The mysterious life and death of Rasputin - Eden Girma

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

On a cold winter night in 1916,

Hladne zimske noći 1916. godine,

Felix Yusupov anxiously prepared to pick up his dinner guest.

Feliks Jusupov se nervozno pripremao da pokupi svog večernjeg gosta.

If all went as planned, his guest would be dead by morning,

Ako sve bude išlo po planu, njegov gost će da bude mrtav do jutra,

though four others had already tried and failed to finish him off.

iako je četvoro ljudi već pokušalo i nisu uspeli da ga ubiju.

The Russian monarchy was on the brink of collapse,

Ruska monarhija je bila na ivici sloma,

and to Yusupov and his fellow aristocrats,

a za Jusupova i njegovu aristokratsku braću,

the holy man they’d invited to dinner was the single cause of it all.

sveti čovek koga su pozvali na večeru je bio jedini krivac za to.

But who was he,

Međutim, ko je bio on

and how could a single monk be to blame for the fate of an empire?

i kako je moguće da jedan monah bude odgovoran za sudbinu carstva?

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin began his life in Siberia,

Grigorij Jefimovič Raspućin je otpočeo svoj život u Sibiru.

born in 1869 to a peasant family.

Rođen 1869. godine u seljačkoj porodici.

He might have lived a life of obscurity in his small village,

Proživeo bi svoj život kao neznanac u njegovom malom selu,

if not for his conversion to the Russian Orthodox Church

da se nije zamonašio u Ruskoj pravoslavnoj crkvi

in the 1890s.

tokom 1890-ih.

Inspired by the humbled monks that wandered endlessly

Inspirisan skromnim monasima koji su beskrajno lutali

from holy site to holy site,

od jednog svetog mesta do drugog,

he spent years on pilgrimages across Russia.

proveo je godine na hodočašćima širom Rusije.

On his travels, strangers were captivated by Rasputin’s magnetic presence.

Na njegovim putovanjima, stranci su bili očarani Raspućinovom hipnotičnom pojavom.

Some even believed he had mystical gifts of prediction and healing.

Neki su čak verovali kako ima mistični dar proricanja i isceliteljstva.

Despite Rasputin’s heavy drinking, petty theft, and promiscuity,

Uprkos Raspućinovom pijančenju, sitnim krađama i promiskuitetu,

his reputation as a monk quickly spread beyond Siberia

njegov monaški ugled se brzo širio van granica Sibira

and attracted both laypeople and powerful Orthodox clergymen.

i privlačio je kako laike, tako i uticajno pravoslavno sveštenstvo.

When he finally reached the capital, St. Petersburg,

Kada je konačno stigao do glavnog grada, Sankt Petersburga,

Rasputin used his charisma and connections

Raspućin je iskoristio harizmu i veze

to win favor with the imperial family’s spiritual advisor.

da pridobije naklonost duhovnog savetnika carske porodice.

In November 1905,

Novembra 1905. godine,

Rasputin was finally introduced to Russian Tsar Nicholas II.

Raspućina su konačno predstavili ruskom caru Nikolaju II.

Nicholas and his wife Alexandra devoutly believed in the Orthodox Church,

Nikolaj i njegova supruga Aleksandra su bili predani vernici Pravoslavne crkve,

as well as in mysticism and supernatural powers,

ali su verovali i u misticizam i natprirodne moći,

and this Siberian holy man had them transfixed.

te ih je ovaj sibirski sveti čovek omađijao.

It was a particularly tumultuous period for Russia and their family.

Radilo se o naročito turbulentnom periodu za Rusiju i carsku porodicu.

The monarchy was barely clinging to control

Monarhija je jedva uspevala da održava kontrolu

after the Revolution of 1905.

nakon revolucije iz 1905. godine.

Their political struggles were only intensified by personal turmoil:

Politička previranja su dodatno bila naglašena njihovim porodičnim nespokojem:

Alexei, the heir to the throne,

Aleksej, prestolonaslednik,

had a life-threatening blood disease called hemophilia.

imao je po život opasnu bolest krvi nazvanu hemofilija.

When Alexei suffered a severe medical crisis in 1912,

Kada je Aleksej pretrpeo ozbiljnu medicinsku krizu 1912. godine,

Rasputin advised his parents to reject treatment from doctors.

