It’s just turned midnight in the Russian capital of St Petersburg. The streets are empty, and with temperatures below freezing, most of the city has gone to sleep. But at a royal palace in the center of the city, a party is being planned – a party for just one person.
The special guest is on his way, and will be arriving in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, back at the palace, cakes and wine are being carefully laced with poison – the guest was headed straight for a trap.
That night, a gang of high-society men carried out an elaborate plan to kill and dispose of Rasputin, the famous mystical healer who had become the most hated man in Russia. We modeled the entire thing, to show you why he was killed and the play-by-play timeline of his assassination.
Rasputin’s rise to fame
Very few people have lived a crazier life than Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. He went from being a poor peasant that couldn’t read or write to being a god-like saint, surrounded by royalty and power. But to really understand why he became so hated, we need to go back to the beginning.
Rasputin grew up in a small farming village in Siberia and lived a pretty normal life; worked on the farm, got married and had kids. But at the age of 28, something changed in Rasputin’s life.
Religion took over, and suddenly, he left his town and family behind to go on a pilgrimage. Wandering from town to town, he started developing a small circle of followers, who prayed with him and listened to him preach. Everywhere he went, priests and villagers were captivated by his charisma and his unique ability to heal people.
Rasputin continued walking all across Russia, claiming to heal people’s illnesses, and by 1905 he had earned a god-like reputation. This reputation finally led him all the way to the top, when the Empress of Russia asked him to heal her son, who had been suffering from Hemophilia. Despite his serious condition, Rasputin took away his medication, began praying for him, and miraculously, he got better.
Whatever he had done, it earned him the trust from the most powerful woman in the country, and soon, the Empress became close friends with Rasputin, often depending on him for his wise advice. In just a handful of years, Rasputin’s holy reputation had taken him from the bottom all the way to the top.
Rasputin’s dark side
But his divine, supernatural image had a dark side. Rasputin was an alcoholic, one that partied and had constant affairs with his followers. In 1915, police set up a secret surveillance team and started following his day-to-day activities.
On the 19th of February, Rasputin was seen coming out of a building with two ladies – he never returned home until 3 in the morning. On the 10th of March, the police followed him through the city and saw him meeting up with a prostitute. On the 12th of May, Rasputin brought a different prostitute back to his flat and locked her in a room until she was later set free by a servant.
Almost every other day, Rasputin was seen coming home with prostitutes and his own female followers, having drunken parties and singing from his apartment.
Despite his wild life, he remained close friends with the Empress, and this brought him an immense amount of power. So much so, that Rasputin started making his own political decisions – appointing new ministers and giving advice on the war.
The public was turning on Rasputin. To many, the Tsar and the Empress had become puppets, being controlled by the evil and corrupt Rasputin. At the time, the media wasn’t allowed to report on this – but as things got more and more tense, newspapers were willingly paying censorship fines just to write about Rasputin’s influence over Russia.
All of this anger finally came out in November, 1916, when politician Vladimir Purishkevich was giving a speech at the Russian parliament.
“Evil comes from those dark forces that are headed by Rasputin. I have not been able to sleep the last few nights, imagining the letters and messages that illiterate peasant has been writing to the Empress. The Tsar is no longer in charge, he has given up while the Russian empire is collapsing. Rasputin is now giving all the orders. While Rasputin is alive, we cannot win.” – Purishkevich
Although many across the country felt the same way, no one had expressed their hatred of Rasputin so openly until now.
In the audience that day was Felix Yusupov. Despite being part of the Royal Family himself, he despised everything Rasputin stood for. To him, Rasputin was the devil, and he had to be taken out in order to save Russia.
And so, he called Purishkevich, and showed his interest in taking out Rasputin.
Plotting Rasputin’s murder
With that message, it was clear that both men were on the same page. Yusupov assembled a few more of his associates, and just a week later they met onboard Purishkevich’s train, which was parked at a nearby train station. Yusupov had brought along Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich, the Tsar’s cousin, Dr Lazovert, an old military friend and Lieutenant Sergei Sukhotin.
That evening, the 5 men came up with the grand plan to lure Rasputin in and kill him. Here’s how they planned to do it.
The plan
On the chosen night, the gang would meet at Yusupov’s palace in the center of the city. At precisely 1 am, Yusupov would go to pick up Rasputin, driven by Dr L, who would be dressed as a chauffeur.
