SHORT HISTORY, LONG ECHOES · A2/B1 · 50 min

Rasputin

A poor village man who became powerful in Russia — and was very hard to kill.

Want more detail? Read this lesson at B2/C1 level →

Today: tell the story of Rasputin, a poor man who became powerful in Russia, and talk about power and rumours. Grammar: so / such … that and too … to.
Warm up — five words to remember. Each one comes from an earlier story in the series. Do you know it? Say what it means and use it in a sentence. Is it new? Good — learn it now. Click Reveal to check, and follow a link to read the story.
to escape — from Pompeii
What does it mean? Use it in a sentence about danger.
to escape — to run away from danger to a safe place.
to rescue — from Shackleton
What does it mean? Use it in a sentence about helping people.
to rescue — to save someone from danger or trouble.
treasure — from Tutankhamun
What does it mean? Say where you might find some.
treasure — gold, money and valuable things, often old or hidden.
an empire — from The Romanovs
What does it mean? Name one empire from history.
an empire — a large group of countries or lands ruled by one country or one leader.
a ruin — from Machu Picchu
What does it mean? Say one place where you can see some.
a ruin — an old building that is broken and falling down.

Now — the words for today's story

These are the new words for Rasputin. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.

Words

  1. a peasant
  2. a healer
  3. power
  4. the court
  5. a rumour
  6. holy
  7. to poison
  8. a plot

Meanings

  • A. the king or emperor and the important people around him
  • B. a poor farmer who works the land by hand
  • C. a secret plan to do something bad
  • D. a person who makes sick people well, often with prayers
  • E. to make someone ill or kill them with a bad substance
  • F. the strength to control people or events
  • G. a story people tell that may not be true
  • H. connected to God and religion

1 = B (a peasant) · 2 = D (a healer) · 3 = F (power) · 4 = A (the court)

5 = G (a rumour) · 6 = H (holy) · 7 = E (to poison) · 8 = C (a plot)

Now talk — out loud

Before we read:
  • Which words are about religion? Which word is about the end of the story?
  • Use three of the words to guess: how can a poor man become powerful?

The story, in three parts

Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.

Part 1 — From a village to the palace

Grigori Rasputin was born in 1869 in a small village in Siberia, in the cold east of Russia. He was a peasant — a poor farmer. He had little money and almost no education. For many years, his life was very ordinary.

Then, in his late twenties, he visited a monastery and changed. He started to travel from village to village as a holy man. He prayed, he talked about God, and people said he could heal sick people with his hands and his prayers.

News about this strange man spread. In 1905, he met the two most powerful people in Russia: Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, the Tsarina Alexandra. They had a secret. Their young son, Alexei, was very ill. He had a blood illness, and even a small cut could be very dangerous. The doctors could not help him. His mother was always afraid for him.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. What kind of life did Rasputin have when he was young?

2. What was the royal family's secret?

1. He was a poor peasant in a small Siberian village, with little money and almost no education. Then he became a travelling holy man.

2. Their son Alexei had a blood illness. Even a small cut was very dangerous, and the doctors could not help him.

Talk about it:
  • Rich and powerful people were very interested in this poor holy man. Why do you think powerful people sometimes look for help like this?

Part 2 — The man the Tsarina needed

When Alexei was ill and in pain, Rasputin came to him. He prayed and spoke to the boy gently, and the boy seemed to get better. This happened again and again. People still argue about why. Maybe Rasputin made the boy calm. Maybe he stopped the doctors' bad treatments. But for the Tsarina, there was no question: she believed God had sent this holy man to save her son.

After this, Rasputin had great power over the Tsarina. She would not hear one bad word about him. He had no real job in the government, but his influence was very big. He gave advice about ministers and the country. At the same time, people told rumours about him — about drinking and women. Many people were shocked. How could a poor peasant have so much power over the Tsar?

Then things got worse. In 1914, the First World War began, and it went badly for Russia. In 1915, Nicholas left to lead the army. So Alexandra — and Rasputin behind her — were left to run the country. The people were hungry and angry, and they blamed Rasputin. Many rich and powerful men decided that Rasputin had to go.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Why did the Tsarina believe she needed Rasputin?

2. Why did Rasputin become so dangerous during the war?

1. When Alexei was ill, Rasputin seemed to make him better when the doctors could not. So she believed God had sent him to save her son.

2. When Nicholas left to lead the army in 1915, Alexandra and Rasputin were left to run the country. Russia was losing the war, so people blamed Rasputin.

Talk about it:
  • Was Rasputin really controlling Russia, or was he just an easy person to blame for big problems? What do you think?

Part 3 — The night he would not die

In December 1916, a group of rich men made a plot to kill Rasputin. Their leader was Prince Felix Yusupov, one of the richest men in Russia. They invited Rasputin to Yusupov's palace at night. They said he could meet Yusupov's beautiful wife.

What happened next became a very famous story. Yusupov said later that they gave Rasputin cakes and wine with poison in them — but Rasputin did not die. So Yusupov shot him. Rasputin fell, then stood up again and attacked him! They shot him more times and finally put his body under the ice of a frozen river. Yusupov said the "mad monk" was so strong that he was almost impossible to kill. This is how the legend was born.

