The most mysterious people in the world
1. Satoshi Nakamoto worked in secret for years to develop and launch the digital currency Bitcoin. Nakamoto was very careful in his activities. Nobody knows the creator of Bitcoin by sight. A few years after the launch of Bitcoin, Satoshi completely disappeared into the shadows and since then no one has heard anything about him. But whoever Nakamoto is, he controls his hundreds of millions of dollars in untraceable Bitcoin.
2 . For 70 years on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, a disguised figure raises a toast over Poe's grave. Before disappearing Po-Toaster, as he is now known, placed 3 roses on the grave to pay tribute to Poe. But, for unknown reasons, he has not been seen since 2010.
3. The assassination of John F. Kennedy is an event riddled with strange coincidences. One secret figure seen in the photographs is known as Umbrella Man. At the time of the murder, this man was the only person carrying an umbrella on a clear sunny day. He is one of the closest observers of the murder. In the photographs you can see how he raised his umbrella up and rotates it and at the moment of the murder he holds the umbrella clockwise. The identity of the "Umbrella Man" has not been definitively determined.
4. In France in the 1880s young woman body was caught from the Seine River. The coroner thought she was very beautiful and sculpted her face out of plaster. The woman has not been identified, but her face is now famous around the world thanks to CPR. A Norwegian toy manufacturer used the face of a woman from the Seine to create the first CPR doll. Her face is the most kissed face in history.
5. Dan Cooper is the pseudonym of the only hijacker in US aviation history. Cooper stole a Boeing 727 with explosives in his briefcase and demanded $200,000 in cash. After his demands were met, he jumped mid-flight from the back stairs of the plane into the darkness. Two fighters following the hijacked plane did not see Cooper's parachute. And despite a massive US manhunt for Dan, he and the cash were never found. The fate of the man who hijacked the plane is unknown.
6. In the 1790s, French prisoners in the Bastille noticed a special prisoner who was wearing an iron mask. The masked prisoner never removed his mask and was forbidden to speak to him for mysterious reasons. The only information in his prison file consists of one line: prisoner number. Most experts believe the man was an important, high-ranking prisoner who may have even been a royal. The masked man died in captivity without revealing his crimes to anyone.
7. In 1989, student protesters in Tiananmen Square forced the Chinese government to declare martial law. The persecution was brutal, with government forces using tanks and live ammunition against the demonstrators. One of the photographs shows unknown man in front of a column of tanks, who refused to leave in an act of defiance and bravery. However, his identity and fate are completely unknown.
8. In 1593, a Spanish palace guard named Gil Perez was on duty after the assassination of the local governor. Chinese pirates had killed the governor of Manila the night before while Perez fell asleep for a moment. When he woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar place, people approached him asking who he was, and he discovered that he was in Mary City in the Plaza Mayor. He informed the authorities. The governor of Manila was assassinated two months later. News arrived from the Philippines by ship confirming his story. Little is known about Perez and his teleportation from Manila to Mexico City.
9. One more mysterious man was involved in the Kennedy assassination lady dressed as granny. This lady may have been the reason for the inaccurate recording of everything that happened at the crime scene. The FBI demanded that the unidentified woman come forward and turn around. But the woman did not come forward in the photo, and her footage has never been found. The last scene The photographs showed the Grandmother Lady leaving the crime scene towards Elm Street.
10. A killer by name Zodiac was a crazed serial killer who openly mocked law enforcement. He sent them letters in coded letters and bragged about how many people he had killed. The Zodiac claimed to have killed 37 people, but only 7 crimes led to him. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, other murders remained unsolved and his identity remains unknown.
The article was prepared by ©Marina
Experts in the field of archaeologists and ancient cultures who have studied rock paintings in the caves of the Chhota Nagpur plateau in the state of Chattisgarh in central India, discovered a series of images that led them to make sensational statements and seek help from the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Not far from the villages of Chandeli and Gottitola, images were discovered on the rocks, whose age experts estimate to be approximately 10,000 years old. They captured strange creatures that looked like people, and an object that resembled spacecraft. Archaeologist J.R. Bhagat, a participant in this expedition, states: “The drawings have retained their colors, which, despite their age, have hardly faded. Strange figures are depicted with weapons-like objects in their hands and do not have certain facial features. Some of the drawings appear to show aliens wearing space suits."
