Grand Duke Dimitri, Nicholas II's cousin and one of Rasputin's murderers
Prince Felix Yusupov and his wife princess Irina, Nicholas II's niece. Yusupov was the main instigator of Rasputin's murder.
  On December 2,1916, Vladimir Purishkieveitch made a public denounce at the Duma. he was one of the most ardetn monarquic memebers of the Duma. His speech was about the damage Rasputin had made to the monarchy. When he finished the whole Duma stood up and effusively applauded him. Only one man remiened seated, pale and trembling; he was  Prince Felix Yusupov
   The Yusupovs were one of the richest and noblest families in Russia. Prince Felix was married to Irina, only daughter of Grand Duches Xenia, who was NIcholas' sister, and of Grand Duke Alexander (Sandro), Nicholas' great friend and grandson of Tsar Nicholas I.
   The morning following Puriskievitch's speech at the Duma, Prince Felix visited him in his appartment and exposed him the idea he had had in mind for some time: to kill Rasputin. Felix had become Rasputin's friend; they both had shared some sprees at dubious night spots and the Prince had won hte peasant's cnfidence. Purishkievitch agreeded to help him and they began to mature the plan.Three other men joined the conspiracy: an officer named Sujotin, a doctor named Lazovert and Yusupov's young friend, Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovitch, son of Grand Duke Paul and Nicholas' first cousin. The plan was simple: Yusupov would invite Rasputin to his house, the Moika Palace, to drink some wine and eat some cakes. The other conspiators would wait in the upper floor of the house. The drinks and cakes Felix would offer to Rasputin would be poissoned. The murder was planned for December 29, 1916 (December 16 in the Russianna calendar).
   On the appointed date, Yusupov picked Rasputin in his car at his appartment and took him to the Moika Palace. The two men entered in the palace at 1 o'clock in the morning and went down to the basement where the Madeira wine and cakes with poisson were prepared. The rest of the conspirators were upstairs as had been planned. Felix offered the Madeira wine to his victim, who drank it slowly, tasting it. The poisson didn't seem to work. Rasputin remained erected sitting in his chair. Then he ate the cakes. He reamined the same, watching Yususpov with his penetrating look.
Rasputin's dead body after being taken out from the Neva
  Felix began to get desperated as well as his partners upstairs. After several hours Rasputin began to feel bad, he asked Felix for another glass of wine. The Prince gave it to him but instead of killing the peasant, the wine seemed to reanimate him. At last, Felix lost his patience, took out a gun and shot Rasputin, who with a terrible scream fell heavily on the floor over a white bear's fur. At hearing the shot, the rest of the conspirators rushed into the room, founding Felix with the gun in his hands and Rasputin laying over the white fur, shaking in convulsions. Dimitri and Purishkievitch pulled the dying body out from the bear's fur. The convulsions ceased and Dr. Lazovert declared he was dead. The conspirators left the room, leaving the dead body alone. After some minutes Felix returned; he took Rasputin's pulse, there was not.  Violently, he shook the body and threw it against the floor. Suddenly Rasputin opened his left eye and after a few seconds he opened the other. With a wild roar, he raised with the eyes jumping out from the sockets, ans tried to seized Yusupov. terrified, Felix rushed into the room upstairs where his partners were smoking, shoutin Purishkievitch to shot the peasant that was alive. Rasputin ran out of the house and running through the yard covered with snow, he shouted: "Felix!, Felix!, I will tell everything to the Empress!". Purishkievitch fired his gun several times but failed. he fired again and hit the peasant in the back; another shot hit him on the head. Rasputin fell down and began to convulse over the snow. A few minutes later his movements ceased. The conspirators put the dead body into the car that was in the yard and took it to the edge of the Neva, where they threw it into the iced water of the river.

   The next morning Alexandra learned that "Father Grigory" had gone the night before to the Moika palace with Prince Yusupov and didn't return. She asked Protopopov to investigate where her friend was. When she knew that Rasputin was dissapeared and that Dimitri and Felix were suspected of having murdered him, she , unconsalable, ordered that both men were arrested, but as only the Tsar could order the rrest of a memeber on his family, the Empress demanded that the two men were confined in their respective houses. The police found Rasputin's body on January 1st. 1917. Felix was banished to an estate in Central Russia and Dimitri sent to Persia in military duty. Purishkivitch stayed free.
   Alexandra arranged Rasputin to be buried on January 3, in a corner of the park at Tsarkoe Selo. Nicholas and Alexandra threw earth on the coffin and the she and her daughters scattered flowers on it. before the coffin was closed, Alexandra placed an icon on her friend's breast and a letter written by her own hand: "My dear Martyr, give me thy blessing that it may follow me always on the sad and dreary path I have yet to follow here below. And remember us from high on your holy prayers. Alexandra".
Return to Alix's page
Return to Queen Victoria
Next page
Previous Page
French Version   Version francais
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1