When they got back to the palace, Dr L would park close to the entrance, in such a way that would hide Rasputin from the street. They knew that Rasputin had 3 security agencies protecting him, so it was likely that spies would be keeping an eye on his every move.
Once inside the palace, Dr L would join the rest of the gang in a room upstairs, while Yusupov and Rasputin would go down to the basement, which the gang had turned into a lavish dining room. Here, the thick concrete walls would stop any screams or gunshots from being heard outside the palace.
During the party, Yusupov would offer Rasputin various cakes and wines that had been laced with powerful cyanide poison, and if all went well, Rasputin would be dead in just 15 minutes.
To get rid of any evidence, the gang would then drive to Purishkevich’s train, burn Rasputin’s clothes and park the car on the cargo wagon, ready to leave St Petersburg later that night. The gang would then walk through the city to another car, and drive back to the crime scene.
Finally, they would wrap up Rasputin’s body, drive to a nearby bridge and throw him into the icy river, hopefully never to be seen again.
But all of this would only happen if Rasputin agreed to come to the party in the first place. They needed a way to lure him in.
Luring Rasputin into the trap
And so, Yusupov started faking chest pains and went to Rasputin for his healing powers. Throughout the month, the two met up several times, and Yusupov managed to become Rasputin’s friend.
With every meeting, Rasputin always asked to meet Yusupov’s wife, 21-year-old Irina. Yusupov was never going to let Rasputin anywhere near his wife, but it did give him an idea. He told Rasputin that Irina would be throwing a party with her friends on the 29th, and invited Rasputin to come and meet her. Rasputin, being the ultimate ladies man, couldn’t resist.
The assassination
The night of the assassination had arrived. It was a particularly cold evening, and by 11pm, the streets were empty. It was time to start the party.
Purishkevich left his train at 11:15, and nervously waited to be picked up. At 11:50, 20 mins later than planned, Dr L, dressed as a chauffeur, pulled up beside him.
Purishkevich got in and together they drove to the Yusupov palace. According to their plan, the gates at a side entrance were to be open at a specific time, but by the time they arrived, the gates were closed. To avoid raising any suspicion, they kept driving and slowly lapped back around a few minutes later – but the gates were still closed.
Purishkevich got out and entered the main entrance by foot, while Dr L drove around until the gates were finally opened. They met the 3 other men in the dining room, where a large table was filled with pink cakes and other delights.
Rasputin had told Yusupov that his spies didn’t leave his apartment until just after midnight, so the gang had some time to kill before picking him up. Dr L took this opportunity to start separating the cakes, and grating the powerful cyanide poison into the cream layers. Then he poured several glasses of red wine, and laced them too.
Meanwhile, back at his apartment, Rasputin was getting ready for the party and was excited to meet Irina and all of her friends. For him, it was going to be another good night. Although he agreed not to tell anyone where he was going that night, he couldn’t keep it in, and ended up telling his daughter and his secretary.
Back at the palace, the gang were adding the final touches to the party. In order to make it seem like the party guests had just moved upstairs, they placed left-behind bits of cake and drinks on the table and began playing music on a gramophone.
With everything in place, Yusupov and Dr L left to go and pick up Rasputin at around 12:15.
45 minutes later, the gang heard a car pulling into the palace. Yusupov and Rasputin entered the dining room while Dr L joined the rest of the gang upstairs. So far, everything was running on time, and when the deed was done, the gang would make their way downstairs to hopefully find their enemy dead on the floor.
For the next half an hour, the gang stood at the top of the staircase, constantly replaying the same song on the gramophone and trying to listen in to the muffled conversation.
Then, Yusupov ran upstairs to tell them that Rasputin was not eating or drinking anything!
“Gentlemen, nothing is going right. The beast will not eat or drink anything! What can we do?” – Yusupov
“Have patience, go back and try again. But don’t leave him on his own, even for a minute!” – Purishkevich
Yusupov returned to the basement, and after another half an hour, the gang heard two corks being popped and the chinking of glasses. It seemed like it was only a matter of time now. But another 30 minutes went by, and the conversation didn’t stop. Yusupov rushed upstairs for a second time.
“It’s impossible, he drank two glasses of wine and ate multiple slices of cake and as you can see nothing has happened, absolutely nothing! What can we do? Worst of all, he is starting to ask when he’ll get to meet Irina.” – Yusupov
“Go back, the poison is bound to work eventually.” – Purishkevich
Yusupov rejoined his guest and continued to fake pleasant conversation. But with every glass of wine, Rasputin was becoming more impatient, and it seemed like his supernatural powers were somehow overcoming the poison.