Dr. Bhagat is confident that the drawings can serve as confirmation of the so-called paleocontact theory. According to it, in prehistoric times, the Earth was visited by representatives of advanced alien civilizations, who left numerous evidence of their visits. Proponents of the theory of paleocontact were outstanding scientists, for example, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Most of this evidence is not considered modern science seriously. However, the very fact of the existence of such mysterious images is very interesting and deserves research.
As Dr. Bhagat points out, in the state of Chhattisgarh there are legends about ancient people, which descended from the sky on an “oval object”. This folklore is directly related to rock paintings. The literature of ancient Indian authors talks about vimanas - flying machines that ancient people saw in the sky. And the residents of the villages of Chandeli and Gotitola, near which the drawings were found, have a legend about the “Rohela people” - short creatures who descended from the sky in round flying objects.
Archaeologists think that in ancient images we often see what people might actually have witnessed. It is quite possible that these drawings were made “from life”. Ancient people reflected the appearance of certain mysterious creatures and structures as best they could and as they understood, leaving a series of unresolved mysteries for enlightened descendants.
Periodically in history such mysterious personalities that the interest in them was phenomenal. Legends were made about them, which over time supplanted the truth. People have long forgotten who they really were.
1. Count Dracula
The movie vampire with fangs and a cloak has nothing in common with his prototype. The nickname Dracula was given to the Romanian Count Vlad III by his father, who was a knight of the Order of the Dragon. Translated, Dracul means “Dragon” or “Devil”. Vlad III himself was called Tepes, which translated from Romanian means “Impaler.” 
The Count was known for his cruelty. Rumor has it that he executed en masse, impaled men, women and children, and burned dozens of people alive. In total, he is credited with killing 100 thousand people. It was these legends that inspired the Irish writer Bram Stoker to write a novel about the aristocratic vampire Dracula.
2. Mata Hari
Everyone knows about this spy from the First World War. Almost three dozen films and TV series have been shot about her. However, according to modern assessments, the image of the spy is too romanticized, and in fact, her significance was not as great as we used to think. Most historians believe that the information she actually obtained was not of serious value to one side or another.
The Dutch striptease dancer Margareta Gertrude Zelle is known under the pseudonym Mata Hari (in Malay for “eye of the day”, that is, “sun”). Many influential people became her spectators and then her lovers, for whose connections she was most likely executed.
In 1916, the French suspected him of espionage. Mata Hari was arrested in Paris in 1917 and sentenced to death. The spy was executed at the age of 41.
3. Iron Mask
A prisoner of the French Bastille during the time of the king went down in history under this nickname. Louis XIV. There are many versions about his personality. The most popular of them, which became the basis for the movie image, is the one in which the king’s twin brother hides his face under a mask. And in fact, the mask was not iron, but black velvet.
The legend arose from a mysterious nameless prisoner who died in 1703 in the Bastille. Voltaire was the first to describe this prisoner as the Iron Mask, turning him into a symbol of the era of absolutism.
Some historians believe that there was no mysterious prisoner, because at that time it was customary to use a black mask to hide the faces of prisoners who knew state secrets.
4. Nostradamus
Michel de Nostredame was a French pharmacist and medical graduate who was interested in astrology and alchemy. He took mild hallucinogens and meditated, and wrote down the resulting “visions” in quatrains.
His quatrains are devoid of any specifics; they do not contain certain dates, and the information is very vague. Therefore, interpreters famously adjust all events to fit predictions, even if the meaning of the latter can be interpreted with great stretch.
5. Rasputin
This man was an ordinary son of a Siberian coachman, who arrived in St. Petersburg to treat Tsarevich Alexei, and became one of most influential people of its time. Researchers have put forward many assumptions about the life of Rasputin, but no one knows how he managed to achieve such fame.
Many rumors and gossip about him were deliberately spread by anti-monarchists and revolutionaries. They claimed that Rasputin led a very depraved life: he organized orgies, played drunken brawls in restaurants, had connections with prostitutes, and much more.
The family doctor of Nicholas II, Yevgeny Botkin, said that if Rasputin had not existed, the revolutionaries would have created a “demon” out of someone else.
This is how people who once really existed became indestructible authorities for us. Who knows, maybe the same legends will be made about one of us!
