Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin as he appears in Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army

Appearances

• Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army: Antagonist

Biography

Grigori Rasputin appears in Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army as a secondary antagonist for most of the game. Even though Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army is set after Rasputin's death, he appears in Tokyo as a Dark Summoner, using his powers for profit rather than for the good of the people. He crosses paths with Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV while Raidou is investigating the disappearance of Kaya Daidouji. Rasputin was apparently hired by General Munekata in order to insure that that his Soulless army plans went as they should, but he is actually an artificial human sent back in time from Tokyo Millennium to deal with Raidou Kuzunoha the nth, the Templar who had possessed Kaya's body in order to rewrite the future. However, Rasputin's true purpose seems to fall down the ladder of priorities as he begins to behave like a lush, drinking and hitting on women.

History

Grigori Rasputin was a historical figure who was born in 1869. Rasputin was a wandering pilgrim in Siberia, who had heard rumors of Tsarevich Alexei's haemophilia. The young Alexei sustained a bruise when he fell from his horse, which caused severe internal bleeding that lasted for days. The Tsaritsa requested the help of Rasputin to aid in healing Alexei. Rasputin was rumored to have mystical powers that would allow him to heal Alexei, even though doctors had given up hope. There is still debate on exactly how Rasputin helped heal Alexei, but every time Rasputin was summoned, Alexei would recover.

Due to his his help, the Tsar trusted Rasputin deeply and considered him a prophet and a man of God. Tsaritsa Alexandra believed in Rasputin to the point that she had anyone who wanted an audience with her to go through him, since she felt God spoke to her through him. Rasputin quickly became a controversial figure. He was accused of many misdeeds, such as an unrestricted sexual life and abusing his massive political influence on the royal family. Rasputin believed that yielding to temptation, even for the purposes of humiliation, was needed to proceed with salvation and repentance. Because of that, Rasputin drank and had sex frequently.

During the first World War, Rasputin claimed that Russia would have little success without Tsar Nicholas II leading the armies. With the Tsar on the battlefield, Rasputin's power multiplied, allowing him to sleep with more upper-class women and replace many government offices with his own candidates. The public's increasing distaste for Rasputin led to his murder. Guseva, a woman who Rasputin had sex with, thrust a knife into his abdomen. His entrails hung out, and she believed him to be dead. Rasputin had intensive surgery that kept him alive.

Later, a group of nobles, lured Rasputin to the Moika Palace, where they served him cakes and wine laced with massive amounts of cyanide. Although enough cyanide was used for 5 men, Rasputin was unaffected. Worried that the cyanide would fail, Yusupov shot him in the back with a revolver. While the nobles believed him to be dead, Rasputin tried to rise. The nobles shot him three more time, which also failed to kill him. They attempted to club him to death, a feat which he still survived from. He eventually died from hypothermia after being thrown in the river.