The Man Who Killed Rasputin: Prince Felix Youssoupov and the Murder That Helped Bring Down the Russian Empire

by Greg King

The author of the highly acclaimed Russian biography The Last Empress uncovers the truth behind the murder of one of Russia's most notorious figures.On December 16, 1916, Prince Felix Youssoupov and a group of conspirators, in what they considered to be a patriotic act, murdered Grigori Rasputin.

Nearly eighty years later, the events surrounding the assassination continue to provoke speculation. In order to get at the truth, this meticulously researched work covers the lives of both these men, from their youth right up to their ultimate collision. The Man Who Killed Rasputin is a superb retelling of a major historical event and is based on new revelations from the St. Petersburg police files. The book features many previously unpublished photographs, including the recently released Rasputin death pictures.

At the time of the murder, Prince Youssoupov owned palaces throughout Russia. Just two years later, he and his wife were reduced to selling their possessions to survive. And wherever he went, he was always pointed out as the man who killed Rasputin.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Biography, Russian History, Royalty, Biography Memoir

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Greg King (born 1964) is an American author, best known for his biographies of prominent historical figures.

He is the author of eleven internationally published works of royal and social history, specializing in late Imperial Russia and Edwardian-era royalty, including The Fate of the Romanovs, The Court of the Last Tsar, and the UK bestseller The Duchess of Windsor. A frequent onscreen expert and commentator for historical documentaries, his work has appeared in Majesty Magazine, Royalty Magazine, Royalty Digest, and Atlantis Magazine.

Source: wikipedia.com & us.macmillan.com

Reviews

[Zosi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An interesting book on very interesting individuals. It certainly put forth some ideas I hadn’t really considered before and casts doubt on the story of Rasputin’s murder that is widely disseminated. Sometimes it asks more questions than it answers, but overall I enjoyed it. Not my favorite Greg King book, but still a very good one.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading Greg King's books as he has a wonderfully engaging writing style, but at times he tends to play fast and loose with the facts. In "The Man Who Killed Rasputin", he seems taken in by Rasputin's claims of divine powers to a certain degree, raising a great deal of skepticism. Far too much credence is given to suppositions that Rasputin wielded very little influence over the tsar and tsarina aside from Alexei's health. While I'll concede the point Rasputin probably did not have as much influence as people believed, to dismiss his influence almost entirely is ridiculous. King also dismisses several theories concerning Rasputin's "healing powers" and concluding only for the mystical, completely disregarding the possibility several factors were in play.

I agree when King says "we will never know with any certainty the true nature of the events of that night at the Moika Palace", but the source for crucial pieces of his "evidence" is shoddy at best. A story he heard from someone who heard it from the sister-in-law of one of Felix's servants. Really? I can't believe he had the nerve to quote this in a serious history book. The information is more than second-hand. It's third or fourth-hand.

I appreciate the consideration of different hypothesis, but don't couch it as fact.

And I did find a blatant discrepancy, though on a relatively minor matter. At one point King states that Felix inherited his father's golden hair and then a few pages later states Felix's brother had the same dark shade of hair as their father. It's either one or the other. The senior Yusopov did not have both.

King also deduces Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich's homosexuality from a letter written by Alexandra to Nicholas, taking a great deal of liberty in inferring a meaning correlating to his theory. Again, I appreciate the hypothesis, but why infer it as positive fact? I have read a great many books about the Romanovs and don't recall any claiming Grand Duke Dmitri was a homosexual. Of course, some were read years ago and I may be mistaken. But it did not ring a bell at all. All I remember concerning the Grand Duke's "love affairs" was the fact he was considered as a match for Maria or Olga at one point before being involved in Rasputin's murder. And we also learn in this book that Dmitri had an extended romantic relationship with Coco Chanel. I suppose I should read the memoirs of Maria Pavlovna, his sister, and find out her take on the matter.

All in all, an entertaining and fairly quick read that offers new and interesting hypotheses on the night of Rasputin's murder.

[Alenka of Bohemia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like most of Greg King´s books, I imagine this as a good starting point for anyone interested in the matter of the lurid murder of Rasputin. It is readable and accessible, provides interesting details and suggests some non-traditional theories. However, this book, promising the story of Felix Yussupov, does not really spend much time on Felix other than his involvement with Rasputin - exactly what he himself hated and what I had hoped the author would overcome. Furthermore, I am aware that new material on the issue has since come to light and I wonder if Greg King´s 1990s research has remained accurate.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rasputin murder has weird mythology about it. When we were about to go to Russia I read this book. I love the historical detail. The descriptions of Felix's life and the palace where he lived in St Petersburg were fascinating. On our tour I saw the rooms in the basement where the murder plot was played out; plus the magnificance of the luxurious abode above. Very far out.

[Jadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know much about Rasputin, and absolutley nothing about Prince Felix. I loved reading about the riches of the royal families and the different, fascinating characters. Felix was quite a character! The book includes wonderful pictures and covers many years past the assassination.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the person who is said to have killed Rasputin and the story he continued to tell about a maniac who seemingly refused to die. Another book I read for a paper on Rasputin and would like to revisit when I have a time to slowly read though it.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5⭐

Am ajuns la cartea asta în urma unei recomandări și nu aș putea fi mai recunoscătoare. Îmi spun de atât de mult timp că am să mă arunc și în istoria familiei Romanov, dar mereu am găsit scuze să nu. Uite că s-au dus și scuzele.
Nu știu dacă a fost cea mai bună alegere pentru cineva care știe atât de puține, dar mi-a deschis apetitul.

