To Kill Rasputin: The Life and Death of Gregori Rasputin

by Andrew Cook

Gregori Rasputin is probably one of the best known, but least understood of the key figures in the events which ultimately led to the downfall of the Russian Tsars some 90 years ago. His political role as the power behind the throne is as much obscured today, as it was then, by the fascination with his morality and private life. Andrew Cook’s re-investigation of Rasputin’s death will reveal for the first time the real masterminds behind the murder of the "mad monk."

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Russia, Cultural, Russian History, Historical

387 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

You conclude, from reading this book, that many people wanted Rasputin dead for many different reasons. Andrew Cook is meticulous in relating the whole, sorry tale of Rasputin's increasing influence on the Tsarina and the belief by many that he was virtually running the country. Rumours and plots abounded - the 'Mad Monk' wielded huge political power, was said to live a life of debauchery, was planning to make the Tsar sign a peace pact between Russia and Germany, was more than friendly with the Tsarina and her daughters, etc. It was certainly a fact that the desperate Tsarina relied on him to relieve her son's illness and believed in his power of healing, as well as asking for his opinion on all major decisions about both the country and the war. Something had to be done and some Russian aristocrats decided to take matters into their own hands.

Of course, we have all heard about Prince Felix Yusupov and his fellow collaborators, but this book manages to offer some new information as well as relating details of all the major people involved, a reconstruction of what happened, the investigation and the aftermath of Rasputin's murder. Prince Felix Yusupov himself is a very interesting character, although not perhaps the most discreet person to undertake such a mission. It is hardly an exaggeration to suggest that most of Russia seems to have heard rumours about their plans and, as his palace seems to have been within both sight and hearing of a number of policemen, it was not the best place to undertake a murder either. However, it does show how desperate the situation was that a man who previously lived a life of privilege and pleasure decided that Rasputin had to be removed. It seems almost everyone had an impending sense of doom and to feel the threat of revolution, apart from the Tsar. The author adds some new information to that already known - for example details of autopsy reports and evidence of British involvement. Overall, this is an exciting and well written account of a major event in world history, where almost every character is larger than life - not least Rasputin himself. Highly recommended and a must read for anyone interested in this period of history.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother if you know anything about Rasputin. All the readers needed to know was found in the first two chapters. Lots of repetition, and - in my opinion - lots of useless history lessons. I was expecting more of a biography, but there was nothing about Rasputin's early life to speak of. Just don't bother.

[Margarita · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would only give this book 1/2 star if it was available, just for the entertainment value. The described murder scenario is not only farcical it is an impossibility. One major flaw is the assumption on the part of the author that a British weapon was responsible for the so named crucial shot. Enter Oswald Rayner the British SIS agent who happened to be Felix Yusupov''s friend, but there is no evidence offered other than a suggestion based on an improbable series of assumptions that he was one of the shooters at the Palace that night. The book is very badly written and full of errors. Most disturbing is that the author failed to take notice of Professor Kosorotov's published autopsy findings and instead assumed that a "report" that appears to be a Soviet fabrication was credible.

Another annoying feature is that the cover photo was printed the wrong way around. Rasputin was right handed! There is no excuse for such an editorial mishap.

If you must read it - borrow it from the library.

[J.D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rasputin hadn’t played a part in my consciousness (barring the Boney M. song, and as a minor figure in one episode of Red Dwarf), so imagine my astonishment when during the sleep deprivation phase of my army training, he kept appearing in all sorts of unusual ways. As a sniper avec ghillie suit, hanging (as, from a noose) off a tree branch, my Lieutenant even morphed into him as he was giving me orders. An amusing enough episode that after I told her, my sister bought me this tome. And it was interesting. Didn’t give me any answers to why the Mad Monk had visitation rights on this lowly ranked soldier but there you go. Haven’t seen him since, except in one of The Kingsman film sequels.

