Overview
Grigori Rasputin was a purported mystic that became an adviser to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in the early twentieth century. He was first invited to the court when the Tsar's wife, Tsaritsa Alexandra became desperate to find an effective medical treatment for her son, Tsarevich Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia. Rasputin's treatments of the boy, however effective they may actually have been, allowed him to earn the trust of Alexei's parents, Alexandra in particular. As a result, he became a close confidante of the monarchy.
Despite his influence, Rasputin was not popular among Russian nobility and was accused of actions ranging from raping a nun to the decline of Russia's economy. He was eventually subjected to a series of assassination attempts, of which his survival has become legend. After recovering from a stab wound to his gut delivered by a former prostitute, a group of nobles tricked him into a visit with the purpose of killing him. They served him cake laced with lethal doses of poison, but when that failed to have any effect, one of the conspirators, Prince Felix Yusupov, shot him in the back. However, as the conspirators prepared to leave, Yusupov realized that he forgot his coat. When he returned to retrieve it, Rasputin leaped up from the floor and attacked him.
Rasputin was again shot, but when this still failed to kill him, the conspirators beat him, bound him in a carpet and threw him into the Neva River. Despite his injuries, evidence suggests that Rasputin managed to free himself from his bonds before finally drowning.
As a legendary, controversial figure of Russian politics, Rasputin has appeared in numerous media over the years, often with some form of fantastic slant that emphasizes his background as a supposed mystic and his apparent difficulty to murder.
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. The Soulless Army
Rasputin appears as a Dark Summoner in league with General Munakata, and serves as the primary antagonist for the first half of the game.
Raidou confronts Rasputin in the Catholic Church, where he engages the player head on, summoning demons resembling Russian Nesting Dolls. Upon defeat his injuries reveal his status as an inhuman android, leaving Raidou and Goutou bewildered as to his true intentions. It is later revealed that rasputin is an artificial human from the future sent back in time to dispatch Raidou Kuzunoha XL.
That goal seems to quickly lose priority, however, as Rasputin gradually succumbs to alcoholism and womanizing.
Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. King Abaddon
Rasputin plays a much more minor role in the second game, where he acts as an informant to Raidou. He is also frequently seen making advances on Tae Asukura.
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