1. Grigori Rasputin ( )

2. Who Was Rasputin? Was a Russian peasant Became known as the “Mad Monk”
However, never was a monk
Became very close to Nicholas II and his family around 1908
Believed to have magical powers

3. Connection with Tsar Alexei was Nicholas II’s son
Alexei suffered from hemophilia
Hemophilia is when it is difficult to stop bleeding (scabs do not form easily)
Bleeding can also be internal
Every time Alexei got hurt, Rasputin was always able to give him some relief

5. Alexei

6. Problems with Rasputin
Accused of being a German spy
Helped pick friends for political positions
Disliked by the Russian Orthodox Church
Said Russian army would fail if Nicholas II did not take it over
Believed to be a negative influence on the royal family

7. Rasputin’s Assassination
There is a lot of mystery surrounding Rasputin’s murder
A group of nobles were convinced that Rasputin was only hurting the royal family
They invite Rasputin to a midnight tea December 16th, 1916
They give him cake and wine laced with potassium cyanide (heating it)

8. The cyanide does not work
However, Rasputin’s daughter said he avoided anything with sugar
The nobles shot him and continued partying
He was still alive, tried to escape, so they shot him and clubbed him (British)
He was then wrapped up and thrown into a hole in the frozen Neva River

10. Autopsy Results
Alcohol, no poison was found in body when it was discovered two days later
Hands were found in a frozen and raised position
This means he may have been alive when thrown in river

11. Choice Activities Select one of the following activities:
Create an interview with a key individual of the Russian Revolution (10 quality questions and answers)
Create a cartoon about events of the Russian Revolution (5 scenes, color and a sentence explaining each scene)
10 multiple choice questions with an A,B,C,D and circle the answer