Rasputin-Devil or Saint?

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 57, 23 February 1918, Page 18

Rasputin-Devil or Saint?

(COPTRIGHT.)

CHAPTER I.—(CSntinued.) j RASPUTIN AND THE FAIR LADIES. ,

A kind of bargaining established itself between people desirous of making a career and Rasputin, eager to enrich himself, no matter by what means. He began by playing the intermediary in different financial transactions against a substantial consideration, and at last lie thought himself entitled to give his attention to mattere of State. This was the saddest side of his remarkable career as a pseitdo-fingliostro. He had a good deal of natural intelligence, nnd while being the first, to laugh at fair ladies who clustered around him, he understood at once that lie could make use of them. This ho did not fail to do. Ho adopted towards them the manners of a stern master, and treated them like his humble slaves. At last lie ended by leading the existence of a man of pleasure, denying himself nothing, especially his fondness for liquor of every kind." At that time there was no prohibition in Russia, and, like all Russian peasants, Rasputin was very fond of vodka, to wliich he never missed adding n substantial quantity of champagne whenever he found the opportunity.

T shall abstain from touching upon tho delicate point of the orgies to which it is related that Rasputin was in the habit of addicting- himself, the more so because I do not really believe these ever took plnec in those higher circles of society where it was said they regularly occurred. That strange things may have happened among the common people, who in far greater numbers than it has ever been knqwn used to attend the religious meetings which he held, I shnll not deny. It must always be remembered that Rasputin belonged to the religious sect of the Khlysty, of whose assemblies we have read the description, and it is quite likely, and even probable, that the assemblies of these sectarians at which he presided were not different from tho others to which these heretics crowded. But T feel absolutely convinced that as regards the relations of the adventurer with the numerous ladies of society silly enough to believe in him arid in his gifts of prophecy, these consisted only of superstitious reverence on one side and exploitation of human stupidity on the other. I must once more insist on the point that the apparition of Rasputin in Russian society had nothing wonderful about it, and that the only etrnnge thine; is that such a fiuss was made. Before his time people belonging to the highest social circles had become afflicted with religious mnnins of one kind or another out of that natural longing for something to believe in and to worship which lies hidden at the bottom of the ehuracter of every Russian who has the leisure, or the craving, to examine seriously the difficult and complicated problems of a future life and of the faith one ought to follow and to believe in. In ISI7 there was discovered in the very heart of St. Petersburg, holding its meetings in an imperial residence (the Michael Palace), a religious sect of most pronounced mystical tendencice, presided over by a lady belonging to the 'best circles of the capital—the widow of a colonel, Madame Tatarinoff. In her apartments used to gather officers. State functionaries, women and girls of good family and excellent education, who, with slight varieties, practised all the religious rites of the Khlystys. One of the Minis tens of Alexander 1.. Prince Galjtzyne, was suspected of having honoured these assembles with his presence. Thanks to a letter which accidentally fell into the hands of the police the Government became awnre of what was going on, and Madame Tatarinoff. this Russian Madame Guyon, expiated in exile in a distant province of Siberia, the ecstasies which she had prnctised, and which she had allowed others to practise under her roof. Some of her disciples were prosecuted, but the greater number escaped scot free. The authorities did not care to increase the scandal which this affair had aroused in the capital. UPLIFTING THE CAB-DRIVERS. Much later, in 187 S. after the RussoTurkish war, which, like the Japanese affair, had been followed by n strong revolutionary movement in the country that culminated in the assassination of the Czar, Alexander 11.. another prophet, this time of foreign origin, appeared on the social horizon of St. Petersburg society, where he made a considerable number of converts. This was the famous Lord Radstock, whose doctrines were taken up by a gentleman who up to that time hnd been known as one of the gayest among the gay. a colonel in the Guards—Mr Basil Paechkoff. He was enormously rich, and put all his vast fortune at the service of the religious craze which has seized him. He used his best efforte to convert to the doctrine of salvation through faith only not alone his friends and relatives, but also the poorer classes of the population of the capital, devoting in particular his attention to the cab-drivers. All these people used to meet at his house, where they mingled with persons of the highest rank and etanding, such as Count ' Korff, and a former Minister, Count. Alexis Bobrinsky. Later on the whole Tchertkoff family, to which belonged the famous friend of Count Leo Tolstoy, associated itself'with them, and. indeed, displayed the greatest fanaticism in regard to its participation in the doctrines of the new sect. The Paschkowitcs, as they came to be called, had nothing at all in common with the. Khlystys. Their morals were •absolutely unimpeachable, and what they preached was simply the necessity to conform one's existence to the teachings of the Gospel, which they explained and commented upon, each person according , to hie own light. They were Protestants in a certain sense, inasmuch as their views were distinctly Protestant once. But they had much more in common with the nonconformists man the real followers of Luther or of Calvin. They were a kind of refined Salvation Army, if this expression can be forgiven mc; though they never acquired the importance, nor did the good which the latter hae done, perhaps because they could never make any practical application of the principles and of the ideas which animated them. But at one time the Paaehkowist craze was just as strong as the Rasputin one became later on. and Lord Radstock, together with Mr. Paschkoff, were considered just as much prophets among their own particular circle as was Rasputin among the fanatical ladies who had taken him up.