[Hanieh Sadat Shobeiri · Rating 1 out of 5]

چطور کتابی راجع به یکی از روانی‌ترین آدم‌های تاریخ می‌تونه این‌قدر مزخرف باشه آخه؟

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I've recently developed a Rasputin fascination and I have been picking up pretty much everything I can find about the guy. To say he was an odd duck is an understatement.

This biography was clearly well researched. Mr. Cook took the time to really understand his topic and the book was fascinating. I went into it not knowing more than they teach in 8th grade world history about Imperial Russia. Given how prevalent modern day Russia has been in the news, it seemed appropriate to learn a bit more about their history.

The problem I had with this book was the organization of it. We were zipping back and forth in time dependent upon which individual the focus was on. There was a huge amount of information about people who, as far as I could tell, were really not all that important when it came to the actual murder of Rasputin and at times I found myself completely lost between the names and identities of the various people. Mr. Cook did provide a short bio of the "Cast of Characters" in the front of the book, but flipping back and forth trying to figure out who the hell I was reading about soon became a little too annoying. Additionally, very little was mentioned of Rasputin's children and how they reacted to his murder. I found it odd that they were not really included in his funeral--at least as far as I could tell.

So I am glad that I read this. I did learn a lot. It fed my fascination, I still want to learn more and, I don't at all feel like I wasted time with it. If you are interested in the topic, it's worth picking this one up and giving it a gander, but go into it with the understanding that it's a little messily compiled and it takes a fair amount of attention to keep track of it all. At least it did for me, but perhaps I'm the exception. I mostly read fiction, so maybe I'm just not familiar enough with the way biographies of historical people of note are constructed.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read;but I wanted more. I did not know about Prince Felix Yussipov's fellow students at Oxford and the parts they may have played in killing Rasputin and in getting him and those Romanovs and courtiers that were able to get out of Russia out. That was new to me. So was the fact (?) that Rasputin stirred in the car taking his body to the hole in the Neva River, and that he was killed by a bullet to the head - from a Webley revolver yet, a gun issued to British officers. I always thought he had drowned.
But the whole scenario of his murder confused me. It always has perplexed me that shots were fired several times during the night, with long intervals between bursts of fire. Grigori was strong; but how could he have roused - at least twice - from wounds that could have killed ordinary men?
The books I have read so far, including this one, are confusing as well as contradictory.
The book is short on detail about why Rasputin's influence was such a great menace to the war effort that he had to be murdered. The Tsar was weak and his wife nagged him to obey "Our Friend" for the salvation of Russia. Rasputin was against going to war; but was he using his influence deliberately to sabotage the war effort in order to bring about a separate peace (and why)? Or was he doing favours to those who could provide for his vices by recommending them to the Tsarina? And why a pair of royal amateurs like Yussapov and Prince Peter? If the British or French embassies, or the Russian government or armed forces, wanted Rasputin dead, they must have had the funds to recruit professional assassins.
And this author introduced a few people at the beginning that I seem to have lost by the murder chapter. It's not tied together well.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

336 pages

4 stars

While somewhat tedious in places, the focus of the book is on Rasputin's death and the plot to kill him.

Mr. Cook presents voluminous material on the political situation in Russia in the early 20th Century. He talks about the revolution, WWI, Rasputin's influence over Nicholas and Alexandra, but especially Alexandra. He well describes the personalities and entanglements of the main players in the drama. He presents testimonies from various “witnesses.” Some could not make up their minds and there were several inconsistencies among people who were witnesses – or not. Some, like Prince Yusupov, changed his story several times.

The author has included a bibliography, witness statements and notes in his appendix.

I have been reading about Rasputin for several years, but have never before looked at his assassination in depth. I just took the historical reports of his death as fact. This was an interesting study of the circumstances surrounding the murder.

