ia_2011_b_mendez

=B. Summary of Evidence (500-600 words) Tips]=

Grigori Yefímovich Rasputin [1] was born in Siberia in 1869, far away from the capital of St. Petersburg where later on he would arrive and change the fate of the Romanovs and the Tsarist Regime. Close to the Romanov family due his hypnotic talents which would have helped in the recovery of the heir to the Romanov dynasty**.** Rasputin helped the family and the Tsar Nicholas II, and was being accused of the downfall of the Tsardom, in 1917. Coming from a completely different social stratum, Rasputin gradually penetrated into the royal family due the illness of the heir to throne, Alexei. After the declaration of war on Serbia by Austria due the assassination of the heir to the Austrian Empire in 1914, the mobilisation of the Russian army was ordered to help Serbia [2]. The Tsar and Russia were ready to fight but he never  thought what impact would have the World War One on him, his dynasty and his country [3]. The Tsar began losing credibility, and they gradually were being debilitated by the unexpected growth of political opposition. His incompetence, the irresponsible decisions and disregarded advices coming from the Duma were essential to the upcoming revolution. The Tsar assumed the command of the Russian army without having idea of strategies and techniques to succeed. //“A vast catastrophe was engulfing Russian Poland. The Germans were forcing their way toward Warsaw, inflicting such terrible casualties that corps were reduced to “miniature regiments”// [4]. His attempts to silence the population were useless because the tension was exacerbated for many reasons as for example the bad performance of Russia at war. During the absence of the Tsar, the Empress Alexandra assumed the control of Russia being helped by Rasputin. Rasputin took more responsibilities and this caused him a lot of antagonism with the nobility, forcing them to find the easiest way to make him disappear: his assassination [5]. **// “[ //****// …] The situation here is worst than I thought. Our soldiers are fighting against new and modern German weapons, and wait till the comrades are dead to get their arms […]”. – don’t //****// know where to introduce it. //**   Before his assassination, Rasputin said in a letter to the Tsarina //“If it was your relations who have wrought my death then no one of your family, that is to say, none of your children or relations will remain alive for more than two years. They will be killed by the Russian people…I shall be killed. I am no longer among the living”// [6]. This revelatory letter will describe the final fate of the Romanovs. As well, this letter said “//But if I am murdered by boyars, nobles, and if they shed my blood, their hands will remain soiled with my blood, for twenty-five years they will not wash their hands from my blood. They will leave Russia.”// [7]. After the assassination of Rasputin, Prince Felix Yusupov and his wife must to emigrate from Russia. After the lost of power by the Tsar, the Bolsheviks did send them to a palace in Yekaterinburg. The whole family and their servants were conduced, the 18th July of 1918, to a basement where they were murdered. As the Rasputin’s letter said //“They will be killed by the Russian people”// [8] and it was what finally happened. The film Rasputin, directed by Uli Edel, is a film who tries to describe the life of Rasputin. It tells out the situation in Russia, the feeling of a coming revolution and the reasons why Rasputin became very important and influent to the Tsar. In the film, the director pretends to find the answer for a big and important question for Russia, What was the reason for the fall of the Tsarism? Uli Edel tries to answer this question by questioning the character of Rasputin. The description of Rasputin’s life and acts in the film are crucial to find the real answer.

Filmed in 1996, it was awarded with 3 Golden Globe Awards: One for the best mini-series, the second one for Alan Rickman as Rasputin in the category of ‘Best Performance by an actor in a Mini-series’, and another for Ian McKellen as Nicholas II of Russia in the category of ‘Best Performance by an actor in a Supporting role in a Series’. It basically tries to narrate the history as it happened by showing very small examples of the overall issues and situations of the time and the principal characters. The short duration of the movie is not a difficulty for the director, he manages to successfully introduce the audience to the main events leading up to the Russian Revolution and therefore the fall of the Romanov family, as well as the life of the most controversial man in Russia’s history, Rasputin. The anticipation of the final fate of the Romanov family introduces us into the film. The search of the bodies implies that they were cruelty killed in that forest, creating a negative image against the Revolutionaries. [9] The words used in the description of the first scenes are biased against the revolutionaries and a positive image of Rasputin. But later in the film, the image of Rasputin is degraded as well as the image of the revolutionaries. The film narrates the life of Rasputin, since his arrival at St. Petersburg until his assassination. At the capital, Rasputin met the Tsarina and the rest of Romanov family due the haemophiliac health problems of the young heir to the Romanov dynasty, Alexei. Rasputin tries to cure Alexei helped by the virgin. Many of those images are shown during the film because the presence and help of Rasputin is essential to maintain Alexei alive. Since this moment, Rasputin becomes a really important part of the Romanov family, being gradually introduced into their lives as well as in the government. [10] During the whole movie, the situation of Russia is narrated. The social, economic and politics problems are being described from the point of view of the Tsar and the government. The view of the revolutionaries is shown few times, and in those they’re going on strike as well as burning photos of the Tsar creating a negative image to the audience of the revolutionaries. The bad performance of Russia at war made things worse. The absence of the Tsar put the Tsarina at the head of the government. Rasputin was very important at this point because he supposedly helped the Tsarina in her decisions; those were not well received in the nobility. This relationship, between the Tsarina and Rasputin, created many enemies in the nobility which finally assassinate Rasputin to put him away from the government of Russia [11]. The film ends saying “Russian President Boris Yeltsin proclaimed that the bones of the Royal Romanov Family, which were discovered in a Siberian forest in 1991, would be buried in an official ceremony in the winter of 1996. However, after the Communists regained control of the legislature, the Russian Orthodox Church refused to sanction the ceremonial reburial. Today the remains of Tsar Nicholas, Tsarina Alexandra, three of their daughters, their doctor and servants lie in a government storeroom awaiting a final resting place. Alexei’s remains have never been recovered.” [12] This also shows the comments against the communists, building a bias perspective to the audience.

[1] See Appendix 3. [2] Uli Edel, “Rasputin”, 1996, HBO Pictures, 00:58:07 – 00:59:20 - Appendix 8 [3] Uli Edel, “Rasputin”, 1996, HBO Pictures, 01:00:30 – 01:01:38 - Appendix 8 [4] __ Brian Moynahan (1999). Rasputin. [New York]: Da Capo Press (ISBN: 0306809303), page 222 __ - Appendix 9 - The bad performance of Russia at war increased the tension over the country as the population was losing their confidence on the Tsar. [5] __ Brian Moynahan (1999). Rasputin. [New York]: Da Capo Press (ISBN: 0306809303), page 319, __ - Appendix 9 [6] - See Appendix 6 for full letter, also available at __ [] __ ; - Uli Edel, “Rasputin”, 1996, HBO Pictures, 01:22:52 – 01:23:25 - Appendix 8 [7] See Appendix 6 for full letter, also available at __ [] __ [8] See Appendix 6 for full letter, also available at __ [] __ [9] Uli Edel, “Rasputin”, 1996, HBO Pictures, 00:00:51 – 00:01:58 - Appendix 8 [10] Uli Edel, “Rasputin”, 1996, HBO Pictures, 00:41:16: – 00: 41:23 - Appendix 8 [11] Uli Edel, “Rasputin”, 1996, HBO Pictures, 01:13:50 – 01:22:50- Appendix 8 [12] Uli Edel, “Rasputin”, 1996, HBO Pictures, 01:36:33 – 01:37:22 - Appendix 8