Grigori Rasputin wasn’t a doctor. He wasn’t even educated. But in early 1900s Russia, this wandering Siberian mystic somehow gained the trust of Tsarina Alexandra, wife of Tsar Nicholas II. Why? Because her only son, Alexei, suffered from a mysterious illness: he bled uncontrollably from minor injuries.
What Alexei had was later understood to be Hemophilia B — a rare, inherited clotting disorder. At the time, there was no known cure. The young heir would get joint bleeds, bruises, internal hemorrhages, and near-death episodes. Physicians couldn’t help. Morphine and bloodletting made it worse.
But Rasputin? He prayed. He whispered calming words. He told the family to stop giving him medicine. And somehow… Alexei improved.
The court was stunned. The Tsarina believed Rasputin had divine powers. But today, we think something else was happening.
so, what was the science?
Historians and medical experts now suspect that doctors were unknowingly making Alexei worse by using aspirin, a new and popular drug at the time. Aspirin thins the blood and worsens bleeding — especially in someone with hemophilia.
Rasputin, by demanding that medicines be stopped, likely removed aspirin from Alexei’s treatment. That, along with rest and reduced anxiety, may have led to temporary improvement.
So no magic — just the accidental avoidance of a harmful drug.
Rasputin’s growing influence on the royal family sparked outrage among Russian nobles. They believed the Empire was falling under the sway of a madman. In 1916, they plotted his assassination. The story goes that they tried poison, gunshots, beatings, and even drowning — and he still wouldn’t die easily. (Probably exaggerated, but iconic.)
Soon after Rasputin’s death, the Russian Revolution erupted. The royal family was overthrown. Alexei and his entire family were executed.
Some believe that if not for hemophilia — and Rasputin — the course of Russian history might have changed.
So yes, a mysterious blood disorder, a wandering mystic, and a misunderstood medication helped trigger the fall of an empire.
History and medicine have never been more intertwined.