Frances Welsh: Rasputin

Grigory Rasputin, Siberian peasant-turned-mystic and court sage, was as fascinating as he was unfathomable. He played the role of the simple man, eating with his fingers and boasting, 'I don't even know the ABC'. But, as the only person able to relieve the symptoms of haemophilia in the Tsar's heir Alexei, he gained almost hallowed status within the Imperial court. During the last decade of his life, he and his band of 'little ladies' came to symbolise all that was decadent, corrupt and remote about the Imperial Family, especially when it was rumoured that he was not only shaping Russian policy during the First World War, but also enjoying an intimate relationship with the Empress. Rasputin's role in the downfall of the tsarist regime is beyond dispute. But who was he really?