Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin

Rasputin, Grigori Yefimovich (1872–1916), Russian mystic (the “mad monk”) who gained influence over the Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna after supposedly curing her son's hemophilia in 1905. The scandal of his debaucheries, as well as his interference in political affairs, contributed to the undermining of the imperial government in World War I. He was assassinated by a group of ultraconservatives.