Rasputin's "Powers" and His Family Name.

[Melanie]

I have a question and I wasn't sure if this was the place to post it or not....but you all seem to know a lot about Rasputin.  I am reading Lost Splendor now and twice (on pages 203 & 218) Prince Felix says that Rasputin ordered the Czar to be bascally drugged.  I am reading this book with a grain of salt, but I was wondering what his basis on this was....fact or gossip.  So I am wondering if this is true...was the Czar being drugged daily on Rasputin's orders or is this just Felix's imagination?  Sorry if this is a stupid question....I'm a novice to all this and figure it's best to just ask rather than assume.  Thanks!

[Georgiy]

I would say imagination. Prince Yusupov seemed to have a rather good one! Take the info with a rather large and cumbersome piece of salt!

[helenazar]

The first time I've even heard that name, it sounded like an evil, disgusting person...

It was actually a pretty common name in Russia. IMO, Rasputin was not any more or less evil or disgusting than any other Russian peasant at the time... He just happened to come into the spotlight of history while none of the others did....

[Konstantine]

"My Spiritual father (now reposed) who was a Hieromonk at Jordanville says it is better to say painting rather than writing an icon, as that reflects the Slavonic better."

I argee. however I spent some time at the monastery of St Anthony in arizona a few years ago and I got the impression that the main Greek Orthodox church   (greek archdiocese?) calls it writting an Icon. I said it both ways as to not confuse anyone.  I have heard   ArchBishop Chrysostomos(of St Gregory of Palamas Monstry, Etna Ca) say it should be refered to as painting as well though, so I wonder if this might have something to do with the calender differences?

"However if we discount all 'modernist' style icons from being icons, there must be 100s if not 100os of Orthodox Churches around the world that have nary a true icon in them."

Im not saying this to offend anyone in anyway, but as far as many churches not having true Icons inside, this is sadly the case. Just to give an example, after my Father graduated seminary, the first church he served Liturgy at had masonic symbols in the icons, along with a full depiction of God in Heaven.

[Konstantine]

It was actually a pretty common name in Russia. IMO, Rasputin was not any more or less evil or disgusting than any other Russian peasant at the time... He just happened to come into the spotlight of history while none of the others did....

Although we know him as Rasputin, I read somewhere that Maria Rasputin has said that this was actually what the type of village he was born in was called. The Tzar and Tzarina both called him Grigory, so this is probably the case.  Either way the word Rasputin can be interpreted several different ways.

[helenazar]

 Although we know him as Rasputin, I read somewhere that Maria Rasputin has said that this was actually what the type of village he was born in was called.

Rasputin was from a village called Pokrovskoe. Actually his real name, from what I understand was "Novikh", and the name Rasputin may have come from two different things: one meaning "dissolute" and another meaning a "crossroad" or something to that effect. So supposedly the name was either adopted by him or given to him by others, depending on whose version you want to accept.  I think they used to be able to adopt any name, it was all quite flexible... But I know that this last name was not uncommon in that region of Russia...

[Forum Admin]

Helen,
I don't know where you got that information. According to Spirdovitch's bio the family name was Rasputin, and he was born with that name, as was his brother.
Where did you find that about him not being born Grigory Efimovich Rasputin? There is no mention in Spiridovitch's bio of any other family name.

[bluetoria]

Harold Shukman writes:
"Said to have been nicknamed Rasputin because the Russian word rasputnik suited his reputation as a libertine, in fact his name was that of his forebears, who took their name from the word 'rasputie', which means a fork in the highway."

[Janet_W.]

Either way, it works!  

[Georgiy]

the first church he served Liturgy at had masonic symbols in the icons, along with a full depiction of God in Heaven.

I don't think I have ever seen ones with masonic symbols, but unfortunately there does seem to be a number of 'icons' both Russian and Greek that I have seen depicting God the Father. I am not sure why they have been made.

[helenazar]

Helen,
I don't know where you got that information. According to Spirdovitch's bio the family name was Rasputin, and he was born with that name, as was his brother.
Where did you find that about him not being born Grigory Efimovich Rasputin? There is no mention in Spiridovitch's bio of any other family name.

I will try to remember where I read it, but I definitely did. I also read an account that his name really was Rasputin, and that Novikh was his "nickname" not Rasputin. I don't really know which is the true account. Sometimes he was called "Rasputin-Novikh" though. I just posted that in response to another post that said that "Rasputin" was after his village which definitely is not the case. Let me see if I can find the book where I read this...

H

[bluetoria]

Was it in the Eduard Radzinsky book? I have vague recollections of it, too, but can't find it anywhere :-/

[helenazar]

Helen,
I don't know where you got that information. According to Spirdovitch's bio the family name was Rasputin, and he was born with that name, as was his brother.
Where did you find that about him not being born Grigory Efimovich Rasputin? There is no mention in Spiridovitch's bio of any other family name.

Ok, here is one of the places I read this, but I know I read this in other books too.

"Alexandra, the Last Tsarina" by Carolly Erickson. P. 171.

"...his name was Grigoriy Efimovich Novy [a variation of "Novikh", the spelling that I saw elsewhere], and that he came from the village Pokrovsky in Tobolsk Province in Siberia... and that he had acquired, early in life, the nickname 'Rasputin", which means "the Debauched One" or "the Vagabound".  

As I mentioned, this is not the only book I saw this info in, I read it in several places....

[helenazar]

Was it in the Eduard Radzinsky book?

Yes, it's possible it was there too... It was in quite a few books...

[Konstantine]

I will try to remember where I read it, but I definitely did. I also read an account that his name really was Rasputin, and that Novikh was his "nickname" not Rasputin. I don't really know which is the true account. Sometimes he was called "Rasputin-Novikh" though. I just posted that in response to another post that said that "Rasputin" was after his village which definitely is not the case. Let me see if I can find the book where I read this...

Judging from the books Ive read on Rasputin, the word novikh(or novy) means "new" or "newcomer".  I read in one book that Alexei was the first to refer to him as this because of the many healers who had been brought to the palace before Grigory to attempt to treat his disease. Another book said both Nicholas and Alexandra  thought the name Rasputin was a terrible misrepresentation of his character, and talked him into changing it to Novy-Rasputin.
Ive also read many interpretations of the meaning of the name Rasputin. One book I read said that It was common fo many people of that region to not have last names, the name rasputin was given to Grigory's father because he wasnt born in Pokrovskoe. This was of course assuming the name means "crossroads".  Its also said to mean "spring" or "autumn period". However,  I think the general consensus is that it means "good for nothing person " or "debached one", and he was probably born with the name.