About
You might have observed the disclaimer caption that appears just before the beginning of a movie or web series. Have you wondered why writing the disclaimer is important and how did it start? This is the story of a Russian citizen who rose to prominence from an ordinary citizen to one of the most trusted influencers of the Russian Emperor.
A man some used to call mad monk, who survived poisoned by Cyanide. A man, who not only survived three bullet hits but also believed to have supernatural powers, a man who was a mystic, visionary, and healer. He also possessed the power to hypnotize a person.
The Early Life
This is the story of Gregory Rasputin born on 9th Jan 1869 at Pokrovskoye village of Serbia a remote region of the USSR in a family of a peasant. He was not educated and remained illiterate till his early adulthood. He loved to live by himself, sometimes went to jungles, and sat there talking to himself.
From childhood, he behaved differently, often talking to himself; the onlookers thought that he might be talking to god. He showed no interest in farming.
He took up small works in stables, where he looked after the horses and talked to them. The people called him mad, and his parents were worried about him.
He got married and had six kids. Three of them died, and that had a profound impact on him, and he took to drinking and stealing. He was caught stealing a horse and found guilty by the court.
The court showed mercy based on his mental conditions and family background and punished him to proceed, on a pilgrimage walking a distance of more than 500 Km to different churches in 1897.
Pilgrimage
This pilgrimage changed the life of Rasputin. He did not have money, but he left his house to serve the punishment. He used to eat whatever people used to offer him during his journey. He came in contact with different churches and became religious.
His hair and beard grew along as days passed. He started preaching religious beliefs to people he met. After traveling about 500kms from his place of residence, he reached St. Nicholas Monastery at Verkhoturye in 1897.
He became literate in the monastery and also gained religious knowledge. He taught religious teachings to anyone he met. After three years of staying in the monastery and attaining knowledge, he returns to his residence of Pokrovskoye village of Serbia as a completely changed man. Singing prayers and leading a simple life.
Rise To Fame
Within a couple of months, he made few followers from his village and family members. His charisma was spreading throughout Siberia; he went to Kazan and made followers there. People started looking at him as a holy man, someone who can free people from their anxiety and stress.
He went to meet the superior father of the Seven Lakes Monastery outside Kazan. The father was impressed with his knowledge and gave him a letter of recommendation to meet Bishop Sergei at Nevsky Monastery that was well connected and recognized in St Petersburg.
Bishop Sergei was impressed with the knowledge of Rasputin and requested him to stay at the Church. Many of the cities aristocracies were interested in occult and supernatural activities and hence came in contact with Rasputin.
1st of November 1905 Rasputin was first introduced to Tzar of the Russian Empire as a healer. Tzar’s son Alexei was suffering from Haemophilia that caused immense pain and blood loss for his son. On many occasions, Rasputin healed Alexei and eased his pain, and stopped bleeding.
Rasputin became an integral part of Tzar Entourage. Alexei fell off from a carriage and suffered severe bleeding from his thigh and groin during summer of 1912. Doctors treating him could not stop his profound bleeding, and the health of Alexei depleted rapidly.
Rasputin was in Siberia during that time, Tzarina sent a telegram to him to immediately return to St. Petersburg. He sent a reply back stating, ‘God has heard her cries, and his son would not die and heal.’ Miraculously after two days, the bleeding stopped and Alexei’s health improved.
Rasputin’s importance grew hugely in Tzar’s courtyard, so much so that Tzar would seek his advice on any official matter. It was also rumoured that he had a relationship with the Tzarina.
Decline
Rasputin was increasing his circle of influence, and this made him a controversial figure. In 1909 a female follower accused him of Rape and alleging that he was a danger to Monarchy. Meddling with the government activities and rapid decline of feudalism during World War I led to the rapid decline of Russian’s economy.
12th of July 1914, the first assignation attempt was carried out on Rasputin. A 33-year-old woman stabbed him in his stomach in Pokrovskoye village. Rasputin though injured severely, survived the attack.
Prince Felix Yusupov had the ambition of accessioning the throne from Tzar, and Rasputin was becoming a threat to his ambitions. A group of nobles under the leadership of Prince Felix Yusupov were convinced that the influence of Rasputin was ruining the Russian Empire and set up a plan.
On 30th Dec, Prince Yusupov invited Rasputin stating that his wife would like to discuss some important matter, and offered him tea and cakes. Rasputin was initially reluctant to have cakes but, on repeated requests, ate those cakes that were infused with Cyanide. The cakes did not have any impact on him.
He was then taken to the basement and shot three rounds, one of them from very short range. Rasputin rose and gave a good fight to the accomplices of the Prince. He was however soon overpowered, but he simply refused to die, they dragged him and drowned him on the ice-cold water of the river and that eventually killed him.
The post-mortem revealed that the death of Rasputin was due to the seeping of water in his lungs. After his death, he was cremated along with the members of the royal family. Felix Yusupov and his wife managed to escape during the communist upheaval and took shelter in a different country.
Disclaimer Display
At the start of movies and serial soaps, the display of disclaimer is attributed to the death of Rasputin. A film under the MGM Production Company displayed the life of Rasputin, where he was portrayed as having an obsession with women.
The film also portrayed that Irene, wife of Prince Felix was also a victim of Rasputin’s sexual desires. On watching the film, Irene strongly rejected the claim and went to court. The court ruled in favour of Irene, and MGM production house had to pay a hefty amount as compensation.
After this incident, every film or serial produced displays the disclaimer “This is a purely a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons living or dead or actual events are purely coincidental.“
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