To Kill Rasputin: The Life and Death of Grigori Rasputin (Revealing History) (35 page)

Further evidence of his death will, I also suggest, be forthcoming in the developments of such
causes celebres
as those of Sukhomlinov and Manuilov. For the moment, owing to the pressure that Rasputin applied, both trials have been stopped. If the proceedings are restarted, the fact will provide confirming evidence of the removal of the guiding hand that had hitherto stopped them.

Nowhere will any regret be felt for the crime except amongst those over whom Rasputin exercised a hypnotic influence, and the unscrupulous intriguers whom he used for his own ends and rewarded with innumerable appointments in the Church and State.

Of such a man no one can honestly say ‘de mortuis nil nisi bonum.’

If one cannot write good about the dead, one can at least say about the death ‘nothing but good.’

CTG.95

From: Lt Col Sir Samuel Hoare (Petrograd)

To: ‘C’ (London)

Date: January 2nd 1917

Death of Rasputin – Report No 2

Since writing the above memorandum I have received definite information that the body of Rasputin has been discovered in the river Nevka, near the Petrovsky Bridge. I received this information in strict confidence from the Chief of the Department of Military Police in the General Staff. He has himself seen the body. It appears that traces were purposely left about the hole in the ice, into which the body was thrown, in order that it should be discovered. The chief officials of the Ministry of the Interior, the Petrograd Prefecture, the River Police and the Department of Public Prosecutions have held investigations upon the spot, and a rough map has already been published in the
Evening Times
under the heading of ‘Mysterious Murder.’

It is also certain that Rasputin was actually killed in Prince Yusupov’s house and not in the motor. During the evening there seems to have been a certain amount of promiscuous shooting, in which a dog was killed in the courtyard and a window broken. Early in the morning, six men appeared in the courtyard with a body dressed in a
shuba
, that they put in a motor that was waiting. I understand that these facts are stated in detail in the report of the four secret police, who were waiting for Rasputin in the courtyard. A very well-known Russian told me that one of his friends had seen this report, in which were stated all the details of the arrivals and departures to and from Prince Yusupov’s house during the evening.

It is also said that the company did not assemble at the house until very late in the evening, as most of the people had previously been to a party at the house of Mme. Golovina.

I am also informed, upon absolutely reliable authority, that the Empress was informed of the crime whether late on Saturday night or early on Sunday morning. As late as six o’clock on Saturday afternoon, when the news had already been published in the
Bourse Gazette
, she appears to have known nothing of what had happened. On Sunday morning, however, she ordered that a Liturgy should be performed in the Imperial chapel at Tsarskoe, and that special prayers should be said for Rasputin.

I also hear, but on less reliable authority, that Her Majesty sent the following telegram to the Emperor, who was still at the Stavka:

“Our friend had been taken from us. Dmitri and Felix (Prince Yusupov) are parties to it.”

A cousin of Yusupov told me that his intended departure to the Caucasus had been stopped, and that the Grand Duke Dmitri and he had both been placed under domiciliary arrest.

CTG.119

From: Lt Col Sir Samuel Hoare (Petrograd)

To: ‘C’ (London)

Date: February 5th 1917

Death of Rasputin – Report No 3

Further details obtained from the Examining Magistrates and other reliable sources.

The following particulars may be taken as quite accurate as they have been given by people directly connected with the affair.

For some days before his death, Rasputin had been nervous and unwell. He had received a shock from what appeared to be the attempted suicide of the Cossack officer who was engaged to his daughter. As he was always in fear of his life, he took the greatest precautions for keeping his movements secret. He, however, always made it a practice to tell his two confidants, Simonovich and Bishop Isidor, where he was and where he was going. Simonovich is an unbaptised Jew, a curiosity seller, and Isidor a bishop who, for bad behaviour was compelled to retire from his see. They live together in the Nikolaevsky Street. It was Rasputin’s habit to telephone to them, whenever he left his house, and to tell them where he was to be found. On the evening of the 29th December, he was at his flat at No. 64, Gorokhovaya, with his two daughters, a niece and a secretary, all of whom acted as servants for the flat. Late in the evening he sent away the detectives of the Secret Police, and told them that they were not wanted any more. Shortly afterwards, a motor with a cape cart hood arrived and someone came and knocked at the back door. This proved to be a boy who frequently visited Rasputin, and to whom Rasputin always opened the door himself. The boy said something to Rasputin, and Rasputin answered ‘I will come with you.’The two then went off in the motor in the direction of the Fontanka, and at the Fontanka Bridge were seen to turn right. Nothing more can be heard of the motor. A motor shortly afterwards drove up to Prince Yusupov’s house. This, however, was a closed motor, and not the motor that had been seen to leave 64, Gorokhovaya. The dvornik at Prince Yusupov’s house seemed either very stupid or very clever, and very little could be got out of him. He, however, admitted that the driver of the motor was in uniform, and was a very simple-looking person. He is supposed to have been the Grand Duchess Irene’s brother.

At 12.30 the
gorodovoi
(i. E. The policeman) outside the Ministry of the Interior in the Moika heard four shots. This fact he reported to the Criminal Investigation Department, this is situated close by. At 3.30 the
gorodovoi
standing outside Prince Yusupov’s house was called into the house by a man in general’s uniform. The unknown general said, ‘Do you know me?’ To which the
gorodovoi
replied, ‘Not at all.’ ‘Are you a patriot?’ was the next question. ‘Certainly’. The general then said, ‘Rasputin is destroyed, You can go.’ Shortly afterwards a motor left the house and was not seen again. The
gorodovoi
seems to have taken some time to think about what had happened, but after a time went off, and reported the matter to the nearest police station.

