Rasputin and groupies. Gorokhovo street flat, Saint Petersburg, 1914

Who was Rasputin and what was his influence?

Rasputin was a religious mystic and faith healer. The heir to the Russian thrown had hemophilia, which at the time was poorly understood and potentially very dangerous. Rasputin was able to stop his bleeding, either by using hypnosis or giving him aspirin. This gave him access to the royal family and influence with the Russian Empress.

During WWI Rasputin prophesied that Russian forces would not be victorious until the Emperor personally led them. This did not go well. Rasputin was later assassinated for unclear reason. He famously took a long time to die and survived through several methods of murder.