Investigate the role of Rasputin in causing the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty.
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, also known as the Mad Monk' was undoubtedly one of the key factors contributing to the fall of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. He rose to influence in 1907 to become on of the most influential men in government circles. He can be considered one of the more controversial characters of the twentieth century. .
The Romanov's had ruled Russia since 1613. When Nicholas Romanov became the Tsar of Russia in 1894, Russia was at peace and it was ranked among the world's greatest powers. However by 1917, Nicholas II was probably the most hated man in Russia and the discontentment in Russia had reached its crisis point. There were over two million Russian soldiers dead and a further six million casualties, the duma, as well as most of the upper class of Russia no, longer supported the Tsar and working class had lost all hope in him. In March, 1917, the Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II abdicated and this brought an end to over three centuries of Romanov rule. .
There were many factors leading to the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty such as The hardships of war, the poor ruling of Nicholas II and his failure to address the problems of Russia, the growth of political parties in opposition to the Tsar, the growing political awareness of Russia's workers, the incompetence of the Tsarina, the army's refusal to go on supporting the government as well as the failure to introduce effective reform after the 1905 revolution. Rasputin played a small but pivotal role in the downfall of the Romanov dynasty that finally led to Bolshevik victory and the establishment of the Soviet Union.
Rasputin, whose date of birth is a matter of dispute, (generally ranging from 1869 to 1871) was born into a Siberian peasant family. He was a starets or wandering pilgrim from the province of Tobolsk in Siberia and he became known as a religious mystic and a drunken womanizer.
