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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Thursday Theme Song: ra, ra...

Thanks to all the books and movies about the Cold War, there are many, many mysteries surrounding the country of Russia.
One mystery, which will never be solved to everyone's satisfaction, surrounds the so-called Black Monk or Mad Monk — Grigori Rasputin.

While we were in St. Petersburg, our guides from Viking River Cruises pointed out the grand building where Rasputin was murdered, but whether he died here in the Yusupov Palace, or after being thrown into the Moika River (just beyond the railing shown below), is a question which may never be answered.

© Photo by Richard Schear, August, 2011
Felix Yusupov, last prince of the Yusupov family, claimed Rasputin was poisoned, then shot, then thrown into the river. Water found in his lungs during autopsy led to the rumor that neither the poison nor the 3 or 4 bullets killed him, but that he drowned.



Grigori Rasputin
Wikipedia photo

Wikipedia photo, Yusupov Palace
and Moika River

© Photo by Richard Schear, August, 2011
Rasputin
Wikipedia photo

















The lyrics made popular by 1970s singing group Boney M suggest Rasputin was the "lover of the Russian queen" (the wife of the Tsar, or Czar) but historical accounts say she was only interested in his reputation as a healer, because her son had haemophilia.
Several of Rasputin's suggestions did seem to reduce the young prince's symptoms because he advised stopping medications which later proved to be blood-thinners.
Coincidence or not, we'll never know.






RA RA RASPUTIN
Friendly with the Russian queen
Felix put poison into his wine
Rasputin surrounded by admirers,
not all of them female.
Wikipedia photo
RA RA RASPUTIN
Ill-reputed love machine
He drank the poison; said "I feel fine"
RA RA RASPUTIN
"Healer" said the Russian queen
But they wouldn't quit, they wanted him dead
RA RA RASPUTIN
People called a love machine
So then they shot him right in the head.
(Note: a photo exists showing a bullet hole in Rasputin's head. It may or may not have been from the gun of a British spy. The plot thickens.)


Posted for Hootin' Anni's musical meme

Thursday Theme Song
To see what songs inspired other bloggers, please click HERE!

9 comments:

Friko said...

How clever of you to combine your trip to St Petersburg, Rasputin and the Boney M song. Quite a trip, this post.

S K Ditta said...

I like the pictures of the Yusupov palace taken by Richard. The song, I heard long ago; never paid attention to the lyrics, but felt something was not quite right.

SquirrelQueen said...

Those buildings are beautiful. What a great idea to use the Boney M song this week.

I was watching a special just last week about Rasputin. The consensus seemed to be that dear old Felix might have been stretching the truth just a little. It still makes for a great story.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Your new profile photo is very beautiful.

ra ra raputin, lover of the russian queen.

We went to watch this movie in High School, and we continued to sing it until our methodist school principal banned it.

My Mind's Eye said...

Kay
Great vacay photos to go with a very unique song. I enjoyed it very much,
Madi's Mom

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Kay,

Wow ... what a great trip the one to Russia must have been! I loved this whole post. I don't remember that song, but I read that book on the Czar and his family long ago (it is famous, but I forgot the name). If I remember correctly, Rasputin was quite a control freak and the family did end up hating him.

We don't go too far away in our RV travels, but I will certainly keep my eyes open for your sis and her hubby.

Thanks so much for stopping by to say hi.

Hootin Anni said...

Love your shares, and your 'themesong' for this week.

Sorry, I've not had time to do any memes for the last couple of weeks because of all the genealogy work and research I've been doing.

Hope your week has treated you well so far.

JunieRose2005 said...

loved reading your post today!

Lighthousegal said...

Very interesting post. I can't say that I would want to wake up to the sight of Rasputin every day, (he is a bit scary looking). The building is beautiful with its detailed fencing and architectural designs.
The group in the video for the song is very energetic. Cute video. I had never heard this song, but it was allright.