Grigori Rasputin was one of the vilest, yet powerful villains in history. He was a giant both metaphorically and literally. He controlled magical powers of the dark arts, likely supplied by the devil. He was so powerful that after being poisoned, shot, stabbed, shot again, beaten, and thrown into a river – he was not yet dead.

Or….

Grigori Rasputin was a short, drunk womanizer that constantly stunk. Yet somehow, he wormed his way into the royal court of Nicholas the 2nd, the last Czar of Russia. Any “magic” or paranormal ability he showed was a mixture of good old-fashioned quackery and psycho somatic results – amplified by legend and time.

Which is true? Could both be legitimate accounts of one of the most notorious names in Russian history. We grab our ruler and head to 19th Century Russia to find out this week. Plus, Brent mistakes early 20th century Russian literature for Star Trek (who hasn’t?), Conspiracy Bot compares childhood mortality rates in 19th Century Russia to a Meatloaf song (who hasn’t), and the fellas get sick on Aldebaran whiskey for national “Ditch Your New Year’s Resolutions Day” (again, who hasn’t?). All of that and more on the podcast that doesn’t always talk late 19th century Russian historical figures, but when we do you better believe they have their own theme song - Hysteria 51.

Special thanks to this week’s research sources:
Research Assistant - Raymond Walden IV

Books
Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs | Douglas Smith
Rasputin: A Short Life | Frances Welch
The Big Black Book of Government Conspiracies | Andrè RavenSkül Venås

Videos
Simple History - https://youtu.be/JXdbseRz0lc
Cloud Biography - https://youtu.be/ev5dNfRncFo
Rasputin - https://imdb.to/2SAJ5qL
Ra Ra Rasputin - https://youtu.be/aiSdTQ9DW9g

Websites
Grigori Rasputin - https://bit.ly/2SDuB9w
Pierre Gilliard - https://bit.ly/30t3akP
LA Times - https://lat.ms/2MTHOaP
International Encyclopedia of WWI - https://bit.ly/2Q4kIQu
Tsar - https://bit.ly/2F9kfWR
History - https://bit.ly/2ZDJ46P
Khodynka Tragedy - https://bit.ly/2MF29An
Alpha History - https://bit.ly/39mq3dv
Tsar Nicholas II - https://bit.ly/2EZPdAZ
Ra Ra Rasputin lyrics - https://bit.ly/2toua97
TIME - https://bit.ly/367Mykz
The Awl - https://bit.ly/37o7u7b
Websters Dictionary - https://bit.ly/2ZzgALp
Alexander Palace – https://bit.ly/363FSmP

Intro Music
Serpentine Trek – Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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