Customer Reviews

The Rasputin File

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Edvard Radzinsky is like the character in the HG Wells story who has successfully built and operated a time machine. His chosen destination is the Court of Tsar Nicholas II and he inhabits that world like a native as anyone familiar with "The Last Tsar" knows. Radzinsky's readers become more like his traveling companion as he takes us through the former Soviet archives piecing his story together from first hand documents that no other author on this period has had access to. It is this ability to fuse the past with the present, so brilliantly done in the first book, that makes "The Rasputin File" equally intense and immediate. One example from many:

"I received the last batch of unpublished documents about Rasputin in the Siberian archives. Among them was an inventory of property belonging to Rasputin immediately after his murder...I now knew every chair in his house and every glass on his table...Now I had seen what he saw. And I had heard his way of speaking, too, which had been left behind in his writings."

I think the passage just quoted shows how Radzinsky's interest functions on a multiplicity of levels - a detective's love of uncovering the unknown; a scientist's fascination with minute detail; a mystic's compulsion to enter the very spirit of his subject, and even a portrait painter's need to capture as accurate a likeness as possible. Add to this the fact that the author is a Russian engaged in an act of almost public expiation for a National Crime and you have a work that packs an emotional charge far beyond the fantastic events of the story itself.

The National Crime is, of course, the execution of the Romanovs. Despite the fact that the book focuses on Rasputin, it is their tragedy that underpins the narrative and the circumstances of their deaths are never far from the author's mind. As he demonstrated in "The Last Tsar" Radzinsky continues to be a master of the dramatic association, pulling together isolated events from the past and finding the common, often ironic, connection:

"At the tsar's expense, a magnificent pavilion was erected over St. Simeon's shrine. And the procession of the cross...was headed by Father Ioann Storozhev. The same Ioann Storozhev, a priest from the city of Ekaterinburg, who two days before their execution in 1918 would celeberate holy communion with them and give them the blessing that would be their last."

These books, and I consider "The Last Tsar" and "The Rasputin File" to be all of a piece, succeed as history, biography, drama, literature, and, on a subtler level, as a mystical exploration of the Russian character and soul. I hope Radzinsky will complete a trilogy with a work devoted to the Empress Alexandra.

Once again, the author of "The Last Tsar" has given us an insight into the final years of the Romanov dynasty. I always felt, when reading other books about this era, that the character of Rasputin was somewhat one-sided, and reading in other works that there was a missing file piqued my interest. Now we have the File brought into the open after decades, and Rasputin stands revealed as a much more understandable person. His influence on the tsar and tsarina was strong, with unfortunate consequences for their family and country. The information set out in this book is fascinating, particularly the quotes from the interrogation of witnesses we have often read about, but never before had the chance to hear "speak". My one quibble is that, either the author or the translator has a quirky writing style, and the unusual grammar and sentence structure caught my attention initially, and kept interfering with my reading. Once I became accustomed to it, however, it faded into the background and didn't prevent me from thoroughly enjoying this book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in early 20th century Russian history.

Having read Radzinsky's THE LAST TSAR and found it difficult to put down, I was eager to dive into his new book on Rasputin. In the earlier book, Radzinsky combined historical insights with the captivating writing style that has made him a popular playwright in Russia. The new book also promised new revelations based on his discovery--through the help of the author's friend, the conductor/cellist Mistislav Rostropovich--of the voluminous, long-lost Kerensky government police files on Rasputin, based on interviews with the people (outside of the tsar's immediate family) who knew him most intimately.

All of this said, I found the new book rather disappointing. It lacks the riveting style that characterized THE LAST TSAR. (It is difficult to tell whether the fault lies with the author or the translator.) And the book gets bogged down in details, seeming to dwell endlessly on Rasputin's misdeeds and his intrigues to influence the shape of the Russian imperial government. Of the entire 500 pages of the book, the middle three-fifths seem to be a morass of minute facts and figures. Like one of the most monstrously long Russian novels, this book also seems to get lost in minor characters.

