Andrew Cook - To Kill Rasputin

Such news as came through to us during the autumn of 1916 from Russia showed what a fatal blunder the abandonment of the mission was proving. All the omens were pointing to a breakdown of the Russian military effort and to a separate peace with Germany. The King of Sweden (who was pro-German in sympathy) had remarked to the British Ambassador at Stockholm, on hearing this news, that there would be peace between Russia and Germany within two months! Sir George Buchanan… mentioned in a private letter to Lord Charles Beresford on 17th October the prevalence of rumours of a separate peace, which Stürmer had officially denied, and reported the growth of a pro-German sentiment in official circles. 18

In his letter, Sir George identified Stürmer (now at the Foreign Office), Protopopov and Rasputin as the leading Germanophiles. To further compound Lloyd George’s suspicions, yet another intelligence report landed on his desk.

SECRET

NOTES FROM A RELIABLE SOURCE

There is talk in various circles in Switzerland about supposed private conversations between Germany and Russia. It is impossible to get proof of this, but it is said that these conversations are taking place between the Crown Princess Cecilia and the Empress of Russia with Rataieff [ sic ], Chief of the Russian Secret Police, in Switzerland as an intermediary. The last speech of Bethmann Hollweg seems to corroborate this. Its tone is courteous towards Russia and the assurance that Germany does not want to interfere with Russian internal politics, as well as the complete absence a statement concerning Poland looks as if Germany wanted to leave this question open in order to eventually settle it with Russia. Bethmann’s vehemence against England and her presumed use of her Allies to serve her own ends leads to the belief that if these conversations really exist they must be on a strong anti-English basis. Bethmann’s words ‘we will not interfere’ seems to contrast to the fears always expressed by the reactionary parties in Russia that the Allies will want to interfere. 19

Lloyd George was not the only one with an impending sense of doom. Many in Russia tried to get Nicholas to send Rasputin into exile. The Tsar’s mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna, had long ago been alienated by the Tsarina and had moved away from Petrograd to live in Kiev. She hardly saw the couple, or her grandchildren. ‘In the twelve years I was with [the Tsarina] Alexandra Fyodorovna, I saw Maria Fyodorovna maybe three times’, Vyrubova later testified. 20But in October 1916 the Dowager Empress made a special journey to warn her son, in pretty much the same terms that Sir George Buchanan had, that the pernicious influence of ‘advisors’ on his wife was endangering the monarchy. He changed nothing.

There was a lot of talk about murdering Rasputin, and that is what most of it was: just talk. The muzhik was seemingly so well guarded that practical possibilities could apparently not be found. Aristocratic officers were the most likely to assassinate him because they despised all he stood for, and would have had no compunction about killing such an upstart.

Some time in the autumn of 1916 a carefully thought-out plot to murder Rasputin began to take shape in somebody’s mind.

The murderer must be someone whose proximity would not cause Rasputin, or his minders, any concern.

This person should have a perfect alibi.

Rasputin should simply disappear. People would guess that he could have died in a drunken brawl on the Islands he was so fond of visiting. Were the body found, this would be confirmed.

Had the person who considered these principles been British, he would not pass the first hurdle; he would never get close to Rasputin.

Prince Felix Yusupov, on the other hand, had met Rasputin and knew Mounya Golovina, one of his intimate disciples, very well. He was married to a Romanov, which meant that he would probably be safe from prosecution. Also, he had personal reasons for taking revenge on Rasputin. According to Yusupov, his father had lost his job as Governor-General of Moscow because he denounced to the Tsar, with anger, the pro-German schemers who hampered his work. 1

As for whether Yusupov could kill Rasputin in cold blood… the Prince had a lot to prove. As a member of the Corps des Pages, he was part of a militaristic band of brothers to which his reputation hardly qualified him for admittance. People suspected that he would fail his exams on purpose to avoid active service. On the other hand, participation in Rasputin’s murder would make him a hero in the eyes of his peers.

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich had something better than an alibi. No Romanov could face a firing squad.

The identity of those involved in the planning of Rasputin’s murder is reasonably clear. What remains unclear is whether British intelligence officers proactively approached Yusupov and Dmitri Pavlovich with the idea of carrying out a murder by proxy or whether they heard about their desire to kill Rasputin at a very early stage and sought to exploit this opportunity for their own ends. Either way, the longstanding personal rapport between Yusupov, Stephen Alley, John Scale and Oswald Rayner was absolutely key to the collaboration.

John Scale’s two daughters, Betty and Muriel, have clear memories of hearing their father’s account of his involvement. According to Betty, he told them that he was ‘involved in the planning but was not at the murder’. 2Muriel also confirmed that

He was involved in the planning of it; they were all together… You see they had to do something, but in fact he wasn’t there when they actually killed him, he was somewhere else, so he didn’t actually take part in that, but he was involved in all the planning and how they were going to get rid of him… He knew the Yusupovs very well. He used to stay at their palace… palaces. 3

We also have corroboration of British involvement in the planning from another source. William Compton was a chauffeur who worked for the Anglo-Russian Hospital from his engagement in June 1916 until its closure in February 1918 and the evacuation of its staff to England. He left a diary, from which it is clear that some of the chauffeurs used to moonlight as drivers for other members of the British community in Petrograd. Compton in particular drove Oswald Rayner and John Scale. Most significantly, his diary (in this respect, an account-book) confirms that on six occasions between late October and mid-November of 1916, he took Rayner and Scale to and from the Yusupov Palace. Two further visits are recorded after Scale’s departure for Romania on 11 November, the last of which was the night before the murder.

Whether the idea to murder Rasputin was initially Yusupov and Dmitri Pavlovich’s or the intelligence officers’, it is clear that the pair were to be the means of physically carrying out the deed. The Achilles heel of involving the two playboys was that everyone knew their business.

The first rumours of approaching murder reached Simanovich at the Fire Club, a gambling club he ran in Countess Ignateva’s house on the Champ de Mars… Ivan came to him to say that there were mysterious meetings at the National [a rival club] where a lot was said about Rasputin. Alexis sometimes worked in the room where the meetings were held. Simanovich gave him 500 roubles and told him to ask Alexis to find out as much as he could. Alexis reported back that the meetings were chaired by Purishkevich and were attended by Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Prince Felix Yusupov, and some young officers. ‘They spoke a lot about Rasputin in these meetings,’ Simanovich said; the name of the English Ambassador, Buchanan, and those of the Tsar and Tsarina were also mentioned. 4