Nicely done. Mr. Cook.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was alright. While it has good information on Rasputin and the reason behind why the members of the Romanov family wanted to remove him and remove his influence of Nicholas II and Alexandria it was repetitive for me. I had already read so many books on the subject by this point I was reading basicly the same thing over and over by the various authors I was picking up for my paper. It was great for corroborating the information I was adding to my paper but it did give me anything new about Rasputin or his life. I think if you pick this book up as one of the first ones you read on Rasputin it would be more enjoyable.

[Tommy S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Po przeczytaniu tej książki, mam niemal pewność graniczącą ze 100%, ze w zabójstwie Rasputina niemal na pewno maczali palce członkowie brytyjskiego wywiadu i że zrobili to nawet bez wiedzy swoich wyższych przełożonych. Pozostaje jednak pytanie: skoro szef agencji wywiadowczej nie wiedział albo nie brał udziału w zabójstwie Rasputina, na czyje dokładnie polecenie działali agenci brytyjscy? O tym autor już nie mówi, ale takie pytania się niestety kłębić będą jeszcze bardzo długo... nawet niemal 105 lat po tych złych wydarzeniach. Czy kiedykolwiek odkryjemy całą prawdę?

[Ria Gibbison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book, it’s just titled really poorly. You think you’re getting a whole history or Rasputin including his murder. Instead you get a brief backstory to Rasputin and then a deep dive into how his murder was committed and who it involved.

I found that very interesting, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

I also thought it could’ve given more at the end regarding Aftermath.

Overall a really good understanding on the political climate during Russia in WW1 before the Bolsheviks and Lenin took over.

Favourite part was the authors absolute disdain for the Tsarina.

[Baiba Berovska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ļoti detalizēta Rasputina nāves analīze - plānošana, iespējamie vainīgie, viņu varianti par notikušo - un visam tam pa vidu - angļu izlūkdienests.

[Beata Horała · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ciekawa hipoteza, że za śmierć Rasputina odpowiadają agenci brytyjskiego wywiadu. Warto przeczytać mimo nużącej, zagmatwanej narracji.

[Bookygirls Magda]

bardzo sucha książka, ale cieszę się, że ją przeczytałam, bo w końcu czuję, że wszelkie wątpliwości powtarzane przez dziesięciolecia w końcu zostały rozwiane. dobra praca reporterska (i guess)

[Terri Dixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I liked that I got information that I hadn't heard previously. That being said, it was a bit tedious and hard to plow through. Could I have continued my research without it? Yes. On to the next subject.

[Divya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book, because primarily throughout my teen years when i was going through the mystery/ caper genre, i always came across references to this mysterious man. All i ever knew about him was he was a peasant and had surreptitiously got influence over the tsar and his family, esp. the tsarina. So, when i saw this book, I was really excited coz i thought i would finally get to know more about Rasputin. But alas, this book does nothing of the sort. However, to be fair to the author the book does exactly what it says... it explores in detail the circumstances surrounding Rasputin's death and the various conjectures regarding the actual murder recorded in history. I see, throughout the various reviews for this book, almost everyone has had the same complaint...most of us picked up the book in an attempt to get a glimpse of Rasputin, but then get lost in the precipice of the murder. Like other reviewers of the book, i too ploughed on till the first 4-5 chapters with baited breadth, that now the narration will change its tempo and the next page will reveal more about this so called charlatan, to only be disappointed with my expectations.
I give 2 stars for the pain the author has taken in the research and for his honesty in declaring what the book is about. We are left disappointed only because there is not a lot of literature regarding him for the layman, and we build up the expectations in our head. However, just a word for the author that when he did go through so much effort in chronicling the entire circumstances around the murder, he would have invariably stumbled upon a treasure trove of stories around him, so it would have added a lot more flavour to the book, if he would have garnished it with a few of those anecdotes.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a comprehensive look at the night of Grigori Rasputin’s death and the people connected with his assassination. As one of the most notorious figures in early 20th century Russian history, Rasputin was widely despised due to his influence on the Tsar and his family. His murder was seen by many as the means to an end of political instability during a time of great strife (WWI). The author makes the argument that it could be classified as a political crime, especially as he delves into the possibility that English agents were involved (or that England sanctioned it). The most remarkable aspect of the night in question is that the admitted conspirators all seem to recount very different scenarios, whether out of confusion or to cover up a greater truth. With so many theories, witnesses and inconsistencies, and the fact that this crime never went to trial and no one was accused of or punished for it, the night of Rasputin’s murder remains shrouded in mystery. The author attempts to clarify many aspects, like a contemporary review of Rasputin’s autopsy and newly available archives, but it is not definitive and there could very well be more revelations in regard to this matter in the future.