These crises or religious mania arc regular occurrences in Russian higher social circles when unusunllv grave circumstances arrive to shake their

By THE PRINCESS RADZIWILL

equanimity. Seen from this particular point of view, the apparition ■ of Rasputin and the importance which hie personality acquired in the life of the Russian upper classes pfeeent nothing very wonderful. Before him other socalled prophets had kept the attention of the public riveted upon their doings and their actions. What distinguished his short passage was the fact that it was made the occasion by the natural enemies of the empire, consisting of the discontents at home and of the Germans outside the frontier, to discredit the dynasty as well as those whose life was spent in its immediate vicinity and to present this figure of the vagrant half-monk and halflayman. He preached a new relation to those foolish enough to Ik-ten to him as being one of nlmost gigantic importance, who could at his will and fancy direct the course of public affairs and lead them wherever he wanted. My object in this study will he to show Raepi:tin for what he really was, and in retracing the different vicissitudes of his strange career not to give way to the many exaggerations, which, in familiarising people abroad with his person and with his name, have made out of him something quite wonderful, and nlmost equal in power with the Czar himself. It is time to do away with such legende and to bring Rasputin back to is proper level—a very able and cunning, hnlf-eultured peasant, who owed his successes only to the fanaticism of Ihp few, and to the interest which many had in dissimulating themselves behind him, in order to bring their personal wishes to n sucee-sful end. It is not Rasputin who performed most of thp action put to his "credit. It was those who influenced him. w*o pushed bin , forward, and who. thnnks to him. become both rich and powerful. ¥le has disappeared. I wish we could be as sure that they have disappeared along with him. CHAPTER 11. KASI'UTIX'S START AS A 'THOPHET. ,, Thp beginnings of the career of Gregory Rasputin are 6hrouded with a veil of deep mystery. He was a native of .Siberia, of a small village in the government of Tobolsk, called Pokrowskoie. Some people relate that when quite a yuuth he was compromised in a crime which attracted some attention at the time—the murder of a rich merchant who was travelling from Omsk to Tobolsk to acquire from an inhabitant of Tobolsk some gold diggings, of which the latter wished to dispose. This merchant was known to carry a large sum of money, and as he never reached his destination inquiries were started. At last hio body was found, with the head battered by blows, hidden in a ditch by the high road together with that of the coachman who had driven him. The murderers were never discovered, but dark rumours concerning the participation of the youth Rneputin in the deed spread all over the village. Whether it was the desire to pub an end to them, or remorse for an action of which he knew himself to be guilty, it is difficult to say. but the fact subsists that suddenly Grischa, as he was called, developed mystical tendences and took to attending some religious meetings at which a certain wandering pilgrim used to preach. "The latter used to go from place to place in Siberia, predicting the end of the world and the advent of the dreaded Day of Judgment when Christ would once again appear to demand from humanity an account of its various good or bad actions. For something like two years Rasputin followed him, until at last he began himself to assume the character of a lay preacher, to. apply himself to the study of the Scriptures and to try to establish a sect of his own, the principles of which he exposed to his followers in three terms: — "I am posfieseed of the Holy Spirit, and it is only through mc that one can be saved. In order to do so, one must unite oneself with mc in body and soul. Everything which proceeds from mc is holy, and cleans one from sin." On the strength of thie theory, Raeputin declared that he could do whatever he liked or wished. He surrounded himself with worshippers of both sexes, who believed that by a close union with him they could obtain their eternal salvation, together with divine forgiveness for any sins they might have committed during their previous existence. Strange tales began to be related concerning the religious assemblies at which the new prophet presided. But, nevertheless, the whole village of Pokrowskoie, whither