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Persuasion 2

One man who lived in Russia in the early 1900s demonstrated the power of influence or persuasion. This man, named Grigori, had a poor enough reputation that he was given a nickname that means “denegrate” (Rasputin, someone of low status). His influence over the Russian princess was a result of “mysterious healing powers.” The son of the princess, named Alexei, had a disease called hemophilia, which causes its sufferer to bleed continuously even from the smallest cut. While doctors could not heal this boy, Rasputin was able to help, possibly through hypnosis (or encouraging his mother to let him rest). Because he helped their son, the prince and princess believed he was a holy man, a friend, prophet, and man of God.

Rasputin’s influence over the princess as a result of his “healing powers” was strong enough that he was able to say who should and shouldn’t be in power. Three Russian aristocrats believed he was damaging the entire country and believed he needed to die. On a cold night in November, 1916, one of the aristocrats invited him into his home. He fed him cakes and wine laced with cyanide, but Rasputin did not die. The story goes that when the man saw that Rasputin did not die, he shot Rasputin in the back. Still alive, the men shot him a number of times, beat him, wrapped him in a bag, and threw him into a the frigid Reva river. His autopsy stated that he died of drowning, not poisoning, gunshot, or beating.

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