These people committed scientific discoveries, performed magical rituals, expanded the boundaries of human capabilities, and were declared saints and prophets. They are very different, but they all left behind more questions than answers.
Grigory Rasputin
Nicholas II and the Empress called him “our friend”, or “Gregory”, and he called them “father and mother”. Montenegrin princesses were brought into the family of the last Russian Emperor Rasputin, who were disliked in the world for their addiction to the occult, calling them “Montenegrin spiders.”
Rasputin performed a rather practical function at court - he helped the sick Tsarevich Alexei.
According to popular legend, he came to St. Petersburg on the personal instructions of the Mother of God - as the savior of the prince, and also said more than once: “I will not exist - there will be no king” (and he turned out to be right).
All the time that Rasputin was at court, they were “digging” under him. He was a very inconvenient figure, protesting against Russia's participation in the First World War. Many of the accusations brought against Rasputin - of sectarianism, debauchery, behind-the-scenes influence on politics - were never brought to completion due to the fact that they did not receive proper confirmation.
In the summer of 1914 the first attempt was made on Rasputin, on December 30, 1916 - the second and last.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley can be called the most successful "bad boy intellectual" of the twentieth century. He managed to create, and most importantly, successfully sell his image and his teaching “Thelema” (Greek “will”).
Aleister Crowley was initiated into several occult Orders.
In terms of his level of fame and the resonance he made on culture, he can be compared to rock stars.
In his community (Thelema Abbey), Crowley promoted absolute liberation from bodily and spiritual fetters; community members performed magical rituals, indulged in promiscuity, and used drugs.
In his teaching, Crowley combined the teachings of various cultures; even Russian Khlystyism had a serious influence on his worldview and system. Crowley visited Russia more than once and admitted that Russian culture expanded his consciousness.
There is a widespread version that one of Crowley's devoted fans was Adolf Hitler. The influence of the magician's teachings on Hitler was undeniable, but one cannot call him a direct follower. Crowley himself more than once denied involvement with Hitler, calling him a magician who did not understand the true meaning of the sacrament. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was fond of Crowley's books.
Ungern von Steinberg
The Mongols called Baron Ungern the “white god of war.” He dreamed of restoring the empire of Genghis Khan and saving the monarchy throughout the world.
Ungern said that the blood of famous warriors flows in his veins, that his ancestor was almost Attila himself. The baron also had Teutonic knights in his family, and, as he himself assured, a knight-errant nicknamed “Axe,” the robber knight Ralph Ungern and the 17th-century alchemist Wilhelm Ungern, who was called only “the brother of Satan.”
Roman Ungern approached questions of faith with his characteristic originality.
In the interrogation report of Baron Ungern, he calls himself a man who believes in God and the Gospel and practices prayer. This is indirectly confirmed by Ungern’s letters; they often contain quotations from the Holy Scriptures.
However, during a conversation with the occultist writer Ferdinand Ossendowski, Ungern said: “I spent my life in battles and studying Buddhism. My grandfather became familiar with Buddhism in India, and my father and I also recognized the teaching and professed it.”
Baron Ungerni professed Buddhist philosophical doctrine Chittamatra, one of the Mahayana movements, widespread among Tibetan lamas. One of its provisions is that reality is a game of the mind and a figment of the imagination.
Ungern distinguished himself with valor in the First World War. They said about him: “Either he wants to die, or he is absolutely sure that the bullets will not kill him.” For his exploits, the baron was awarded five orders, including St. George 4th degree with the inscription “For bravery”.
The baron did not accept the revolution; he believed in the monarchy.
The black baron dreamed of creating a power that would unite the nomads of the East from the shores of the Indian and Pacific oceans to Kazan and Astrakhan. Its first grain was to be Mongolia, its support was China, the ruling dynasty was the House of Qin, which the Chinese overthrew during the Xinhai Revolution of 1911-1913.
Ungern even succeeded in something. When Ungern took Urga on February 2, 1921, he received a lot of gold and the titles: Qing-wan, prince of the 1st rank, and the highest, khan, with the title “Great Bator, commander who revived the state.”
He didn't sit still for a long time. That same spring, he went north to fight the Bolsheviks and restore the empire of Genghis Khan.
