Imperial Russia was dreadfully unprepared for war. Although its soldiers fought bravely, they were poorly trained, attacking in massed waves that were mowed down by the ruthlessly efficient German machine guns. The Russians were also plagued with logistical problems: bullets had to be ''rationed'' to prevent the soldiers from running out of ammunition; Germany had many more railroads than Russia, which meant it could ferry troops and supplies to the front much more quickly; the trains themselves could be bogged down in the mud, as they were at Archangel; and the soldiers were even reduced to ''cutting down telegraph poles'' for firewood. Oh, and the Russians commanders were {{Modern Major General}}s, when they weren't {{General Failure}}s. Although the Russians had some initial success against Austria-Hungary, this was mostly due to the fact that the sad-sack Austro-Hungarians were even more of a RedShirtArmy than the Russians themselves. To say that ItGotWorse when the highly trained and well-equpped forces of ImperialGermany joined the fray is an understatement of Biblical proportions. 1.7 million Russians would die in the war, with 5.9 million wounded.

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Imperial Russia was dreadfully unprepared for war. Although its soldiers fought bravely, they were poorly trained, attacking in massed waves that were mowed down by the ruthlessly efficient German machine guns. The Russians were also plagued with logistical problems: bullets had to be ''rationed'' to prevent the soldiers from running out of ammunition; Germany had many more railroads than Russia, which meant it could ferry troops and supplies to the front much more quickly; the trains themselves could be bogged down in the mud, as they were at Archangel; and the soldiers were even reduced to ''cutting down telegraph poles'' for firewood. Oh, and the Russians commanders were {{Modern Major General}}s, when they weren't {{General Failure}}s. Although the Russians had some initial success against Austria-Hungary, this was mostly due to the fact that the sad-sack Austro-Hungarians were even more of a RedShirtArmy than the Russians themselves. To say that things got worse when the highly trained and well-equpped forces of ImperialGermany joined the fray is an understatement of Biblical proportions. 1.7 million Russians would die in the war, with 5.9 million wounded.

15th Aug '12 3:44:15 PM videogmer314

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8th Aug '12 4:38:30 AM ElCheViva

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18th Jun '12 2:13:14 PM frozen

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It turns out (from Rasputin's autopsy, only found after the fall of the Iron Curtain) that Rasputin was never poisoned[[note]]his stomach was empty; in fact, due to a stomach injury from a previous assassination attempt he was on an alcohol-free liquid diet at the time[[/note]], never beaten[[note]]the "bruises" found at autopsy were actually signs of decomposition[[/note]], never drowned[[note]]the fluid found in his lungs was normal pulmonary fluid mixed with blood - basically what you'd expect in a head injury case[[/note]], and never frozen[[note]]at least before death[[/note]]. He was shot four times with a .455 Webley, a gun normally only issued at the time to the SIS, and died minutes later without regaining consciousness. So much for legend. At least Yusupov got to dine out on the story - literally - for decades; when the money stopped coming in from sympathetic anti-Communists, he changed his tactic and earned his keep by suing movie studios who put him and his wife into the movies as supposedly fictional characters.

Yusopov and his conspirators were found and exiled, and the investigation was still ongoing when the revolution occurred and put paid to investigating anything about the Imperial family.

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It turns out (from Rasputin's autopsy, only found after the fall of the Iron Curtain) that Rasputin was never poisoned[[note]]his stomach was empty; in fact, due to a stomach injury from a previous assassination attempt he was on an alcohol-free liquid diet at the time[[/note]], never beaten[[note]]the "bruises" found at autopsy were actually signs of decomposition[[/note]], never drowned[[note]]the fluid found in his lungs was normal pulmonary fluid mixed with blood - basically what you'd expect in a head injury case[[/note]], and never frozen[[note]]at least before death[[/note]]. He was shot four times with a .455 Webley, a gun normally only issued at the time to the SIS, and died minutes later without regaining consciousness. So much for legend. At least Yusupov, who was exiled due to the murder (and survived the Revolution as a result) got to dine out on the story - literally - for decades; when the money stopped coming in from sympathetic anti-Communists, he changed his tactic and earned his keep by suing movie studios who put him and his wife into the movies as supposedly fictional characters.

The investigation was still ongoing when the revolution occurred and put paid to investigating anything about the Imperial family.

18th Jun '12 2:08:53 PM frozen

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18th Jun '12 2:07:36 PM frozen

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18th Jun '12 2:05:29 PM frozen

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18th Jun '12 2:04:14 PM frozen

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Victoria and her daughter Alice (Alexandra's mother) were carriers of haemophilia. While that genetic disease only manifests itself in men, men can only inherit it from their carrier mothers (although some cases are spontaneous mutations - Victoria likely was one of these). By Victoria's time it was known that the daughters of haemophiliac men will always be carriers, and every daughter of a female carrier has a 50% chance of being a carrier herself. It was therefore known at the time that Alexandra could be a carrier, and if this had been an arranged marriage - well, it wouldn't have been arranged at all. But Nicholas and Alexandra chose each other and married for love, and loved each other deeply and truly from the first day they met to the very end.

And yes, Alexandra did turn out to be a carrier, as did one of her daughters[[hottip:Note:Probably Marie, according to the results of DNA studies of the family]], but her son Alexei Nikolaevich suffered from the disease. Enter the faith healer who would help him: Grigory Rasputin. The common way to treat haemophilia of the time was aspirin, which as a potent blood thinner was one of the worst things to give to a hemophiliac. Rasputin may have advised against its use, so Alexei got visibly better.