This is not to say, however, that this is a book without merit. It offers new insights into Rasputin himself, his incredible power over the imperial court, and his role in bringing down the government of Nicholas II. Radzinsky also does a convincing job of reconciling the seemingly contradictory facets of Rasputin's personality, alternating between the saint and the sinner, the holy man and the orgiast. He also explains Rasputin and his influence in the larger context of Russian religious history, explaining the tradition of sectarianism in Russian orthodoxy as well as the unique influences of "holy fools" in Russian history. And his detective work on how Rasputin actually died is impressive. (That alone almost makes the book worth reading.)

In conclusion, I would not discourage people who are intensely interested in Russian history and the pre-revolutionary period from reading this book. But it is not a volume for casual readers, especially those lacking any grounding in this period. And even those who consider themselves Russian history afficionados might be advised to read this book selectively.

This is an excellent book for those familiar with Russian history and particularly the time of the Tsars. Very informative and well written. I do believe, however, that this would be a confusing book for someone interested in Russian history to begin with. One must have a good understanding of the mind-set of the Russian population at the time of the last Romanoff's to fully take in the events that unfolded. The whys, whens and wheres are confusing to a first time reader but a wonderful reading adventure to those who have some background of the Russian people, the tsars and the economic times of that era. I highly recommend The Last Tsar before reading this. I like the author's style and enthusiasm for the subject. Bravo!

Radzinsky's "The Rasputin File," is a phenomenal and unmitigated disaster. What makes this book such an incredible disappointment is that the author has so much enticing material, and absolutely no cohesion, no sense of story, and even less self-control when it comes to editing.

First, a reader must be willing to concede that whoever translated this book might in fact be better off selling trinkets on some ferry boat cruise on the Volga River. The book is choppy and poorly edited. If you like sentence fragments, then this should be real book to savor for all 500 pages. A good translator may have been able to smooth out some of these sentences, instead they were just left to sit and pester the reader, obfuscating any intelligible meaning. In fact, the more of these I came across, the more I tried to make sense of them. Needless to say, there's some quality time, I'll never get back.

I appreciated and enjoyed "The Last Tsar," by Radzinsky and have read at least 15 other books on Rasputin and the fall of the Romanovs. I was eager to pick this book up and see what sleuthing Radzinsky had completed. To be sure there's a lot of gold in these pages, but there is a lot of slag and ore that has to be processed. Some of the detail is just unnecessary and offers little to the reader for the time they invest reading this tome. The other bothersome thing is there is virtually no crafting of this vivid period of Russian history. Any sense of story and wonder is sucked right out of the book by constant section breaks and deep probing into insignificant characters.

Radzinsky often repeats himself, quoting and covering the ground he's already went over in an obvious attempt to hop back on the path of some kind of semblance and narrative.

A reader can pick up many new insights if they stick with it; then again, most readers can also pick up another book, too. It is only because of the new research contained here that this book is even worth any stars (in the Amazon.com rating system).

This book should only be touched by hardcore Russian history buffs or members of the Khlyst who like whipping themselves into a frenzy of ecstatic agony.

I snatched this book off the shelf as soon as I saw it and I wasn't disappointed. This is the first book on Rasputin that actually makes him a flesh-and-blood human being. The missing piece was his religious beliefs and the Old Believers his teachings originated in. The author had access to the police files on Rasputin and to interviews with some of his followers that add immeasurably to Rasputin's biography. Fascinating.

In this book, Edvard Radzinsky does a good job of investigating and dispelling many of the myths and legends that have surrounded Rasputin and the Romanovs for quite some time. The file that provided much of the insight into that period, and which served as the basis for this book, was indeed a priceless find.

Indeed, this book is not so much a window into Rasputin's life as it is one into the sad and naive reign of the last of the Romanovs. Within the context of the last days of Tsarist Russia, Rasputin can be understood as being not a demoniac crank/witchdoctor, but a brilliant master of psychology who was able to bend weaker minds along the whims of his own blind faith. His own headstrong, fanatical journey to ultimate destruction parallels that of the Romanovs.