he had returned after his few years' wanderings, accepted his teachings and submitted to his decrees with scarcely any exceptions. These unbelievers were looked upon askance by the majority of the inhabitant*, who had succumbed to the "monk's" power of fascination find, hypnotism. It was with nothing else that Rasputin kept hia '"flock" subjugated. He introduced among them the cult of his own person, together with certain ritee which he called "sacrifice with prayer." According to the narratives of some people, who out of curiosity, had attended their ceremonies, this ie how they proceeded In the night, as soon as the first sta/* had become visible in the skies, Rasputin, with the help of hie disciples, dragged some wood into a deep ditch dug for the purpose, and lighted a huge bonfire. On a tripod placed in the midst of this fire was put a cupful of incense and different herbs, around which people began to dance, holding themselves by the hand all the while and singing in a voice which became louder and louder as the wild exerciße more and morn accelerated, different hymns which always ended with the phrase: "Forgive us our cine, O Lord, forgive us our sins." s The dance went on until people fell exhausted to the ground, and groans and tears replaced the former singing. The fire died out slowly, and. when the darkness had become complete, the voice of Rasputin was heard calling upon his disciples to proceed to the sacrifice which God required them to perform. Then followed a scene of general orgy. As one can see by this tale, the strange practices introduced by the seer, about whom people were already beginning to talk differed in no way from those generally in use among the Khlysty, and, indeed. Rasputin made no secret of his allegiance to this particular form of heresy, in which, however, he had introduced a few alterations. For instance, he did not admit that thesoule of his followers could be saved by a general prayer but only thanks to one uttered in common with him, and 'by a

complete submission to his will. Some persons have alleged that during the early wanderings of Raeputin he had gone as far ac China and Thibet, and there learned some Buddhist practices, but this is hardly probable, as in that case his instruction would have been ■more developed than it was. It is far more likely that during his travels he had -met with exiled sectarians.belonging to the different persecuted religious Russian communities, of which there exist bo many in the whole Oural region, and that they initiated him into some of their rites and customs. They also made him attentive to the hynotic .powers, which he most undoubtedly possessed, teaching him how to übc them for hie own benefit and advantage. RASPUTIN WINS CONVERTS TO "FREE LOVE." Very soon Raeputin found that Pokrowskoie was not a field wide enough for hia energies, and he took to travelling together with a crowd of disciples that followed him everywhere over the eastern and central Russian provinces. There he contrived to win every day new adherents to the doctrines in which free love figured so prominently. Among the towns where he obtained the most success can be mentioned those of Kazan, Saratoff, Kicff, and Samara. Coneernings his doings in Kazan, people became informed through a letter which one of his victims addressed to the bishop of that diocese, Monsignor Feofane, who had shown at the beginning of Rasputin's career a considerable interest, and who had protected him with great success. In this letter, which later on found ite way into the press, the following was eaid among other things:— "Your Reverence, I absolutely fail to understand how it is possible that you continue to this day to know and see Gregory Rasputin. He is Satan in person, and the things which he does are worthy of those that the Antichrist alono is supposed to perform, and prove that the latter's advent is at hand." The writer then proceeded to expla-in that Rasputin had completely subjugated the mind of her two daughters, one of whom was aged twenty, whilst the second had not .yet attained her sixteenth year. One afternoon, writes this unfortunate mother, I met in the street, coining out of a bathhouse, Rasputin, together with my two girls. One must be a mother to understand the feelings which overpowered mc at this sight. I could find no words to say, but remained standing motionless and silent before them. The prophet turned to mc, and slowly said: "Now you may feel at peace, the day of salvation lias dawned for your daugh, ters!"

