In 1904, Aleksei Nikolayevich, heir to the Russian throne, was born (Rosenberg 1). Unfortunately, Aleksei was born with "the royal disease", hemophilia. If he was not cured, he must die. After consulting many mystics and holy men, results were finally found thanks to Gregory Rasputin, a Siberian peasant (Rosenberg 1). Rasputin became the closest advisor to the Tsarina, Alexandra Feodorovna; however, he was rejected by most of society.Gregory Efimovich Rasputin was born around 1869, in Siberia, Russia ("Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin" 1). He was born into a peasant family and received very little education (Rosenberg 1). At the age of eighteen, Rasputin attended the Verkhoturye Monastery. He stayed at the monastery for three months and during this time he claimed to have undergone a religious transformation. Rasputin began to view himself as a holy man, capable of predicting the future and having the power to heal people. Although he considered himself a holy man, others called him the "mad monk." He became a strannik (Russian for “wanderer”) (Rosenberg 1). Rasputin traveled to the Middle East, Greece and perhaps also the Holy Land (“Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin” 1). He lived on donations and money earned through divination (Simkin 1). Rasputin married Proskovia Fyodorovna and they had three children (Rosenberg 1). Rasputin also had another child, but not with his wife (Simkin 1). In 1908, Aleksei experienced another hemorrhagic episode. Rasputin, through the bishop of Saratov, was presented to Tsar Nicholas II. The bishop wanted Rasputin to try to cure Aleksei (Simkin 1). Many other healers were summoned to the royal palace. A multitude of people attempted to cure young Aleksei, but only Rasputin was able to stop the bleeding...... middle of paper ......gory Rasputin had a major influence on Russia and the royal family. He cured the royal heir of hemophilia. Rasputin became the Tsarina's closest advisor. He was criticized by all of Russia. Rasputin began holding back the Russian Empire and was eventually assassinated. (word count: 906) Works Cited “Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin”. 2014. Biography Channel website. April 5, 2014, Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Murder of Rasputin.” History of the 1900s.about.com. About.com, 2014. Web. April 5, 2014. Simkin, John. “Gregory Rasputin.” Educational Spartacus. Spartacus Educational, September 1997. Web. April 8, 2014. “Rasputin.” Historywiz.com. HistoryWiz, 1998-2008. Internet. April 8, 2014. Duffy, Michael. "Who is who? Grigori Rasputin." Firstworldwar.com. Michael Duffy, August 22, 2009. Web. April 8, 2014. “Gregory Efimovich – Rasputin.” Gregory Rasputin, Russian monk. Np, and Web. April 8. 2014.