Throughout the book, you cannot help but be impacted by the sense of despair that pervades the dawning of Bolshevism and the decline of tsarism - a stage on which Rasputin was only one of many players. Caught in the grips of a social upheaval that threatened their very existence, the Russian nobility was both divided against itself and desperately clueless - seeking to hang on to the last vestiges of gilded power even as it trembled at the coming of Bolshevism. Enter Rasputin, an eccentric peasant whose iron-clad faith in himself and God and his seeming curative powers endeared him to the naïve Tsarina and gave him a place of direct, foremost influence in the tottering monarchy.

At first, he seemed to have good intentions. His counsel, although naive, was moral and genuinely sincere. Little by little, however, the power and influence at his command and the self-serving flattery of a court that disliked him went to his head. All too soon, the holy man began to play at politics and engage in less-than-holy activities in his quarters, even as his influence became stronger as the monarchy weakened. With the rumor mill of elite society cranking out lies and half-truths about him, the envy of the court gradually turned to hate. Soon conniving minds, wishing both to purge the monarchy of his predatory influence as well as tear down this prop of the sagging monarchy in order to take power for themselves, began to plot against him.

His own death under once-mysterious - but now elucidated - circumstances, heralds not only the end of the Romanovs, but also the end of an era.

Satisfyingly biographical and full of detailed descriptions and the minutiae of the everyday life of that period, this book's only down side is that it can sometimes become rather tedious. The translation is rather cumbersome, and were the story not so interesting in and of itself it would be difficult to maintain focus and interest. As it is, it is a treasure trove of information that is worth the diligence needed to assimilate its content.

- Benjamin Gene Gardner

I am nearing the end of "Rasputin," and it has not been easy getting through it. I read a great deal, and enjoy history, so the problem hasn't been the subject but the way in which the book is written. Not knowing Russian, I am not sure if the original is difficult to follow, or if only the English translation is a mess. As other readers have stated, were the topic not so fascinating, I don't think I'd have bothered to keep reading such a tedious book.

That said, the author clearly has done a phenomenal research job. The list of people, divided by their affiliation - whether Romanovs, part of the political circle, part of Rasputin's clique - is essential, especially to one unfamiliar with Russian names and patronymics. I wish the maps were more detailed, perhaps with current state and country borders included, as well as with a distance scale. While the Romanov family tree was very helpful, the names don't always match the names in the body of the book. One important player is the tsarina's sister Elizaveta, who is listed as Elizabeth (or "Ella") in the family tree - I confess it took me some time to figure out that the two were the same.

I feel a time-line from before the beginning of the Romanov dynasty and including the periods of the Russo-Japanese War (mentioned often in the beginning of the book), the first World War, and the Russian Revolution would be helpful. I am not as knowledgeable about Russian History as I perhaps should be, and therefore could have used some more help keeping the events straight.

I was glad to see so many photos, but the cartoons (naturally written in Russian) would have made a LOT more sense had they been translated. Also, the photo captions were merely quotations from the book, rather than offering further elucidation on who - or what - was being pictured.

I would recommend the book to someone who, aside from being interested in Rasputin and the end of the Romanov dynasty, doesn't give up easily. Otherwise, I'd suggest the reader look elsewhere for information that is easier to read.

This book was very entertaining in a "lite" popular style but not very significant as a serious historical work. Since I have very little knowledge of Russian history, I had no way of judging the accuracy of his constant definitive pronouncements (he never seems in doubt of anything, but is sure he knows the real truth of everything); however he made one statement that the Tsaravitch's hemophilia was due to "weak blood vessels that broke down from the pressure of his blood." Since this is a totally incorrect description of hemophilia (it's a clotting disorder that has nothing to do with the blood vessels or blood pressure) it makes me a little leary of the accuracy of his other statements. Also his habit of taking a clause that modifies part of the previous sentence and using it as a stand alone second sentence drove me nuts. For example, he might write something like "The Prince was accompanied by Joe Schmoe, who was the secret lover of the Princess." Only it would read: "The Prince was accompanied by Joe Schmoe. Who was the secret lover of the Princess." Can't believe his editor let him get away with this.

Edvard Radzinsky has created a fine story, albeit not one of first-class historical content. He maintain the readers interest thoughout. However, the work suffers from poor editing. Sentence fragments are a regular occurrence. Even worse, are the obvious errors on dates. His newspaper style of writing also detracts from confidence in the work's historical basis.