Editing Grigori Rasputin (section)

==Healer to Alexei Nikolaevich==
[[File:Ρασπούτιν.jpg|thumb|[[Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)|Alexandra Feodorovna]] with her children, Rasputin and the nurse Maria Ivanova Vishnyakova, 1908]]
Much of Rasputin's influence with the imperial family stemmed from the belief by Alexandra and others that he had on several occasions eased Alexei's pain and stopped his bleeding. According to historian [[Marc Ferro]], the tsarina had a "passionate attachment" to Rasputin, believing he could heal her son's affliction.{{sfn|Ferro|1995|p=137}} [[Harold Shukman]] wrote that Rasputin became "an indispensable member of the royal entourage".{{sfn|Shukman|1994|p=370}} It is unclear when Rasputin first learned of Alexei's haemophilia, or when he first acted as a healer. He may have been aware of Alexei's condition as early as October 1906,{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|pp=41–42}} and was summoned by Alexandra to pray for the tsarevich when he had an [[internal hemorrhage]] in the spring of 1907. Alexei recovered the next morning.{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=43}} Alexandra's friend [[Anna Vyrubova]] became convinced that Rasputin had miraculous powers shortly thereafter and became one of his most influential advocates.{{sfn|Massie|2012|p=168}}{{sfn|Fuhrmann|2012|p=46}}

During the summer of 1912, Alexei developed a hemorrhage in his thigh and groin after a jolting carriage ride near the imperial hunting grounds at [[Spała]], which caused a large [[hematoma]].{{sfn|Massie|2012|p=192}} In severe pain and delirious with fever, the tsarevich appeared close to death.{{sfn|Massie|2012|pp=193–195}} In desperation, Alexandra asked Vyrubova to send Rasputin (who was in Siberia) a telegram, asking him to pray for Alexei.{{sfn|Massie|2012|p=195}} Rasputin wrote back quickly, telling the tsarina that "God has seen your tears and heard your prayers. Do not grieve. The Little One will not die. Do not allow the doctors to bother him too much."{{sfn|Massie|2012|p=195}} The next morning, Alexei's condition was unchanged, but Alexandra was encouraged by the message and regained some hope that he would survive. His bleeding stopped the following day.{{sfn|Massie|2012|p=195}} Dr. [[Sergei Fyodorov (surgeon)|S. P. Fedorov]], one of the physicians who attended Alexei, admitted that "the recovery was wholly inexplicable from a medical point of view."<ref>Julia P. Gelardi, Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria, p. 176</ref> Later, Dr. Fedorov admitted that Alexandra could not be blamed for seeing Rasputin as a miracle man: "Rasputin would come in, walk up to the patient, look at him, and spit. The bleeding would stop in no time.... How could the empress not trust Rasputin after that?"<ref>Julia P. Gelardi, ''Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria'', pp. 176–177 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

Historian [[Robert K. Massie]] has called Alexei's recovery "one of the most mysterious episodes of the whole Rasputin legend".{{sfn|Massie|2012|p=195}} The cause of his recovery is unclear: Massie speculated that Rasputin's suggestion not to let doctors disturb Alexei had aided his recovery by allowing him to rest and heal, or that his message may have aided Alexei's recovery by calming his mother and reducing the tsarevich's emotional stress.{{sfn|Massie|2012|pp=197–198}} Alexandra believed that Rasputin had performed a miracle, and concluded that he was essential to Alexei's survival.{{sfn|Massie|2012|p=198}} Some writers and historians, such as Ferro, claim that Rasputin stopped Alexei's bleeding on other occasions through [[hypnosis]].{{sfn|Ferro|1995|p=137}} Still other historians{{ndash}}including memoirist [[Pierre Gilliard]], Alexei's French-language tutor{{ndash}}have speculated that Rasputin controlled Alexei's bleeding by disallowing the administration of [[aspirin]], then widely used to relieve pain, but unknown as an anti-clotting agent until the 1950s.<ref name="Hasic">{{cite news |last1=Hasic |first1=Albinko |title=5 Myths and Truths about Rasputin |url=https://time.com/4606775/5-myths-rasputin/ |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |publisher=Time-Life|date=29 December 2016}}</ref>