5 ms·

Was Rasputin murdered by MI6? (2014)

54 points by snake117 11y ago

nmcfarl 11y ago
I skipped reading the article, as I thought there was no way MI6 existed in 1916 when Rasputin died. But just to be fair I decided to Wikipedia it - and discovered it was founded in 1909 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Intelligence_Service https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Intelligence_Service So now I'm off to read the article.
- teh_klev 11y ago
  If you enjoy reading about the early history of MI6 then you'd enjoy "Mission to Tashkent": http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192803875 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192803875 Riveting stuff.
pgtruesdell 11y ago
If true, this would give some extra clarity of the days before the fall of the Russian Autocracy.
dredmorbius 11y ago
Others of John Simkin's (the author) essays strike me as somewhat fantastical, distinctly fringey, and exceptionally poorly sourced, e.g., "The Death of John F. Kennedy" http://spartacus-educational.com/spartacus-blogURL17.html http://spartacus-educational.com/spartacus-blogURL17.html Nor does Simkin's biography impress me much.
- ttctciyf 11y ago
  The idea is not a new one - Oswald Rayner's wikipedia entry, for example, mentions his involvement in the plot, or just google Rasputin and Rayner. It's going a bit further to look at MI6 as instigators or knowing collaborators, of course, but it would have been terribly remiss of Rayner, then in their employ, to go about assisting in murders of national figures without seeking approval. Jemahl Evans has some interesting points in his Bullingdon Club piece at http://jemahlevans.wix.com/jemahlevans#!A-Brief-History-of-The-Bullingdon-Club/c1q8z/DF68451E-3216-42F4-9A97-39619424F262 http://jemahlevans.wix.com/jemahlevans#!A-Brief-History-of-T... though that url does't play nicely with my mobile device.
  - dredmorbius 11y ago
    Admittedly, I'm not addressing the present essay. But it's caution based on context.
- DonGateley 11y ago
  Nonetheless interesting. I had not heard of him or his website and just spent a couple of hours there. Thanks to the O.P. for the heads up.
  - snake117 11y ago
    Glad you enjoyed it. I got lost in his site the first time I found it too so I know what you're talking about.
baldfat 11y ago
My one fatal flaw to this whole idea was so what. Almost everyone wanted the man dead except for the Mr. and Mrs. Romanov. He was incredibly influential crazy man who scared everyone.
- dajohnson89 11y ago
  The notion of a secret government agency murdering a (legally) innocent person doesn't bother you?
  - baldfat 11y ago
    If this really bothers people I think ignorance will help you to sleep at night because I am sure this happens MUCH more than anyone cares to figure. Plus we wouldn't have the most amazing story of how Rasputin died. That story scares me every time I read it. Shot, poisoned enough to kill a person multiple of times over and he dies from drowning when they threw his body over into the river inside a rug.

54 points by snake117 11y ago

I skipped reading the article, as I thought there was no way MI6 existed in 1916 when Rasputin died. But just to be fair I decided to Wikipedia it - and discovered it was founded in 1909 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Intelligence_Service https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Intelligence_Service So now I'm off to read the article.

teh_klev 11y ago
If you enjoy reading about the early history of MI6 then you'd enjoy "Mission to Tashkent": http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192803875 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192803875 Riveting stuff.

pgtruesdell 11y ago

If true, this would give some extra clarity of the days before the fall of the Russian Autocracy.

dredmorbius 11y ago

Others of John Simkin's (the author) essays strike me as somewhat fantastical, distinctly fringey, and exceptionally poorly sourced, e.g., "The Death of John F. Kennedy" http://spartacus-educational.com/spartacus-blogURL17.html http://spartacus-educational.com/spartacus-blogURL17.html Nor does Simkin's biography impress me much.

ttctciyf 11y ago
The idea is not a new one - Oswald Rayner's wikipedia entry, for example, mentions his involvement in the plot, or just google Rasputin and Rayner. It's going a bit further to look at MI6 as instigators or knowing collaborators, of course, but it would have been terribly remiss of Rayner, then in their employ, to go about assisting in murders of national figures without seeking approval. Jemahl Evans has some interesting points in his Bullingdon Club piece at http://jemahlevans.wix.com/jemahlevans#!A-Brief-History-of-The-Bullingdon-Club/c1q8z/DF68451E-3216-42F4-9A97-39619424F262 http://jemahlevans.wix.com/jemahlevans#!A-Brief-History-of-T... though that url does't play nicely with my mobile device.
- dredmorbius 11y ago
  Admittedly, I'm not addressing the present essay. But it's caution based on context.
DonGateley 11y ago
Nonetheless interesting. I had not heard of him or his website and just spent a couple of hours there. Thanks to the O.P. for the heads up.
- snake117 11y ago
  Glad you enjoyed it. I got lost in his site the first time I found it too so I know what you're talking about.

baldfat 11y ago

My one fatal flaw to this whole idea was so what. Almost everyone wanted the man dead except for the Mr. and Mrs. Romanov. He was incredibly influential crazy man who scared everyone.

dajohnson89 11y ago
The notion of a secret government agency murdering a (legally) innocent person doesn't bother you?
- baldfat 11y ago
  If this really bothers people I think ignorance will help you to sleep at night because I am sure this happens MUCH more than anyone cares to figure. Plus we wouldn't have the most amazing story of how Rasputin died. That story scares me every time I read it. Shot, poisoned enough to kill a person multiple of times over and he dies from drowning when they threw his body over into the river inside a rug.