He was betrayed by his own officers of the Asian Division. September 15, 1921, despite the moratorium on death penalty, he was shot. They say that before his death, Robert-Nicholas-Maximilian von Ungern-Sternberg chewed his Order of St. George so that it would not go to his enemies.
Casey
Edgar Cayce can be called one of the most effective predictors of the 20th century. Rare abilities were passed on to him by inheritance. Casey's mother heard voices whispering to her what to do in a given situation, and her grandfather was completely an unusual person: “Everything he touched grew. It was like magic. Moreover, all the wells in the area were dug where grandfather showed, and they always found water.”
Edgar had special genes. According to his researcher Sugr, in the soothsayer’s gene code, two rare braids of double helices of DNA molecules were intertwined into a single braid, each of which was charged in its own way with paranormal information.
One of them went to Edgar Cayce from his mother, who heard whispers from other worlds, and the other from his grandfather.
Being an excellent doctor, a great predictor and a world-famous person, Edgar himself gave all his advice, diagnoses and methods of treatment in a state of trance, but he himself did not remember anything that was said. According to the recollections of his relatives, in his normal state he was not distinguished by his sharp mind, insight and education.
To his credit, Casey did not seek to make money from his gift, refusing the most attractive scams.
Cayce made many prophecies, he predicted both world wars, the rise of China, the discovery of the Qumran scrolls, and much more. He planned his reincarnation for the year 2100.
Gurdjieff
In his youth, George Gurdjieff studied at the same theological seminary as Stalin. IN mature years became one of the masters of thought in Europe. Here there was a real fashion for the teachings of magicians and teachers.
Gurdjieff founded the nomadic Institute for Harmonious Development here.
The basis of training was the principle of the pendulum, or more precisely, the removal of the pendulum from a state of equilibrium. Gurdjieff argued that any development begins in struggle, that for effective growth it is necessary to take a person out of his comfort zone. Well-groomed aristocratic women at the Gurdjieff Institute washed and hammered nails; a man, afraid of the sight of blood, was sent to slaughter cattle.
It is believed that Gurdjieff influenced Stalin to change his date of birth. The rectification of the date allowed him to take and maintain power. Both magicians chose the same year, 1879, as the year of their new incarnation. This year's totem is the spider.
IN recent years In his life, Gurdjieff introduced himself as a dance teacher and claimed that each of his “sacred dances” contained a secret meaning inaccessible to the uninitiated.
There is even a version that Gurdjieff with his ballet “Battle of the Magicians” provoked the Second World War.
One of Gurdjieff's students in the 1920s was Karl von Stülpnagel. Already in the 30s, when a former student was walking down the street accompanied by two SS men with dogs, Gurdjieff gave him a kick with the words “Recollection!” (Remember!). Gurdjieff behaved like a Zen teacher beating a student with a stick to awaken him. In 1944, Stülpnagel, already a colonel general of the infantry, became a participant in a conspiracy against Hitler. According to recollections, before the execution, Gurdjieff’s student retained his “soldier’s bearing.”
The magician died on October 29, 1949 in an American hospital near Paris. Got into a car accident.
Nikola Tesla
The fact that Tesla was a genius is not even discussed today. Without his inventions we would not have electricity, fluorescent lamps, wireless communications, aircraft with vertical take-off, hovercraft... He predicted that soon the world will be filled with smart machines, robots, various sensors and autonomous systems.
Tesla invented the first radio-controlled model.
When demonstrating the boat in one of the parks, it caused some people to panic. His invention seemed like a miracle at the time, but now it is believed that Tesla was at the foundation of robotics.
In 1931, Tesla showed the public a mysterious car. The gasoline engine was removed from the luxury limousine and an electric motor was installed. Then Tesla, in front of the public, placed a nondescript box under the hood, from which two rods protruded, and connected it to the engine. Having said: “Now we have energy,” Tesla got behind the wheel and drove off.
The car was tested for a week. It reached speeds of up to 150 km/h and did not seem to need recharging at all. Everyone asked the scientist: “Where does energy come from?” He answered: “From the ether.” The mystery of that box has not yet been solved, but it is no coincidence that the first serious electric car, released recently, was named after the great scientist.
The “Death Ray” is perhaps the most famous invention of the brilliant Serb.
