The RASputin effect: Figure 1.

By 1916, Rasputin had become an important figure of the corruption of the Romanov court and its treacherous, unpatriotic behavior. For many people on the fringes of the court, Rasputin's corruption was taken as the cause of all of Russia's problems itself. There was the belief that if one could get rid of Rasputin the revolution may not happen. . . . . In a sense, Rasputin's assassination in December 1916, should be seen as just one of a number of palace coup plots.