He Parlayed Access to the Throne Into Influence
Having impressed the imperial family with his “healing” abilities, Rasputin began offering advice to Russia’s royal couple, and exerting influence on matters that were trivial and benign at first. With the passage of time, however, his influence would grow increasingly malign, and negatively impact both the imperial family and the Russian Empire as a whole.
Rasputin became a regular visitor to the imperial palace, during which visits the Tsarina Alexandra would spend hours talking with him about religion and other matters. He flattered the Empress by telling her what she wanted to hear. Specifically, that she and the Emperor were beloved by the Russian masses, and needed to be seen more by their adoring subjects.
Additionally, he told her that she and her husband should see him more often and place their absolute trust in him. He also told her that to him, the imperial couple were the equivalent of God, and so he would never lie to them and always tell them the truth. He contrasted that self-declared honesty with the supposed dishonesty of the Emperor’s ministers, who, according to Rasputin, were dishonest and did not care about the people or their tears.
Rasputin’s words moved the Empress, and she came to believe that he had been sent by God to help her family and protect the imperial dynasty. At the time, Tsarist rule was coming under increasing pressure as the imperial system started crumbling because of structural flaws and incompetent governance. Emperor and Empress began turning to Rasputin, confiding in him and seeking the comfort of his assurances that God was watching over them.
Regardless of the subject of the conversation, however, the fact remained that the peasant strannik did have a notorious reputation for lechery and a unique brand of religious practices with his female followers. Between that backdrop and the stories of the wild orgies he had engaged in with his congregation, it was not long before rumors began flying that Rasputin was sleeping with the Empress and cuckolding the Emperor.
It was commendable of the Emperor that he was secure enough in his wife’s fidelity and honesty to dismiss the rumors. However, he failed to realize that regardless of the rumors’ veracity, perception mattered. Rasputin’s proximity to the Emperor’s family, particularly his wife and teenage daughters, brought the imperial family into disrepute. It also opened the Emperor to mockery and ridicule as a cuckold, thus damaging his dignity and prestige. That undermining of imperial dignity would prove fatal.