, Witte's posthumously published memoirs, and the testimony of Finance Minister Pyotr Bark to ask: Was the bribe real, or a fantasy of an embittered old man? And what does it tell us about the desperation of Russia's elite as the empire crumbled? #SergeiWitte #Rasputin #DmitryRubinstein #BriberyPlot #Okhrana #TsaristRussia #PyotrBark #Romanovs #WorldWarI #RussianEmpire #Petrograd #1915 #MinisterialCarousel #Industrialization #Politics #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Tolstoyan Assassin: Khionia Guseva

In 1914, a poor peasant woman named Khionia Guseva stabbed Rasputin in the stomach in his home village of Pokrovskoye. She was a follower of the monk Iliodor and deeply inspired by Leo Tolstoy's radical Christian teachings. Guseva believed she was carrying out God's will to rid Russia of the 'holy devil' corrupting the tsar's family. But the attack reveals something often overlooked: the religious fringe movements that opposed Rasputin, including the Tolstoyan and sectarian networks that saw him as the Antichrist. We explore Guseva's motives, her trial, her confinement in a psychiatric hospital, and the political fallout—including how the attack actually boosted Rasputin's influence by making him a martyr in the eyes of the tsarina. This episode draws on archival sources and the work of historian Joseph T. Fuhrmann to reconstruct a forgotten assassination attempt that nearly changed history. #KhioniaGuseva #Rasputin #Iliodor #Tolstoyan #Leo Tolstoy #Pokrovskoye #assassination attempt #1914 #Russian Empire #Tsarina Alexandra #Tsar Nicholas II #sectarianism #religious radicalism #Joseph Fuhrmann #psychiatric hospital #martyrdom #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Romanov Easter of 1916

In April 1916, as Russia staggered through the Great War, the Romanov family gathered at Tsarskoye Selo for Easter — the most sacred festival in the Orthodox calendar. That year, Grigori Rasputin played an unprecedented role in the imperial family's private devotions, a moment that reveals how far his influence had penetrated the court. Drawing on eyewitness accounts from Anna Vyrubova and the diaries of Tsarina Alexandra, this episode recreates the Paschal midnight service at the Fedorovsky Cathedral, where Rasputin stood beside the Tsarina and her daughters, received the traditional triple kiss from the Empress herself, and led the family in prayer. We explore the theological significance of the kiss of peace, the scandal it provoked among the clergy and aristocracy, and how this single night crystallized the fears of those who saw Rasputin as a corrupting mystic — and the hopes of those who saw him as a holy man. The episode also examines the political fallout: how the Easter incident deepened the rift between the imperial couple and the Holy Synod, and fed rumors that helped seal the dynasty's fate. #Rasputin #RomanovEaster #TsarskoyeSelo #FedorovskyCathedral #TsarinaAlexandra #AnnaVyrubova #HolySynod #RussianEmpire #1916 #Easter #PaschalService #OrthodoxChurch #ImperialCourt #RussianHistory #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope #20thCentury Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin's Prophecies: The Dark Predictions That Haunted Russia

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Rasputin's little-known role as a prophet and apocalyptic visionary. From his 1912 prediction of the Romanov tercentenary to the chilling letter foretelling his own murder and the fall of the dynasty, we examine the religious underworld of Siberian peasant mysticism that shaped his prophecies. We discuss the Khlysty influence on his apocalyptic worldview, the 1913 'fiery chariot' vision, and his 1916 claim that the imperial family would be 'drowned in blood.' Drawing on memoirs, Okhrana files, and the testimony of Simeon Verkhotursky's cult, we ask: were these prophecies genuine spiritual experiences, political warnings, or retrospective fabrications? Along the way, we touch on the Starets Makary tradition, the yurodivy's rhetorical power, and how the Bolsheviks later used Rasputin's words to justify the execution of the Romanovs. A nuanced look at the intersection of faith, fear, and fatalism in late imperial Russia. #RasputinProphecies #RussianHistory #ApocalypticMysticism #SiberianPeasantHealers #Khlysty #Yurodivy #StaretsMakary #RomanovTercentenary #TsarinaAlexandra #Okhrana #SimeonVerkhotsky #BolshevikPropaganda #ImperialRussia #1910s #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory #Mysticism Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Empress: The Wilhelmine Letter

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a tantalizing thread that previous episodes have only touched in passing: the story of a letter — allegedly written by Tsarina Alexandra to Kaiser Wilhelm II, discovered in 1917, and used as propaganda to paint Rasputin and the Empress as German spies. They discuss the letter's discovery in the Petrograd crowds, its content hinting at a separate peace, the question of its authenticity (forgery or genuine?), and how it shaped the revolutionary narrative. The conversation covers the involvement of Alexander Kerensky and the Provisional Government, the role of journalist Mikhail Lemke, and the broader context of wartime paranoia. They reflect on how a single piece of paper could crystallize the 'dark forces' myth and accelerate the monarchy's fall. This episode assumes basic familiarity with Rasputin's influence and the 1916–1917 crisis, but dives deep into a specific documentary controversy that has divided historians. #Rasputin #TsarinaAlexandra #KaiserWilhelmII #WilhelmineLetter #Petrograd #AlexanderKerensky #ProvisionalGovernment #MikhailLemke #DarkForces #GermanSpyScandal #WWIPropaganda #Forgery #RussianRevolution #Stavka #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]