Autorul - în mintea mea, după ce am citit această carte - este genul acela de persoană care vorbește cu pasiune despre un subiect care îl interesează. Acel gen de persoană care îți pune tot ce știe el pe tavă și te invită să te înfrupți. Nu uită nimic, nu contează că e interesant, banal, că ai chef sau nu să îl asculți, el te servește.

Recunosc că prima parte din cele 4 m-a plictisit și chiar mă gândeam "Cum duc eu cartea asta la final? Cum îi spun doamnei bibliotecare care mi-a recomandat-o și mi-a vorbit cu atâta pasiune despre ea că m-a plictisit?", dar după acest mic hop de vreo 80 de pagini am reușit să mă adâncesc în poveste. Nenea autorul, descrierile în stilul George Călinescu mă obosesc. Nu vreau să știu cu exactitate unde era fiecare lucru dintr-o cameră. Înțeleg entuziasmul și alegerea de-a descrie pe larg, mai ales că el a avut ocazia să vadă în persoană aceste locuri, dar pe mine mă invitau la somn.
O mulțime de nume pe care le uitam exact în secunda în care terminam să le citesc. Mi-a luat o carte întreagă să-mi amintesc Iusupov fără să-l citesc. Autorul nu are nicio vină aici, până la urmă astea erau numele și cunoștiințele mele sunt minime. Poate pentru el era logic să numească cu atâta nonșalanță x și y nume mari ale vremii, dar eu eram doar "bla bla bla, next."Mai am de învățat.

Cartea urmărește cazul morții lui Rasputin (desprea al cărui nume am auzit, dar nu știam absolut nimic), viața lui și a criminalului său. Iar un factor absolut interesant e că niciodată nu s-a știut cu exactitate ce s-a întâmplat în acea noapte în care mojicul și-a găsit sfârșitul. Unele elemente au rămas învăluite în mister până în ziua de astăzi, chiar dacă Felix a scris 2 cărți în care și-a istorisit fapta.
Partea despre victimă, deși necesară pentru a înțelege imaginea de ansamblu, a fost cea care m-a plictisit. Dar Felix Iusupov m-a salvat de la înnec. Viața lui a avut mai multă culoare, ca să spunem așa.

Suntem în timpul domniei ultimului țar al familiei Romanov, Nicolae al II-lea și ne pregătim cu pași mici de momentele culminante ale istoriei - asasinarea mojicului, revoluția din Rusia, primul război mondial, căderea dinastiei Romanov și tot ce a urmat după.
Ceea ce m-a frapat pe mine a fost faptul că Felix nu a regretat nici în ziua morții lui fapta pe care a săvârșit-o, dar și faptul că a avut parte de o viață bună în linii mari. Să-l fi uitat karma? Sau totuși, în pornirea lui patriotică să fi făcut un bine?

[Stephen Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

King does a great job of sifting through the various sources to help provide a nuanced description of the likely truth of the murder. Also a surprise, the book did not lose steam after the fall of Russia. Many chapters including their trial with MGM were just as fascinating as the Rasputin saga.

[Hal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a number of books on Rasputin because he was such an interesting story and indeed had such an impact on Russian history. This book sheds more light on the mystery of the man and the real mystery surrounding his murder. This book focuses on Prince Felix Youssoupov who it is believed was most instrumental in that murder. It was interesting to learn more about this man and I was amazed at the wealth he commanded, and of course lost in the revolution. The murder itself still by and large remains unclear in detail. Not much more is offered in this book as Youssoupov's version though probably close to the most accurate has to be measured against his motives in relaying it. The actual truth we will probably never known. One thing that comes clearly into focus is that Rasputin did not really seem to control as much influence in governmental affairs as has been widely believed. The Czarina on the other had certainly did and probably contributed most to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty.

[Gabby M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading Greg King, who writes a lot about Imperial Russian history, and I was surprised that he seems to be a bit of a Rasputin apologist. He’s much less charitable towards his actual subject- Prince Felix Yusupov, the fabulously wealthy and often impetuous aristocrat who was the ringleader of the group that carried out the titular assassination. I appreciate that he explored multiple accounts how events unfolded, though he seems to give unusual credence to some sources (like Rasputin’s daughter, who was not present) that would not tend to be overly reliable. I’m now more interested in reading Yusupov’s own memoirs.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

a fascinating read and an amazing insight into a period of history the likes of which will never be seen again. it's hard to imagine a life of such richness and entitlement in this day and age, but it was taken for granted by so many 100 years ago. russian history especially during the reign of nicholas II has long been an interest of mine, and this did not disappoint.
OT, one of my pet peeves about history is reading the bibliography in the back of the book, and almost all of the books are just about impossible to find, or if they are available, they cost a small fortune!

[Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book that dispels some of the stories that Prince Yusupov spins in Lost Splendor, his memoirs, published in the 1950s. Not sure if this book is something I would credit as a scholarly book, most books that deal with Rasputin are by nature sensational. It does do a good deal of good in bringing together some of the more absurd stories that surround this period of Russian history (there are a number). Worth reading, but there are more definitive treatments out there, good popular book.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot.

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of Russia. If you enjoy history, then add this one to your list.