Rasputin

[hatzel]

I have a strange desire to discuss Rasputin now, because I for some reason find him an incredibly captivating figure. Don't ask me why, there's just something about the guy that makes him truly fascinating to me. Anyway, I was laughing out loud at the following documentary that I found on YouTube, because something tells me it's a somewhat sensationalised (and occasionally inaccurate) account. Still, I guess it's worth a critical viewing:

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So, let's discuss one of 'The Most Evil Men in History', 'a super-human force of evil', directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people (or so the story goes)...Rasputin :)

[psgchisolm]

I have a strange desire to discuss Rasputin now, because I for some reason find him an incredibly captivating figure. Don't ask me why, there's just something about the guy that makes him truly fascinating to me.
This is what appears to be said about him all the time. There are multiple accounts where he's said to just have some control over people, especially women. Maybe he's just one of those people you can't help but admire.

[Red Future]

FINALLY..someone who has the same interest -I was thinking of creating this thread actually some time ago.

Apologies all non metal fans but i must post this now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLo02AquUCs

[Red Future]

This is what appears to be said about him all the time. There are multiple accounts where he's said to just have some control over people, especially women. Maybe he's just one of those people you can't help but admire.

He started out as a Siberian priest initially and gained fame there i think

[Leonid Brozhnev]

Weird... I'm doing a short film based around Rasputin, I literally only started it yesterday. Stop fucking stalking me.

[hatzel]

This is what appears to be said about him all the time. There are multiple accounts where he's said to just have some control over people, especially women. Maybe he's just one of those people you can't help but admire.

You've gotta love the guy...there are charismatic figures who seem to be able to do whatever the hell they want. Still, I want to better understand his beliefs. Nobody talks about his teachings, do they, or his interpretation of Christianity. This documentary just glosses over, 'he didn't like the Russian Orthodox Church so took another path'...and what? Why didn't he like the Orthodox Church? What path did he really take? I know the bare bones of his belief system, but beyond that...nobody seems to care about it :(

I also question the factual basis for what we do know. I'd not be surprised if a lot of the stuff we 'know' about him turned out to be falsehoods fabricated by his enemies...the church, the nationalists, the communists, seemingly everybody had their reason to want to discredit him and, eventually, kill him. So for that, it's interesting...

Still, even if the worst stories there are about him are entirely true, I hardly think he deserves his place on a documentary series about the most evil men in the history of the universe. That's a bit over the top, don't you think? :lol:

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

he was an incredibly interesting figure, but his character seems to built on legend and fabrication. that's still very interesting in itself though.

[NewSocialist]

Here's everything you need to know about good old Rasputin (aside from his sweet chain of record shops in the Bay Area): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3HBYK7xK-o

[hatzel]

Here's everything you need to know about good old Rasputin

I'll be honest...I expected that to be a link to a bit of Boney M, but I'm much happier like this :)

[Manic Impressive]

Rasputin is really interesting I saw a really good documentary about him once which actually did talk about his beliefs or maybe I read about it somewhere:confused: unfortunately it was so interesting I seem to have forgotten almost everything I learned about him although I do still remember one thing about his, erm legacy.
http://www.st-petersburg-life.com/st-petersburg/rasputins-penis

[hatzel]

I saw a really good documentary about him once which actually did talk about his beliefs or maybe I read about it somewhere

If you one day figure out whether it was a film or a book or a t-shirt or whatever, and you then track down that film or book or t-shirt, would you mind sharing? I'd be very interested to know about it!

Oh, and who knows more about that oh so secretive cult, the khlysty? That's just as difficult to figure out...it's tough to know what claims about them are true, and which are just forwarded to discredit them, a bit like when we read about 'satanist cults' in the papers today. I don't necessarily believe that Rasputin was really a follower (in fact I'd sooner believe he wasn't), but it seems as though many of the ideas attributed to him show a lot of influence from Spiritual Christianity, and this sect in particular, so it would be cool to find some great resources expounding on their ideas :)

[ComradeMan]

I'm sorry Rabbi... I couldn't resist.... :laugh::D


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[hatzel]

Boney M should write history books :)

[Public Domain]

I just hope I'll be that hard to get rid of amirite

[Sasha]

FINALLY..someone who has the same interest -I was thinking of creating this thread actually some time ago.

Apologies all non metal fans but i must post this now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLo02AquUCs

Haha, saw them perform a few days ago at my work, very enjoyable show.

[hatzel]

...to bring this back to Rasputin, the guy, rather than Rasputin, the musical extravaganza...

I'm about to watch the Timewatch documentary 'Who killed Rasputin? (http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/who-killed-rasputin/)' Anybody seen it? It seems like it might be interesting...I assume it to just be an hour of saying 'yeah, the British secret service had him killed', but it will be interesting to see how it's portrayed. If this one will be like the Discovery one, with loads of sinister music and widespread accusations of evil :)

[Omsk]

I dont know about you comrades,but for me,just one look at his picture makes me feel nervous.
http://etornauta.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/rasputin.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Григорий_Распутин_(1914-1916)b.jpg/220px-Григорий_Распутин_(1914-1916)b.jpg

I also heard that the British wanted him dead..(he basically worked against the Russian army)

And i also find his influence on the Tsaritsa interesting.I guess its the old bond between the royal family and religion.

[hatzel]

I also heard that the British wanted him dead..(he basically worked against the Russian army)

I just finished watching the documentary I linked to in the post directly above yours, and yeah...it provides some pretty compelling evidence that it was the British SIS were involved in the murder. For that exact reason, because he wanted to pull Russia out of the war (which would of course have been a disaster for the Western Allies, who needed to maintain the two-front situation). I find it interesting that the first documentary I posted blames him for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers (thanks to military incompetence in the Russian ranks), whilst the second points out quite clearly that, had he had his way, Russia would have stopped sending these soldiers to the front...

It all raises too many questions. As he challenged the power of the pro-war aristocracy, they wanted him removed, so seems to me quite likely that a lot of what was circulated about him at that time (which is also what we now know about him) was pretty libelous stuff from the aristocracy, aimed as discrediting him and claiming their influence back. And, of course, the Allies would have been pretty happy with that arrangement, too.

Randomly, I'll just put up my favourite quote mentioning Rasputin:


People seek the meaning of history and they find it. But why must history have a meaning? This question is never raised. And yet if someone raised it, he would begin, perhaps, by doubting that history must have a meaning, then continue by becoming convinced that history is not at all called to have a meaning, that history is one thing and meaning another. A candle worth a kopek set fire to Moscow. Rasputin and Lenin, themselves only kopek candles, set fire to all Russia.