Rasputin was friends / associate with Marina Abramavitch Great Uncle, who was a big pooh-ba in the eastern Church.
Rasputin was a mystic / fakir, with supposedly special powers of healing; why allegedly he got control of the mother of the Prince, who was hemophiliac.
Probably a hypnotist; check his eyes.
The great Uncle of Abramovitz has less than a perfect reputation.
When the attempts were made to kill Rasputin, by Courtiers of the Tzar, Rasputin was very hard to kill
" Assassination:
Date: The attempt took place on the night of December 16-17, 1916.
Location: Yusupov Palace in St. Petersburg.
Method:
Rasputin was initially lured to the Yusupov Palace with the promise of meeting Yusupov's wife, Irina (though she was not actually there).
He was first offered cakes and wine, both supposedly poisoned with cyanide. However, Rasputin seemed unaffected by the poison, leading to theories about either the ineffectiveness of the poison or Rasputin's constitution.
After the poison failed, Yusupov shot Rasputin. Despite being shot, Rasputin fled from the house. He was then shot again by Purishkevich and finally beaten. His body was subsequently bound and thrown into the Neva River.
Post-Mortem Findings:
When Rasputin's body was recovered from the river, an autopsy suggested he might have still been alive when he was thrown into the water, as there were signs of struggle and water in his lungs, indicating he might have drowned."