Rasputin The untold story

Using material from newly opened Soviet archives, particularly the correspondence of Czar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra, Fuhrmann, an emeritus professor of history at Murray State University in Kentucky, extends the range of his Rasputin: A Life (1990). He shows how an obscure Russian Orthodox monk became a close adviser to the czar and czarina, particularly after he predicted the recovery of their son, Alexis, from a possibly fatal illness in 1909. Alexandra turned to him for advice on Russia's WWI military campaign, and he influenced the appointment of high officials. This outsize influence, and rumors that Rasputin was pro-German, impelled a cabal of members of the nobility to assassinate him in December 1916. Fuhrman provides graphic details of the murder and weighs the evidence that the British Secret Intelligence Service participated in the plot. Fuhrmann draws a complex portrait of a dissolute alcoholic figure who allegedly raped at least one woman, yet he was seen by his many followers as a starets (charismatic holy man). Fuhrmann does not provide a final appraisal of Rasputin's significance in the immediate prerevolution period. Still, this vivid, briskly written biography brings to life one of the most colorful and sinister figures in modern Russian history. Illus. Agent: Andrew Lownie, Andrew Lownie Literary Agency. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Previous studies of the Svengali-like Rasputin could not have benefitted from recently released archival information that had been sealed during the Soviet era. Fuhrmann (history, Murray State Univ.; Rasputin: A Life) adds this newly available material to previous scholarship and presents the whole as the definitive biography. His work answers the questions of how an uneducated, Siberian-born peasant, Grigory Efimovich Rasputin (1869-1916), became the closest confidante to Tsar Nicholas II and the tsarina, Alexandra, and what brought about his decline and eventual murder. Fuhrmann offers new facts about Rasputin's life from birth to death: how he inserted himself into Russian high society and the truth of his drunken debauchery and sexual addiction. Was he mystic, charlatan, or simply an opportunist? Fuhrman reveals his subject from all sides: husband, father, confidante, wily adviser, carouser, even kind-hearted paternal figure. VERDICT Looming, mysterious Rasputin has fascinated historians and Russian history enthusiasts ever since the final years of the Romanov dynasty. Wide-ranging in scope, this accessible book utilizes trustworthy sources and makes occasional use of plausible conjecture. Highly recommended for both Russian history scholars and readers with a general interest in the topic.-Lisa Guidarini, Algonquin P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.