[Zachary Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I understand some readers were disappointed To Kill Rasputin isn't a biography, I think they would have benefited from reading the synopsis which makes it pretty clear the main focus is Rasputin's murder.

Just because To Kill Rasputin focuses on the man's death more than his strange life, doesn't mean it isn't interesting. For one, the circumstances of Rasputin's demise and all the rumor surrounding it are absolutely fascinating. Many of the historical accounts are just plain wrong. Andrew Cook clearly made painstaking effort to dispel a lot of myths and look solely at the facts. His use of the previously unexamined autopsy report is particularly revealing. He does indeed bring us a major revelation as to the ultimate identity of Rasputin's murderer. This may be *the* definitive book on the Mad Monk's legendary death and so proves to be an indispensable tome for history buffs and Rasputin fanatics.

It may be wise to start with a biography on Rasputin and then read this book for a more complete picture, but for its intended purpose To Kill Rasputin succeeds greatly.

[Dora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Počelo je obećavajuće, ali uskoro se pretvorilo u beskrajno ponavljanje istih dosadnih informacija. Knjiga nudi nekoliko viđenja istog događaja - Rasputinova ubojstva. Iskreno, nisam htjela čitati o izvješćima razno-raznih engleskih špijuna koji jesu ili nisu dobro radili svoj posao. Na to je otišlo 2/3 knjige. Preostala 1/3 ili manje je zapravo Rasputinova biografija. Zanimalo me kako je on uspio utjecati na carsku obitelj, zašto se stvorila tolika fama oko njega, htjela sam saznati odgovore na pitanja koja su postavili na poleđini knjige, a na kraju se to obradilo samo u nekakvim hintovima.

I da, na naslovnici piše nešto u stilu "ja[s]rctii". Super mi je kad mi se uključi profesionalna deformacija, a još je superije kad izdavači ne računaju na to da možda, eto, postoje ljudi koji ćirilicu čitaju kao ćirilicu -.-

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know anything about the murder of Rasputin or the politics surrounding it before reading this book. I was a little suspicious about this book at first, because it posits that the British secret service were involved in the murder, but the meat of the book is far more academic and less sensational than that. I enjoyed reading this quick history text, written like a thriller.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rasputin as a history character always fascinated me somehow. He had led an interesting life, indeed, so I felt I should expand my knowledge by reading his biography,which turned out to be a bad idea, because the only book I could find was this, and it said it is a biography,when it's actually a narrative about the night when he was killed and nothing more. I was quite dissapointed.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book with an interesting topic. It's a slow read and reads like a text book. The author assumes you already know who Rasputin was and what his significance was to the Romanov family, so it's not a book to read unless you already have some background.

[Kristina Brown]

A very well researched book investigating exactly what happened to Rasputin. Compiling all the contradictory evidence and extrapolating the most likely scenario. This is a must read for anyone interested in the Mad Monk.

[Tanyasimic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first one I read about Rasputin. The book about the facts.

[Bunny]

I want to read more about Rasputin. I have no idea where to start.

[Kay · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is awefull it just keep repeating its self all threw the book.

[Ana-Marija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jedina primjedba je da nema nikakvih fotografija u knjizi...