Occults and Mystics: Rise of Bolshevism and the Downfall of Rasputin

Article by Richita Bhattacharyya. Edited by Liz Goodwin. Additional Research by Liz Goodwin.

Everyone knows that Grigor Rasputin was one of the causes of the fall of the Romanov dynasty. Ironically, the same occult powers and charisma that raised him to the prominent position he enjoyed in the Tsarist regime also led, in the end, to his downfall. The reasoning behind his downfall was not because the Russian society was against the mystics or occults, as the exact opposite was true. Throughout the twentieth century, Russian society was quite immersed in magic and mysticism, starting from the aristocracy all the way to the Communists. What about Rasputin was so special to have inspired such extreme emotions as hatred and devotion?  

The answer to the question would be Rasputin’s charm; more commonly known as charisma. They said that if one looked into Rasputin’s eyes then they would feel a sense of calm washing over their soul. He was also said to have amazing healing abilities and said to have healed the Tsarevich Alexei from painful bouts of Haemophilia with the help of prayers. These actions earned him the respect of the Tsar and Tsarina thus gaining him great power at the imperial court. 

But Rasputin was not the only occult and mystic present, there were other communities too. The aristocracy was deeply embroiled in it and the on other unusual sector of society that looked to occult practices were the Communists. It is probably the greatest irony in modern history that the mysticism which was one of the main causes of the downfall of the Tsarist regime was actually greatly practised by those sects who actively working to bring them down. 

It seemed that recent research has led historians to believe that various ideas of Marx and Lenin have found their roots in Gnosticism. This idea had something to do with an ‘unknown father’ who is at the head and man must awake his inner sleeping potential in order to join the ‘unknown father’ lest he remain a prisoner. They also believe that the world which exists now with all its religion, laws, customs and morals is created by a false God. The Gnostics also love to live communally and do not like materialistic possessions. 

It seems that the similarity between Communism and Gnosticism is quite startling. The ‘unknown father’ could be compared to the government which according to Communist ideology is supposed to be an autonomous body. Like the ‘unknown father’ it would be a god of sorts one which all should follow. The Communist ideology also asks for mankind to work to the best of their potential and does not tolerate idleness. In addition they believe that the existing capitalist society, with all its inequalities, is false and does not deserve to exist. Furthermore, Communism like Gnosticism believes in people living together like a community and also just like the Communist disapproved of class inequality and the private wealth of the capitalists the same way the Gnostics preferred to stay away from the materialistic trappings of the world. 

So it was not really surprising that one would find many a communist being a Gnostic at the same time. In fact many members of the Russian aristocracy were Gnostics as well and they were from occult bloodlines. The most prominent of these were the Rothschilds who orchestrated the downfall of the Romanovs. While Prince Yusupov and his allies who murdered Rasputin don’t come from occult bloodlines but it could still stand to reason that they may have’ dabbled in the darker arts’ from time to time. 

It can be argued that the reason behind Rasputin’s downfall was in part due to the aristocracy being jealous of his fame and partly because they needed a reason to discredit the Tsar and Tsarina; Rasputin became their scapegoat. There was also the disparity of beliefs between Gnostics and Rasputin. While the Gnostics believed in hard work and loss of materialistic goods of life instead to come together and work for the common good of man, Rasputin believed that humans were sinners and in order to achieve salvation one must commit sin. He also had habit of criticising the Russian Orthodox Church and the Gnostics quite harshly which further turned their opinions against them. Rasputin’s charisma may have earned him the Tsarina’s protection but during the First World War when the popularity of the Tsarist regime reached an all time low it was then that the protection turned out to be ineffective for him as his enemies began to plot his demise. 

The story of Rasputin is shrouded in mystery and no one can form a definite opinion of him because no one knows the full details of that era. Lots of actions and decisions were taken in secret and much of the history was embellished later by the Bolsheviks. One can’t exactly go about placing the blame without all the facts and most facts unearthed seem more like half truths designed to make one side of the tale believable. 

Also it can be very hard to know all about the various occult sects as most activities carried out privately and members will never readily give up their knowledge. Furthermore, only select people were allowed to be initiated in these groups so any and all facts gathered was mostly from second and third hand information most of which will be hearsay thus, not entirely trustworthy. 

In conclusion, occult practices were extremely popular during Russia during the First World War at all levels of society even certain sections of the intelligentsia. There were many varieties of occult arts out of which Gnosticism and Rasputin’s ideas took a greater stronghold than most. Rasputin’s ideas were apparently inspired by the clandestine Khlysty sect. While Rasputin’s ideas and charm one him great popularity it also got him enemies in equal numbers which ultimately led to his end along with the rest of the Tsarist regime and from their ashes awoke a new order of Bolshevism. One can only speculate about what really happened with Rasputin.

← Back to Volume 3

← Back to Issue 6