In the early morning the Minister of Justice, Makarov, was rung up by an unknown voice that said ‘Rasputin has been murdered, look for his body in the Islands.’

As a result of these incidents, two examining judges, Sereda and Zarvatsky, and the police, went round in the morning to Prince Yusupov’s house. The only trace that they could find of the murder was some bloodstains on the snow outside the small door that leads into the bachelor rooms which Prince Yusupov used before he married. They carefully collected the snow for examination. When they were there, Prince Yusupov came out, and said that he could explain the whole incident, and that all that had happened was that the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich had shot a dog that had attacked him. The examining judges then went off to the Minister of Justice and congratulated themselves on having escaped the risk of being taken in, when all that had happened was the shooting of a dog. Whey they were waiting in Makarov’s ante-room, Prince Yusupov arrived and went into the Minister’s room. Shortly afterwards Makarov came out and said to the judges, ‘It is all right, Prince Yusupov has explained everything;it was only a dog, thank you, You can go.’At Gorokhovaya 64, Rasputin’s flat, there was in the meanwhile great excitement. At seven in the morning Simonovich and Isidor arrived. They could not understand why Rasputin had not told them where he was to be found. Shortly afterwards, there entered Mlle. Golovina, Rasputin’s friend, who said ‘I know where he is, he is all right, I will telephone.’She then, For some reason, telephoned in English, and, having got an answer, said to them, ‘He will be back soon.’ However, she seemed dissatisfied, and went out to telephone again, this time at the public call office in the street, as she evidently did not wish Simonovich and Isidor to know what she was saying. She then came back and said, ‘He has left the place where I thought he was and has gone away.’

In the meanwhile, in view of the mysterious telephone message and the reports of the police, a search had begun. When, there fore, a golosh was discovered near the Petrovsky Bridge, it was taken to 64 Gorokhovaya for recognition. The Rasputin family at once recognised it as Rasputin’s. The river in the neighbourhood was carefully searched. The great cold made this difficult, as the divers were not at all anxious to work. Eventually on Monday morning, something was seen in the ice. After great difficulty it was pulled out, and found to be Rasputin’s body, completely frozen into a block of ice. Both his hands were raised, and one side of his face was badly damaged by the fall into the river. The body was put into a motor lorry and ordered to be taken to the Vyborg Military Hospital. The whole party, examining judges, police and the rest, then went off to have luncheon with a German Jew who is known as Artmanov. They had not begun luncheon, when they received a telephone message from Protopopov saying that on no account must the body be taken to the Vyborg side, because it was a workman’s quarter, and there might be demonstrations. They replied that it had already been sent there, but Protopopov said that it must be stopped. They asked how could it be stopped. He said that he did not mind how, but that stopped it must be. Accordingly, they informed all the police at the street corners along the route through which it was to pass that they were to stop the lorry, when they saw it approaching. The lorry was finally stopped, and was ordered to proceed instead to the Chestminsky Almshouse, a desolate institution on the road to Tsarskoe. The examining judges had previously arranged that the post mortem examination should take place after twenty-four hours, as the body was so frozen that it was impossible to make any examination before that time. Protopopov, however, telephoned to say that the examination must be finished by 8.00a.m. the next morning. The judges and the doctor declared that it was impossible. Protopopov, however, said that it was necessary, and that the body was to be returned to the relations at 8 next morning. The judges then asked, how were they to reach the almhouse, that was some distance from Petrograd, as they could not afford a motor that would cost 200 roubles. Protopopov said that it would be all right as far as payment went. Accordingly Sereda, the examining judge, Got hold of Kosorotov, the well- known surgeon, and went off with him in a motor to the almshouse.

Their difficulties were not ended. Although the almshouse was lighted with electric light, there was no light in it at all when they arrived, and no means of lighting it. The three
gorodovois
, who were there, said that no light was necessary, as ‘dead men need no light.’The judge and the surgeon declared that they must have some light. Accordingly, they sent out, and obtained two small lamps to hang upon the wall, whilst one of the
gorodovois
held a lantern. After a while, the
gorodovoi
declared that he felt ill, and that he could not hold the lantern any more. The judge and the surgeon, therefore, were left alone in the partially lighted room.

They found that Rasputin, although 46 years of age, had the look of a man of only 36. He was dressed, as was his habit, like a Russian mujik. He was wearing, however, a pair of very expensive boots and a blue shirt with yellow cornflowers sewn upon it. This shirt had lately been given him by the Empress. It should also be noted in this connection that two days afterwards, when a small and periodical operation was being performed on the Tsarevich’s knee, the blue shirt was noticed by the surgeon to be under the operating table.

The examination showed that there were three wounds, one in his back and two in his head, all showing signs that they have been made by shots at a very close range.

Whilst the examination was proceeding, one of the
gorodovois
announced that two ladies had come for the body. Sereda and Kosorotov declared that this was impossible. A message then came back that they must give up the clothes. This, they did.

At last the examination was finished, and Sereda and Kosorotov returned, frozen and dispirited, to Petrograd. Since then, Zarvastsky, the other examining judge, has resigned, and another judge, Staravitsky, has been appointed to replace him. The body was subsequently taken to Tsarskoe. Whilst it was being conveyed from the station to the church, the garrison was confined to barrack in order to avoid any demonstration. Bishop Isidor, and not the Metropolitan Pitirim, conducted the service in the church.

The following document, found among the Scale Papers, lists the members of the British Intelligence Mission in Petrograd at the time of Rasputin’s murder: