Editing Grigori Rasputin (section)

==Rise to prominence==
[[File:Makarij, Theofan of Poltava and Rasputin, 1909 02.jpg|thumb|Makary, [[Theofan (Bystrov)|Bishop Theofan]] and Rasputin, 1909]]
Word of Rasputin's activity and [[charisma]] began to spread in Siberia during the early 1900s.{{sfn|Smith|2016|p=28}} At some point during 1904 or 1905, he traveled to the city of [[Kazan]], where he acquired a reputation as a wise ''starets'' who could help people resolve their spiritual crises and anxieties.{{sfn|Smith|2016|pp=50–51}} Despite rumors that Rasputin was having sex with female followers,{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=25}} he made a favorable impression on several local religious leaders. Among these were [[Archimandrite]] Andrei and Bishop Chrysthanos, who gave Rasputin a letter of recommendation to Bishop Sergei, the rector of the [[theological seminary]] at the [[Alexander Nevsky Monastery]], and arranged for him to travel to [[Saint Petersburg]].{{sfn|Smith|2016|pp=50–53}}{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=26}}{{sfn|Radzinsky|2010|pp=47–48}}

Upon arriving at the [[Alexander Nevsky Lavra]], Rasputin was introduced to church leaders, including [[Theofan (Bystrov)|Archimandrite Theofan]], inspector of the theological seminary, who was well-connected in Saint Petersburg society and later served as confessor to the imperial family.{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=29}}{{sfn|Smith|2016|p=66}} Theofan was so impressed with Rasputin that he invited him to stay in his home; he went on to become one of Rasputin's most important friends in Saint Petersburg,{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=29}} gaining him entry to many of the influential [[Salon (gathering)|''salons'']] where the local aristocracy gathered for religious discussions. It was through these meetings that Rasputin attracted some of his early and influential followers—many of whom would later turn against him.{{sfn|Smith|2016|p=57}}

Alternative religious movements such as [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualism]] and [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|theosophy]] had become popular among Saint Petersburg's aristocracy before Rasputin's arrival, and many of the aristocracy were intensely curious about the [[occult]] and the supernatural.{{sfn|Figes|1998|p=29}} Rasputin's ideas and "strange manners" made him the subject of intense curiosity among the city's elite, who according to Fuhrmann were "bored, cynical, and seeking new experiences" during this period.{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=29}} Rasputin's appeal may have been enhanced by the fact that he was also a native Russian, unlike other self-described "holy men" such as [[Nizier Anthelme Philippe]] and [[Gérard Encausse]], who had previously been popular in Saint Petersburg.{{sfn|Smith|2016|p=66}}

According to Fuhrmann, Rasputin stayed in Saint Petersburg for only a few months on his first visit and returned to Pokrovskoye in the fall of 1903.{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=30}} Smith, however, argues that it is impossible to know whether Rasputin stayed in Saint Petersburg or returned to Pokrovskoye at some point between his first arrival and 1905.{{sfn|Smith|2016|p=65}} Regardless, by 1905 Rasputin had formed friendships with several members of the aristocracy, including the "Black Princesses", [[Princess Milica of Montenegro|Militsa]] and [[Princess Anastasia of Montenegro|Anastasia]] of [[Principality of Montenegro|Montenegro]], who had married cousins of Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] (Grand Duke [[Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia|Peter Nikolaevich]] and Prince [[George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg|George Maximilianovich Romanowsky]]) and were instrumental in introducing Rasputin to the tsar and his family.{{sfn|Smith|2016|p=66}}{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|pp=29–30, 39}}

Rasputin first met Nicholas on 1 November 1905, at the [[Peterhof Palace]]. The tsar recorded the event in his diary, writing that he and his empress consort, [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)|Alexandra Feodorovna]], had "made the acquaintance of a man of God&nbsp;– Grigory, from Tobolsk province".{{sfn|Smith|2016|p=65}} Rasputin returned to Pokrovskoye shortly after their first meeting and did not return to Saint Petersburg until July 1906.{{sfn|Smith|2016|pp=69–76}} On his return, he sent Nicholas a [[telegram]] asking to present the tsar with an icon of St. [[Simeon of Verkhoturye]]. He met with Nicholas and Alexandra on 18 July and again in October, when he first met their children.{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=41}}

At some point, Nicholas and Alexandra became convinced that Rasputin possessed the miraculous power to heal their only son, [[Tsesarevich]] [[Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia|Alexei Nikolaevich]], who suffered from [[Haemophilia in European royalty|haemophilia]]. Historians disagree over when this happened: according to [[Orlando Figes]], Rasputin was first introduced to the tsar and tsarina as a healer who could help their son in November 1905,{{sfn|Figes|1998|p=30}} while Joseph T. Fuhrmann has speculated that it was in October 1906 that Rasputin was first asked to pray for the health of Alexei.{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|pp=41–42}}