Except Rasputin: Holy Fools, mystics and charlatans in the entourage of Nicholas II

The symbol of the moral degradation of power under the last Russian Emperor was the elder Grigory Rasputin. The uncritical confidence of the Royal family in the scandalous visionary caused confusion and indignation among dignitaries and the public. But even before the appearance of Rasputin at the court of the king was sympathetic to dubious characters. Among them there were wizards, hypnotists, fortune-tellers, and many other charlatans who looked like the “Holy devil”.

Both the Emperor and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna were distinguished by their piety and reverence for Orthodoxy. For many years they waited for the birth of an heir, but only daughters were born. The sense of evil fate strengthened the religious views of the already impressionable couple. Continue reading →