The Fall of the Dynasties: The Collapse of the Old Order: 1905-1922

by Edmond Taylor

The virile and healthy minded Prime Minister was untouched by the morbid fascination which the starets exercised upon many otherwise sensible Russians of both sexes. He had bluntly rejected a suggestion from the Czar that Rasputin be called in as a healer for Stolypin’s daughter, who had been injured by the explosion of a bomb thrown at her father in 1906, and later on when Rasputin sought an interview and tried to hypnotize him, his mind was made up. Early in 1911, on the strength of police reports about Rasputin’s malversations and misbehavior, Stolypin ordered him out of the capital. The Czar was unhappy and the Czarina raged, but the order stood and Rasputin went into exile. Stolypin’s action, of course, turned Alexandra into one of his mortal enemies.