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Victoria and her daughter Alice (Alexandra's mother) were carriers of Haemophilia B. While that genetic disease only manifests itself in men, men can only inherit it from their carrier mothers (although some cases are spontaneous mutations - Victoria likely was one of these). By Victoria's time it was known that the daughters of haemophiliac men will always be carriers, and every daughter of a female carrier has a 50% chance of being a carrier herself. It was therefore known at the time that Alexandra could be a carrier, and if this had been an arranged marriage - well, it wouldn't have been arranged at all. But Nicholas and Alexandra chose each other and married for love, and loved each other deeply and truly from the first day they met to the very end.

And yes, Alexandra did turn out to be a carrier, as did one of her daughters[[note]]Probably Marie, according to the results of DNA studies of the family's remains[[/note]], and her son Alexei Nikolaevich suffered from the disease. Enter the faith healer who would help him: Grigory Rasputin. The common way to treat haemophilia of the time was aspirin, which as a potent blood thinner was one of the worst things to give to a hemophiliac. Rasputin may have advised against its use, so Alexei got visibly better.

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Nifty for the aristocrats was that Rasputin's actions made him the perfect scapegoat for all the ills of the regime. Blame Nicholas? The Tsar-Autocrat, placed on the throne by the Hand of God? Perish the thought! Better to lay the blame at the feet of a dirty, unshaven, wild-eyed starets of peasant stock from God-Knows-Where, whose intensity and seemingly magical ability to enchant women (and calm the Tsarevich) could easily be the work of the Devil.

Eventually, Prince Felix Yusupov, a rather peculiar and somewhat... [[CampGay delicate]] noble, decided that enough was enough and that Rasputin had to be dealt with. He and a group of conspirators eventually managed to convince Rasputin to come to his house to meet his wife and engage in some partying. When Rasputin arrived, despite warnings not to attend, he was told that Yusupov's [[TheBeard wife]] was still entertaining guests and that he could wait downstairs. Felix fed him some cakes with potassium cyanide inside.

When the poison did not take effect (which could attest to Rasputin's inhuman endurance, the carbohydrates of the cakes slowing the process down, or perhaps poor planning in choosing such a bizarre and untested poison), Yusupov eventually lost patience and shot Rasputin. Apparently, ''this'' did not kill Rasputin either, as he regained consciousness once more. After some more shots and a swift kick to the head, it seemed as if he was finished, and the conspirators proceeded to dispose of the body. There is good evidence at this point to suggest Yusupov, who was quite upset at how far from the plan the assassination had gone at this point, proceeded to beat and, perhaps, castrate the corpse. Finally, at around 5:30 in the morning, the body was disposed of over the Petrovsky bridge.

Hilariously enough, once the body was found and an autopsy was preformed water was found in the lungs, which may have meant that Rasputin was ''still alive'' until he drowned in the river. A recent study concluded that the third shot (to the head) was what killed him.

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Nifty also was that Rasputin's actions made him the aristocrats' perfect scapegoat for all the ills of the regime. Blame Nicholas? The Tsar-Autocrat, placed on the throne by the Hand of God? Perish the thought! Better to lay the blame at the feet of a dirty, unshaven, wild-eyed starets of peasant stock from God-Knows-Where, whose intensity and seemingly magical ability to enchant women (and calm the Tsarevich) could easily be the work of the Devil.

Enter Prince Felix Yusupov. A distant cousin of the Tsar in the female line, married ([[CampGay inexplicably]]) to the Tsar's niece, Yusupov had a great interest in appearing courageous and patriotic. He was also deeply and secretly involved with the British SIS, a precursor of MI6; his chauffeur happened, just by chance of course, to be a close childhood friend of the head of the SIS. So one night, Yusupov sends Rasputin an invitation to his house to party...

...and here is where the truth becomes The Legend.

Yusupov claimed that he invited Rasputin to his home to engage in some partying. He then fed Rasputin cakes and wine containing [[BitterAlmonds potassium cyanide]]: Rasputin cleaned the plate and asked for more. He then lost patience and shot the starets four times: he fell, then "roared up" and attacked Yusupov. By this time his conspirators had arrived, and they beat (and, Yusupov alleged later) castrated Rasputin: he still survived. In desperation, they dumped him over the Petrovsky Bridge. When his body was fished out of the river, they supposedly found water in his lungs, which "proved" that he'd drowned. In later years Yusupov even claimed that Rasputin had died of ''hypothermia'', freezing to death as he attempted to ''claw through the ice'' covering the river. What brave men they were, Yusupov would later tell his hosts; how courageous, how patriotic for them to think only of Tsar and Country while perpetrating such a sad, but regrettably necessary, task.

It took science ninety years to debunk this tissue of nonsense and lies.

It turns out that Rasputin was never poisoned[[note]]his stomach was empty; in fact, due to a stomach injury from a previous assassination attempt he was on an alcohol-free liquid diet at the time[[/note]], never beaten[[note]]the "bruises" found at autopsy were actually signs of decomposition[[/note]], or drowned[[note]]the fluid found in his lungs was normal pulmonary fluid mixed with blood - basically what you'd expect in a head injury case]], or frozen. He was shot four times with a .455 Webley, a gun normally only issued at the time to the SIS, and died minutes later without regaining consciousness. So much for legend. At least Yusupov got to dine out on the story - literally - for decades; when the money stopped coming in from sympathetic anti-Communists, he changed his tactic and earned his keep by suing movie studios who put him and his wife into the movies as supposedly fictional characters.

18th Jun '12 1:43:36 PM frozen

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