In the frigid pre-dawn hours of December 30, 1916, a group of Russian nobles gathered around a hole cut in the ice of the Malaya Nevka River in St. Petersburg. They had just deposited the body of Grigori Efimovich Rasputin into the freezing waters, confident that their mission to rid Russia of the “Mad Monk” was finally complete. What they did not know—what the subsequent autopsy would later reveal—was that Rasputin was still alive when he entered the water . More remarkably, medical evidence suggests he remained alive for up to twenty minutes beneath the ice .
The death of Rasputin has passed into legend, immortalized in history books and, perhaps most famously, in Boney M.’s 1978 disco hit “Rasputin.” The song’s lyrics capture the extraordinary nature of his demise with surprising accuracy: “They put some poison into his wine, he drank it all and said, ‘I feel fine.’ They didn’t quit, they wanted his head, and so they shot him ’til he was dead” . But the full medical truth behind Rasputin’s survival is more fascinating—and physiologically instructive—than even the song suggests.
The Assassination: A Night of Failed Murder
The conspiracy to kill Rasputin was led by Prince Felix Yusupov, the husband of Tsar Nicholas II’s niece, and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, the Tsar’s first cousin . These men represented the highest echelons of Russian aristocracy, and they were determined to end what they saw as the peasant mystic’s corrupting influence over the imperial family .
The setting for the assassination was the Yusupov Palace on the Moika River, a splendid neo-classical mansion that belied the grisly events about to unfold within its walls . Lured to the palace under the pretext of meeting Yusupov’s wife, Irina, Rasputin was led to the basement apartment—a lavishly appointed space that the prince ironically called his “bachelor quarters” .
What happened next reads less like historical fact and more like the screenplay for a horror film. According to Yusupov’s memoirs, the conspirators first fed Rasputin cakes and Madeira wine laced with enough potassium cyanide to kill several men . When the poison produced no apparent effect—Rasputin continued eating and drinking cheerfully—an increasingly desperate Yusupov excused himself, retrieved a revolver, and shot Rasputin in the back .
The bullet struck Rasputin in the abdomen, and he collapsed. Believing him dead, the conspirators left the body and went upstairs. When Yusupov returned a short time later to check on the body, Rasputin suddenly sprang to his feet and attacked him . The wounded mystic managed to escape into the palace courtyard, where he was shot again—this time in the head .
Even this was not enough. The conspirators beat the fallen man viciously, wrapped his body in cloth, and dragged him to the Neva River, where they pushed him through a hole in the ice . It was only beneath the frozen river that Rasputin finally succumbed.
The Autopsy Findings: A Medical Mystery
When Rasputin’s body was recovered three days later, the autopsy revealed findings that have puzzled historians and medical professionals ever since. The official examination confirmed the presence of poison in his stomach, multiple gunshot wounds—including a bullet wound to the head—and extensive bruising from the beating . Most significantly, however, the autopsy determined that the cause of death was not poison, not bullets, not blunt force trauma. Rasputin died of drowning or hypothermia in the icy water .
Crucially, examiners found water in his lungs, indicating that his heart was still beating when he entered the river. Investigators later estimated that Rasputin may have survived for as long as twenty minutes beneath the ice, desperately trying to free himself from the ropes and chains that bound him . Some accounts note that ice was found under his fingernails, as though he had been clawing at the frozen surface above him .
How could one man survive enough cyanide to kill a dozen people, multiple gunshot wounds including a shot to the head, and still have the strength to fight for his life underwater for twenty minutes?
The Hematocrit Hypothesis: A Physiological Explanation
While legend has attributed Rasputin’s survival to mystical powers or dark magic, a more plausible medical explanation exists—one rooted in basic hematology. Evidence suggests that Rasputin may have possessed a naturally high hematocrit level, the proportion of red blood cells in the blood .
Hematocrit refers to the percentage of blood volume occupied by red blood cells. In a normal adult male, hematocrit typically ranges from 40% to 54%. Individuals with elevated hematocrit—a condition known as polycythemia—have thicker, more oxygen-dense blood that can provide remarkable physiological advantages in certain extreme situations .
A high hematocrit level increases the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity. For Rasputin, this would have meant several critical benefits during the assassination attempt. First, elevated hematocrit improves tissue oxygenation, potentially allowing vital organs to function longer despite blood loss and shock. Second, thicker blood clots more readily—a crucial advantage for a man suffering multiple gunshot wounds. Third, increased red blood cell mass provides greater physiological resilience to trauma and hypothermia .
The relationship between hematocrit and survival is well-documented in medical literature. Studies have shown that individuals with higher hematocrit levels demonstrate greater tolerance to blood loss and improved outcomes in traumatic injury . The exponential correlation between hematocrit and erythropoietin (EPO)—the hormone that stimulates red blood cell production—suggests that Rasputin’s natural physiology may have given him an extraordinary capacity to withstand what would have been fatal trauma for any ordinary person .
The Boney M. Legacy: Fact in Fiction
When Boney M. released “Rasputin” in 1978, they tapped into a story so remarkable that it needed little embellishment. The song’s depiction of the assassination—the poison that failed, the bullets that didn’t kill, the body dumped in the Neva—follows the historical accounts with surprising fidelity .
The song became a massive hit, topping charts in Germany, Austria, and Australia, and reaching number two in the United Kingdom . Its enduring popularity—evidenced by numerous cover versions and a 2021 remix that re-entered the UK charts—speaks to the enduring fascination with a man who seemed to possess supernatural vitality .
Yet Boney M. could not have known the medical truth behind their lyrics. When they sang of a man who “was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow,” they were describing someone whose very blood chemistry may have set him apart from ordinary men . The “flaming glow” in Rasputin’s eyes, noted by numerous contemporaries, might have been more than metaphorical—polycythemia can cause redness of the eyes and facial flushing due to increased blood viscosity.
The Irony of Survival: Rasputin’s Final Minutes
Perhaps the cruelest irony of Rasputin’s death is that his extraordinary physiological resilience may have extended his suffering rather than saving him. If not for his high hematocrit, he would have died quickly from poison or bullets. Instead, his remarkable constitution allowed him to survive long enough to experience the terror of being plunged alive into an icy river, bound and weighted down, fighting for breath in the darkness beneath the ice.
The twenty minutes Rasputin spent alive underwater represent a horrific end for any human being—but they also represent a testament to the remarkable capacities of the human body when blessed with exceptional physiology. His survival through poison and bullets, while attributable in part to luck and the incompetence of his assassins, also speaks to genuine physiological advantages that modern medicine now understands and can even replicate.
Conclusion: The Modern Pursuit of Rasputin’s Resilience
Grigori Rasputin’s remarkable survival through the most extreme assassination attempt in modern history demonstrates the extraordinary power of high hematocrit levels. His naturally elevated red blood cell count allowed him to maintain tissue oxygenation despite massive trauma, resist the effects of poison, and fight for life even after being shot in the head and thrown into freezing water.
Today, we need not rely on genetics or mystical intervention to achieve such physiological advantages. Modern medical science has unlocked the secrets of erythropoiesis—the process by which the body produces red blood cells. The hormone that regulates this process, erythropoietin (EPO), is now understood and available to those seeking to optimize their own hematocrit levels .
For those inspired by Rasputin’s extraordinary resilience and wishing to explore the benefits of optimized hematocrit levels, high-quality EPO products are available at www.RasputinShop.com. Visitors to the site can discover how modern science has harnessed the very physiological mechanism that allowed the Mad Monk to survive what should have been unsurvivable.
Ra ra Rasputin—lover of the Russian queen, and accidental pioneer in the appreciation of optimal hematocrit for human survival.