Grigori Rasputin earned the nickname the Mad Monk, though he was never actually a monk at all. Rather, he was a self-proclaimed holy man who many believed possessed mystical healing abilities. In 1905, he forged a close relationship with Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, reportedly healing their son, Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia.
Rasputin's life is shrouded in myth and rumor. People whispered that he was the true power behind the Russian throne and that he carried on a passionate love affair with the queen. None of these claims, however, are backed by actual evidence. While it's true that he occasionally weighed in with military advice and medical guidance, neither proved particularly valuable to the Tsar or the Russian army.
Then there's the persistent legend that Rasputin was virtually impossible to kill. Back in 1914, a woman plunged a knife into his stomach, accusing him of seducing innocent women. He hemorrhaged severely and came dangerously close to death — but he pulled through.
Fast forward two years, and a group of nobles led by Felix Yusupov hatched a plot to end his life for good. On December 29, 1916, Yusupov lured Rasputin to dinner, where he served him cakes and wine that had been poisoned with cyanide. Astonishingly, the deadly toxin appeared to have zero effect on him, leaving his would-be assassins stunned. As the early hours of December 30, 1916, arrived, they resorted to a more direct approach and put three bullets into Rasputin. According to legend, he was somehow still breathing even after all of that — and ultimately died only when they hurled his body into a river to drown.
Here's the twist, though: a subsequent autopsy revealed no water in his lungs whatsoever, which meant Rasputin was already dead before his body ever hit the water.