Rasputin: The strange story of the mad monk

Often in History, famous people seem destined for greatness from a young age. By the very nature of their birth, any less than a notable life would be quite exceptional. Think about Churchill who was essentially nobility. However, every now and again, the past throws up a character who seems to come from no-where. Like Cromwell, de Gaulle and Napoleon, Rasputin had a humble beginning but in an odd type of Cinderella story he ended up in the company of the nobility of the Russian Empire.

He was born the son of Russian peasants, as many millions were in the course of that country's history. His early life appears to have been reasonably unexceptional if you discount the decision not to become a monk and the scandal of fathering illegitimate children (I'm not sure which decision came first!).

The exceptional thing about Rasputin was his claim to have mystical healing powers. It is at this point that the story begins to feel unreal. It's sometimes like teaching a fairy tale.

(Once upon a time...) Rasputin caught the attention of the Tsar and Tsarina (Russian royal family) and they showed particular interest in his ability to heal their son, Alexis who had haemophilia, a disease where blood does not clot. This mystical ability ensured Rasputin's place at court and he continued to have influence over the affairs of government. This increased when the Tsar took charge of the Russian war effort.

Good cartoons and the causes of the Second World War

As my year 10s know, I love cartoons. I show them one almost every lesson. This is partly due to the fact that every GCSE exam has a cartoon in it but also because they are a fascinating, ironic and often cynical view on the past. They also shape our views of that past which puts the cartoonist in a really powerful position.

The period between the world wars is probably the best case study for the amazing power of cartoons. Some of them poke fun, some would offer criticism against anyone and others are chillingly accurate.

For those unfamiliar with the period, following the First World War, the world sat down and decided that war was not a good idea and vowed never to do it again (hence, the war to end all wars). 20 years later the Second World War broke out. The spooky thing about this cartoon (right) is the accuracy with which jokes predicted the future. The cartoonist is making the point that decision-makers at the Treaty of Versailles (the treaty which set out the terms for German defeat) were sowing the seeds for a future in which the 1940 class (only a few months off the reality) would be fighting. Whilst this is an interesting coincidence, it also ties into the academic debate, many historians trace the start of the Second World War to the poor decisions made at Versailles.