Rasputin Grigori Efimovich

Ras·pu·tin

 (răs-pyo͞o′tĭn, rə-spo͞o′tyĭn), Grigori Efimovich 1869-1916.
Russian starets whose magnetic personality and relative success in treating the czarevich's hemophilia gained him favor in the court of Nicholas II. He was assassinated by noblemen who disliked his scandalous behavior and feared that he was exerting undue influence on the royal family.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.