The Mad Monk

The Life and Death of Grigory Rasputin

Born in a remote village where superstition and faith intermingled like snow and wind, Rasputin possessed an otherworldly magnetism that would make him the most powerful man in Russia without ever holding an official rank. Through his claimed ability to heal the hemophiliac heir to the throne, he gained unprecedented access to Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra, becoming their most trusted advisor during the empire's darkest hour.

But Rasputin was a walking contradiction—a holy man who wallowed in sin, a healer who sowed destruction, a peasant who toppled dynasties. His scandalous behavior and mystical influence over government policy made him a lightning rod for opposition, while his accurate prophecies of doom terrified those who witnessed them.

From the frozen wilderness of Siberia to the glittering palaces of St. Petersburg, this is the extraordinary true story of Grigory Rasputin—the peasant mystic who brought down an empire.