From the acclaimed author of Former People, a definitive biography of Rasputin, published to coincide with the centenary of his murder.

Shortlisted for James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Biography) 2017.

This brilliantly written, meticulously researched account of the life of Rasputin is the best, most complete and accurate I have ever read. Step by step, day by day, week by week in this life, Douglas Smith tells the story from its humble beginnings, through its obscene sexual chapters, to its violent end. He describes how a peasant became 'Our Friend' to the last emperor and empress of Russia. He explains why this dependency came at terrible cost for the imperial couple, for their children, for Russia, and for the Twentieth Century world. Readers will begin by saying that this is an impossible story to believe. They will read on because, in Douglas Smith's mesmerizing telling, it must be believed. And because it did happen. -- Robert K. Massie, author of Nicholas and Alexandra Some years ago when working on a historical novel I had to read all the existing Rasputin biographies, and they do abound - in all literary styles and in many languages. What a pity that Douglas Smith's Rasputin had not yet been published, it would have saved me a lot of time. If you are interested in the story of the Romanovs' pet prophet this is the book to read. -- Boris Akunin Douglas Smith understands that history is not only what happened, but what people think happened. In Rasputin, he deftly unpicks myth, legend and fact, separating and examining each thread, before weaving them back to create a pattern not merely of a man, but of a time, and a place, and a revolution. It is, itself, revolutionary. -- Judith Flanders, author of A Circle of Sisters A prodigious piece of scholarship. Doug Smith's exhaustive and forensic examination of a wealth of new and previously unseen evidence finally lays to rest the tired old myth of 'the mad monk' and rightly positions Rasputin as a crucial figure in late Imperial Russian history. -- Helen Rappaport, author of Four Sisters Few figures in 20th century history have been more obscured by myth and legend than Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, the mystic confident of the last tsar and tsarina. In his research, comprehensive to the nth degree, Douglas Smith has dug up previously unseen archives, followed previously unexplored leads, and connected the dots across the Russian landscape. They're dots of blood. Rasputin reveals the true character of the man without minimizing his malign hold on the loathsome, feckless Romanovs. -- Ken Kalfus, author of The Commissariat of Enlightenment The very best biographies illuminate an individual and the time and place in which they lived. In this magisterial, exhaustively-researched work on Rasputin, Douglas Smith paints a rich, detailed portrait of one of history's most fascinating individuals while also chronicling the dramatic last days of the Tsar. It's a wondrous read. -- Neal Bascomb, author of The Winter Fortress It is hard to imagine a historical figure more barnacled with myth than Rasputin. Douglas Smith unravels Rasputin's complex narrative in unprecedented detail, showing how he was a kind of chimera onto which could be hung all the ills of a disintegrating Russia. In the process Smith vividly exposes the astonishing blindness of the ruling class that made its tragic end inevitable. A brilliant achievement. -- Rosemary Sullivan, author of Stalin's Daughter The most complete and masterful study of Rasputin that I've read. Douglas Smith's work is not only extraordinarily readable, but rich in detail. -- Robert Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen Boy

Douglas Smith is an internationally recognized expert in Russian history and critically acclaimed author of several books, including the award-winning bestseller Former People (also published by Pan Macmillan). Before becoming a historian, Douglas Smith worked with the US State Department in the Soviet Union and as a Russian affairs analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.

** Section - i: List of Illustrations* Section - ii: Maps* Section - iii: Notes on Dates and Spelling* Unit - Part One: HOLY PILGRIM 1869-1904* Chapter - 1: Origins* Chapter - 2: The Pilgrim* Chapter - 3: Nicholas and Alexandra* Chapter - 4: Monsieur Philippe* Chapter - 5: Alexei* Chapter - 6: The Burning Torch* Chapter - 7: The Mad Monk* Unit - Part Two: OUR FRIEND: 1905-1909* Chapter - 8: To the Throne* Chapter - 9: Rasputin-Novy* Chapter - 10: Sects and Whips* Chapter - 11: Demons of the Silver Age* Chapter - 12: Anna Vyrubova* Chapter - 13: The Eyes* Chapter - 14: "... prayers that purify and protect us."* Chapter - 15: The Investigation: Part I* Chapter - 16: The First Test* Chapter - 17: "better ten Rasputins ..."* Unit - Part Three: SCANDALS: 1910-1911* Chapter - 18: Trouble in the Nursery* Chapter - 19: The Press Discovers Rasputin* Chapter - 20: In Search of Rasputin* Chapter - 21: Prince Yusupov* Chapter - 22: Holy Land* Chapter - 23: Rasputin in His Own Words* Chapter - 24: Iliodor's Triumph* Chapter - 25: Two Murders* Chapter - 26: Confronting the "Antichrist"* Unit - Part Four: A TIME OF MIRACLES: 1912-July 1914* Chapter - 27: Germogen's Fall* Chapter - 28: Iliodor, Apostate* Chapter - 29: Quousque tandem abutere patientia nostra?* Chapter - 30: The Blow to the Alcove* Chapter - 31: The Investigation II: Was Rasputin a Khlyst?* Chapter - 32: The Miracle at Spala* Chapter - 33: War and Celebration* Chapter - 34: Gutter Talk, Name-Glorifiers, and Murder Plots* Chapter - 35: On the Edge of a Precipice* Chapter - 36: The Attack* Chapter - 37: "This time it didn't work ..."* Chapter - 38: Iliodor's Flight* Unit - Part Five: WAR: July 1914-1915* Chapter - 39: A Menacing Cloud* Chapter - 40: The Incident at the Yar* Chapter - 41: Rasputin's Women* Chapter - 42: Dinner with Rasputin* Chapter - 43: The Religious Faces of Rasputin* Chapter - 44: A Summer of Troubles* Chapter - 45: The Tovarpar* Chapter - 46: Nicholas Takes Command* Chapter - 47: Rasputin, Favorite* Chapter - 48: Fresh Scandal* Chapter - 49: The Troika* Chapter - 50: Gorokhovaya, 64* Chapter - 51: Dark Forces and Mad Chauffeurs* Chapter - 52: Another Miracle* Unit - Part Six: THE FINAL YEAR: 1916* Chapter - 53: Revolution in the Air* Chapter - 54: The Minister Plots Murder* Chapter - 55: Iliodor in America* Chapter - 56: With Us or With Them* Chapter - 57: Rasputin the Spy?* Chapter - 58: Rasputin and the Jews* Chapter - 59: "The sun will shine ..."* Chapter - 60: Apotheosis* Chapter - 61: Stupidity or Treason* Chapter - 62: "Vanya has arrived."* Chapter - 63: "My hour will soon strike"* Chapter - 64: The Last Day* Chapter - 65: A Cowardly Crime* Chapter - 66: The Investigation* Chapter - 67: The Body in the Water* Chapter - 68: The Romanov Family Drama* Chapter - 69: Orgies, Gay Love, and the Secret Hand of the British* Chapter - 70: The End of the Tobolsk Yoke* Unit - Part Seven: THE AFTERMATH: 1917-1918* Chapter - 71: A Time for Dominoes* Chapter - 72: Here Lies the Dog* Chapter - 73: The Myth* Chapter - 74: Unsettled Business** Section - iv: Epilogue* Acknowledgements - v: Acknowledgements* Section - vi: Bibliography* Section - vii: Endnotes* Index - viii: Index