Raspućin je savetovao roditelje da odbiju lekarski tretman.

Alexei’s health improved, cementing the royal family’s belief

Aleksejevo zdravlje se popravilo, što je zacementiralo ubeđenje carske porodice

that Rasputin had magical healing powers,

da Raspućin poseduje magične isceliteljske moći.

and guaranteeing his privileged place on the royal court.

A time mu je zagarantovano privilegovano mesto na carskom dvoru.

Today, we know that the doctors had prescribed aspirin,

Danas znamo da su doktori prepisivali aspirin,

a drug that worsens hemophilia.

lek koji pogoršava hemofiliju.

After this incident, Rasputin made a prophecy:

Nakon ovog incidenta, Raspućin je prorekao:

if he died, or the royal family deserted him,

ako umre, ili ako ga carska porodica napusti,

both their son and their crown would soon be gone.

i njihov sin i kruna će nedugo potom da nestanu.

Outside the royal family, people had mixed views on Rasputin.

Ne računajući carsku porodicu, ljudi su različito gledali na Raspućina.

On one hand, peasants regarded him as one of their own,

S jedne strane, seljaci su ga smatrali jednim od njih,

amplifying their often-unheard voice to the monarchy.

koji prenosi monarhiji njihove često neme glasove.

But nobles and clergymen came to despise his presence.

Međutim, plemstvo i sveštenstvo su prezirali njegovo prisustvo.

Rasputin never ceased his scandalous behavior,

Raspućin nikad nije odustao od svog skandaloznog ponašanja,

and they were skeptical of his so-called powers

a bili su i skeptični po pitanju njegovih takozvanih moći

and thought he was corrupting the royal family.

i smatrali su da kvari carsku porodicu.

By the end of World War I,

Do kraja Prvog svetskog rata,

they were convinced the only way to maintain order

bili su ubeđeni da je jedini način da održe red

was to eliminate this sham of a holy man.

eliminacija ovog prevaranta od svetog čoveka.

With this conviction,

S ovim ubeđenjem,

Yusupov began to plot Rasputin’s assassination.

Jusupov je počeo da priprema ubistvo Raspućina.

Though the exact details remain mysterious,

Iako su tačni detalji i dalje pod velom tajne,

our best guess at how it all unfolded comes from Yusupov’s memoirs.

pretpostavke o tome kako se sve zbilo dolaze iz Jusupovih memoara.

He served Rasputin a number of pastries, believing they contained cyanide.

Poslužio je Raspućinu nekoliko kolača, verujući da sadrže cijanid.

But unbeknownst to Yusupov,

Međutim, bez Jusupovog znanja,

one of his co-conspirators had a change of heart,

jedan od sazaverenika se predomislio

and substituted the poison with a harmless substance.

i zamenio je otrov bezazlenom supstancom.

To Yusupov’s shock, Rasputin ate them without ill effect.

Na Jusupovo zaprepašćenje, Raspućin ih je pojeo bez loših posledica.

In desperation, he shot Rasputin at point-blank range.

U očaju, pucao je u Raspućina iz neposredne blizine.

But Rasputin recovered, punched his attacker, and fled.

Međutim, Raspućin se oporavio, udario napadača i pobegao.

Yusupov and his accomplices pursued him,

Jusupov i saučesnici su jurili za njim

finally killing Rasputin with a bullet to the forehead

i konačno ga ubili metkom u čelo

and dumping his body in the Malaya Nevka river.

i bacili su njegovo telo u reku Malu Nevu.

But far from stabilizing the monarchy’s authority,

Međutim, ne samo da nije stabilizovala autoritet monarhije,

Rasputin’s death enraged the peasantry.

Raspućinova smrt je i razbesnela seljake.

Just as Rasputin prophesied,

Baš kao što je Raspućin predskazao,

his murder was swiftly followed by that of the royal family.

njegovo ubistvo je ubrzo praćeno smrću carske porodice.

Whether the downfall of the Russian monarchy

Da li je sunovrat ruske monarhije

was a product of the monk’s curse,

bio proizvod monahove kletve

or the result of political tensions decades in the making,

ili je bio rezultat političkih tenzija koje su se razvijale decenijama,

well, we may never know.

pa, možda nikad ne saznamo.