But the true story is probably simpler. Later, doctors looked at the body. They found no clear sign of poison, and no water in his lungs — so he did not drown. He died from the gunshots, probably a shot to the head. Yusupov told his dramatic story for the rest of his life, and it grew bigger each time. But killing Rasputin did not save the royal family. A few months later, there was a revolution. Nicholas gave up his throne, and the 300-year-old Romanov family lost everything.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. How did the plotters get Rasputin to the palace?

2. How is the legend of his death different from the true story?

1. A group of rich men, led by Prince Felix Yusupov, invited him to the palace at night and said he could meet Yusupov's wife.

2. The legend says he survived poison and gunshots and finally drowned under the ice. But the doctors found no clear poison and no water in his lungs — he died from the gunshots, probably a shot to the head.

Talk about it:
  • Yusupov made the story bigger and more dramatic every time. Why do people often like a dramatic story more than the simple truth?

Grammar: so / such … that and too … to

This story is full of strong, big ideas. When you want to make something sound strong, English gives you some useful words. Here are three, all from today's story.

1. so + adjective + that
Use so before an adjective (a describing word). It says "very", and the that part shows the result.
"He was so strange that people feared him."
"The boy was so ill that the doctors gave up."
2. such (a) + noun + that
Use such before a noun (a thing or person). Add a or an with a singular noun. Again, that shows the result.
"He had such power that ministers obeyed."
"It was such a rumour that everyone talked about it."
3. too + adjective + to
Use too before an adjective. It means "more than is good or possible", and it stops the result.
"He was too useful to send away." (so they kept him)
"The danger was too big to ignore." (so they acted)
Remember: too comes before the adjective.

1. so or such (a)?

Fill the gap with so, such or such a. Remember: so + adjective, such (a) + noun.

1. He was strange that people were afraid of him.

2. He had power that no one could stop him.

3. It was rumour that the whole city talked about it.

4. The boy was ill that the doctors gave up.

1. so (+ adjective "strange")

2. such (+ noun "power")

3. such a (+ singular noun "rumour")

4. so (+ adjective "ill")

2. Make one sentence with too … to

Put too and to in the right place. Then read it out loud.

1. Rasputin was useful send away. (so they kept him)

2. By 1916, the danger was big ignore. (so they acted)

1. too useful … to send away

2. too big … to ignore

"too" comes before the adjective, and "to" comes before the verb.

3. Tell a short part of the story

Fill each gap with so, such or too. Then read it out loud.

Rasputin had power over the Tsarina that she heard no bad word about him. He was strange that many people feared him, but he was useful to the family to send away. In the end, the danger was big to ignore.

such · so · too · too

such + noun (power); so + adjective (strange); too + adjective + to (useful … to send, big … to ignore).

Listen

There is a real podcast about Rasputin. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.

🎧 Heard it already? Good — use this lesson as your recap, and listen for new details next time. Haven't? No problem — you now know the story and the key words, and that makes a fast podcast much easier to follow. The podcast is optional; this lesson works on its own.

Short History Of… Rasputin

From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of Rasputin" on Spotify.

Play on Noiser →

Prefer Spotify? Open the show and find the Rasputin episode.

While you listen:
  • Write down three words you hear and know from today's lesson (peasant, healer, power, court, rumour, poison…).
  • Can you hear the names Rasputin, Nicholas and Alexandra?
  • Find one new thing the podcast says, and tell me about it next time — even just one sentence.

Speak

Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.

Useful language: make your ideas sound strong. Use so + adjective + that ("he was so strange that people feared him"), such + noun + that ("he had such power that ministers obeyed"), and too + adjective + to ("he was too useful to send away"). To give an opinion: "I think…", "In my opinion…", "For me, the reason is…".
Time remaining: 3:00
Task A · Tell the story (3 minutes)

Tell the story of Rasputin in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a poor peasant from a Siberian village → a travelling holy man and healer → he comes to the court and helps the sick boy → the Tsarina trusts him → war, rumours and anger → the night of the murder → the legend that he would not die.

Try to use so … that, such … that and too … to, and some of the key words (peasant, healer, power, court, rumour, holy, poison, plot).

Task B · Power and rumours (3 minutes)

Rasputin had a lot of power, and people told many rumours about him. Do you think rumours are dangerous? Can a rumour change how people see someone? Give an example.

Task C · A story of your own (3 minutes)

Tell a story of your own. It can be about power, a rumour, or a person who was hard to stop. Use so … that, such … that and too … to to make it strong.

Not sure what to talk about? Choose one:

  • A person who became powerful, even though they started with very little.
  • A rumour you heard — was it true or not true in the end?
  • A famous person who is more famous for the stories about them than for what they really did.
  • A "miracle cure" or healer you have heard of — did it really work?
  • A dramatic story that everyone believes, but that may not be completely true.

To finish

  1. Rasputin had no title and no army, but he had great power. Where do you think his power came from?
  2. His enemies killed him to save the royal family, but the family fell anyway. Were they wrong about how important he was?
  3. From memory: say one sentence about Rasputin with so … that, and one with too … to. Why is each one strong?