2-481-423 - © Fine Art Images/Heritage Images

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, Russian mystic and 'holy man', c1914-c1916. Rasputin (1869-1916) exercised considerable influence over Tsar Nicholas II and particularly the Tsarina Alexandra, partly due to their belief in his ability to heal their son's haemophilia. His influence over the Imperial family was widely unpopular, and he was murdered by Prince Felix Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri Romanov on the night of 29/30 December 1916. Found in the collection of the State Museum of the Political History of Russia, St Petersburg.