The final one, paradoxically, was the murder of Rasputin on December 29, 1916. All sorts of Russians, from wronged husbands to disinterested patriots, had sound reasons for wanting to kill the starets. The little group of conspirators who finally succeeded in ending his unofficial reign (there had already been several half-hearted plots to do so) was composed of ultra-right-wing monarchists. Their political ideal was essentially the same one professed by their victim: to make Russia safe for autocracy.
Good men