Another woman, who had also fallen under the spell of Rasputin, wrote as follows about him:

"I left my parents, to whom I was tenderly attached, to follow the prophet. One day when we were travelling together in a reserved first-class carriage, talking about the salvation of souls and the means to become a true child of God, be suddenly got up and approached mc, and proceeded to clean mc of

all-my sins. Towards evening I became anxious, and asked him: 'Perhaps what we have been doing to-day was a sin, Gregory Efimitsch?' 'No, my daughter,' he replied, 'it was not a sin. Our affections are a gift from God. which we may use as freely as we like.'"

Bishop Feofanc finally was obliged to recognise the evil which Rasputin was constantly doing, and he bitterly repented having been taken in l«y him and by his hypocrisy. He reproached himself especially for having given him a letter of recommendation to the famous Father'.lohn of Cronstadt, through whom Rasputin was to become acquainted with some of the people who were later on to pilot him in the society of St. Petersburg. The Bishop was not a clever man by any means, but he had been sincere in his admiration for Rasputin, a fact which added to the consternation that overpowered him when the truth about the famous sectarian became known to him. He assembled a kind of judicial court, composed of one bishop, one monk, and three well-known and highly respected civil functionaries, and called upon the prophet to come and explain himself before this court as to the actions wliich were imputed to him. Among these figured his general conduct in regard to the women who had enrolled themselves in the ranks of his disciples. But somehow the adventurer succeeded in dispelling the suspicions that had become attached to his name and conduct, and lie explained in a- more or less plausible manner the things which had been told about him. His leanings for feminine society, and his invariable custom of bathing himself [together with women he declared to be quite innocent things, and only a proof of his desire to show that it was quite possible for human beings to rise above every kind of carnal temptation.

In spite of this episode, which would have interfered with the career of anyone but Rasputin, the fame of the latter grew with every day that passed. He established himself at last in the town of Tinmen, in Siberia, where he hired a whole large house for himself and some of his most favoured disciples, and he began to turn his activity into another and more profitable channel. He established reception hours every day, when all his followers, admirers and friends could come to speak with him about any business they liked. Hundreds of people used to attend those receptions, among them some very influential persons curious to see and speak with the modern Peter the Hermit, who declared that he had been called by God to save Holy Russia. In some mysterious manner he acquired the reputation of having great influence in higu quarters, where (this must be noticed) he. was at the time yet quite unknown. Governors fearing dismissal, rapacious functionaries whose exactions had become too flagrant, as well as business men in quest of some good "geschaft," to use the German expression employed before the war among financial circles in Russia, crowded round him. waiting sometimes hours for an opportunity to speak with him, and fully believing in nis capacities for obtaining what they required.

Rasputin soon became a kind of business agent, and surrounded himself with a number of secretaries of (both sexes, whose occupation consisted in attending- to his correspondence—he could hardly read or write—and in receiving the numerous offerings which were bcinV brought to him daily. These secretaries, among whom • figured a eister of the Bishop of Saratoff. Warnawa. made an immense amount of money themselves, hecause no one was ever admitted into the presence of Rasputin without having previously paid dearly for thU favour. Very soon they established ■■ '-•■ in regard to the audiences granU 'i their master. (To be continued Saturday next.)

LETTER FROM A SOLDIER. The sweater that you knit, dear heart, I'm using it each day; I hung it up beside the trench To scare the crows eaway.