After another half an hour of constant drinking, Yusupov ran upstairs and told the gang that the poison simply wasn’t working.
“This is hopeless. Perhaps we can finish him off another day” – Grand Duke
“Never! If he gets away today, he’ll get away forever. We have to finish this tonight. What if I shoot him? It will be quicker and simpler.” – Yusupov
“Good idea, it is not about who kills him, only that he is killed without fail, tonight” – Purishkevich
Without hesitating, Yusupov picked up his pistol and returned to the basement. It didn’t take long until the gang heard a loud bang and a body hitting the floor. They rushed downstairs to finally see their enemy lying on the floor. His body was still twitching and he let out a few weak breaths, but they were sure that Rasputin was finally dead.
Without wasting any more time, they turned off the lights and continued following the plan. 3 of the men made their way to Purishkevich’s train to start burning the evidence. Since Lieutenant S looked the most like Rasputin, he was wearing his coat. That way, any spies that were following them might think that Rasputin was inside the car.
Rasputin comes back to life
Back at the palace, Yusupov and Purishkevich were trying to process what they had just done. It had taken them longer than expected, but their plan was almost over. But all of a sudden, they heard footsteps coming from downstairs and a door opening. To their amazement, the man they thought was dead was now staggering through the courtyard and headed straight for the exit.
Purishkevich grabbed his pistol and chased Rasputin into the courtyard. Just as he was reaching the gate, two bullets fired out from Purishkevich’s gun, but both missed. 2 people were walking by when Purishkevich began firing and quickly ran off. No matter how hard they tried, it seemed like Rasputin really was invincible. But Purishkevich let out two more shots, which finally struck Rasputin in the back, finishing him off.
It was now well after 3 in the morning, and the plan had taken a chaotic turn. Raputin was now lying dead at the gates of the palace, in plain sight for anyone in the street to see.
Purishkevich ran back inside and came across two soldiers protecting the palace. He told them what happened and to his relief, they were glad that someone had finally killed Rasputin. The soldiers brought Rasputin’s body back inside and wrapped it up in a curtain. Meanwhile, Yusupov was going crazy in another room.
As all of this was happening, a policeman came to the palace and started questioning Purishkevich about the gunshots.
“Are you here about the gunshots?” – Purishkevich
“That’s right, Your Excellency.” – Police officer
“Listen brother. Do you love our holy Tsar and Russia?” – Purishkevich
“Of course, your excellency.” – Police officer
“Do you know who Russia’s greatest enemy is?” – Purishkevich
“Of course, Grigori Rasputin.” Police officer
“Well we just killed him, he is no more. If anyone asks, you say I saw nothing and I know nothing.” – Purishkevich
“Look your excellency, if they ask me and I’m not under oath, I will say nothing.” – Police officer
And just like that, the police officer was let go.
Getting rid of the body
The rest of the gang returned five minutes later, still carrying Rasputin’s clothes. As it turned out, the stove onboard the train was too small, and Rasputin’s coat and shoes didn’t fit inside. Nonetheless, the gang had no time to waste, and so they put Rasputin’s wrapped-up body into the back of the car and hit the road.
To avoid suspicion, they drove slowly, eventually leaving the city and arriving at the Petrovsky Bridge. Without wasting any more time, they tied some weights to his body and threw him into a hole in the ice, along with his coat and his shoes.
It was now 5 in the morning, and the gang finally arrived back to the palace, only to find they had left behind Rasputin’s other shoe, and blood stains all over the courtyard. It was simply too late, all the men went back to their homes. Whatever happened next was up to fate.
Just two days later, blood was discovered on the Petrovsky Bridge and a boot was found sticking out of the ice. Police began searching down the river and quickly came across Rasputin’s body, frozen under the ice. These are real pictures of his body as it was discovered that day.
The aftermath
There was no hiding who did it. The five men had done very little to cover up their crime. Everyone knew where Rasputin was that night. Despite this, the Tsar thought that arresting any of them might heighten the already tense political scene going on throughout Russia.
Pavlovich, Dr. L and Lieutenant S eventually left Russia. Purishkevich stayed in Russia but died just a few years later. Yusupov, the man behind the whole thing, was exiled, and spent the rest of his life in France with his wife Irina.