Tesla invented the charged particle beam emitter after studying the Van de Graaff generator. To implement his developments, Tesla needed money, but he did not want to sell the invention into the hands of one state, reasonably believing that this could forever change the balance of power on Earth.
The inventor sent proposals around the world to construct a “super weapon”, intending to establish a balance of power between different countries and thus avert the onset of World War II. The mailing list included the governments of the USA, Canada, England, France, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. The USSR became seriously interested in Tesla's discovery.
In 1937, Tesla negotiated with the Amtorg company, which represented the interests of the USSR in the United States, and gave it some plans for a vacuum chamber for its “death rays.” Two years later, Tesla received a check for $25,000 from the USSR.
The Second World War confused the cards, and the Tesla Tower was destroyed by the Americans themselves.
It was believed that it could be used by the Nazis. But the world has not forgotten about Tesla's developments. They were used in the program Star wars(US Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
Tesla seemed strange to those around him. While walking, he could do a somersault on the spot for no apparent reason, and often walked while talking to himself. Tesla spoke eight languages fluently, was active in sports, wrote poetry, and went through an addiction to gambling, smoking and coffee. IN later years the inventor became a vegetarian. In an article for Century Illustrated Magazine, he wrote: “Surely it makes more sense to grow vegetables. I think that vegetarianism is a worthy way to get rid of barbaric habits.”
Bobby Fischer
Perhaps the most mysterious of the athletes of the twentieth century was Bobby Fischer. From his youth, he was distinguished by eccentric behavior, demanded special conditions for himself, and easily refused sponsorship.
After his first defeat to Spassky at the legendary meeting in Reykjavik in 1972, Fischer began to demand that there be no red traffic lights anywhere while he was being taken to the gaming room, and demanded that all television cameras be removed, as he was annoyed by their noise.
And then he put forward an ultimatum: to play the next part in the back room, and not on stage. Otherwise he is removed from the match.
The organizers thought that Bobby was bluffing, but Fischer did not show up for the second game and was given a technical defeat. Spassky agreed to play the 3rd game behind the scenes. Bobby won it beautifully, seized the initiative in the match and eventually became the world champion.
After the championship match, Bobby left chess and, according to eyewitnesses, began to turn into paranoid. The chess crown passed to Karpov without a fight. However, Bobby said that he and no one else is the real world champion.
Fischer came out of the shadows only 20 years after the last match. He said that he still considers himself a world champion and gives Boris Spassky the right to a rematch. The chess community was delighted! Sponsors were quickly found. They decided to hold the match in Belgrade.
It was at that time that the United States introduced economic sanctions against Yugoslavia. The American government sent Fischer official letter, in which he was banned from participating in the match.
Fischer spat on this letter in front of journalists and tore it up. This act meant that upon returning to the USA, Bobby would face prison, so he never returned to his homeland.
He commented on the current situation as follows: “Because I played chess, should I go to jail? I’ve never seen greater idiocy in my life.” By the way, Bobby won the match again.
Houdini
The name Harry Houdini has become a household name. Until now, a person who is able to get out of insoluble situations is called “Houdini”.
The future “king of castles” was born in Budapest, into a poor Jewish family, his father was a rabbi. Houdini claimed that at the age of 11 he ran away from home, wandered with circus troupes, and was an apprentice to blacksmiths and metalworkers.
In fact, all that is known for certain is that he actually did not finish school, but earned his living at a tie factory.
Having already become famous, Houdini visited his first place of work and gave a speech to members of the trade union. After the speech, his former colleague approached him. “Eric,” he said, “the greatest liberation of your life was the liberation from making ties.”
Eric was inspired to take up magic tricks by a book by the illusionist Robert-Houdin. The boy read it in one sitting and was so inspired that he began to free time devote to working out card tricks. Showing them on the streets of New York, Eric began to earn his first, albeit tiny, fees.
Houdini devoted most of his life to exposing charlatans. To prove he was right, he took “spirit photographs” with his own hands and sculpted artificial hands, similar to those with which messages “from the other world” were tapped out at the sessions of mediums. He loved to attend seances and loudly declare: “I am Harry Houdini, and you are swindlers!”
Houdini was the "King of Castles." Houdini was interested in their device since childhood. According to him, when he was still a boy, he managed to pick the locks of kitchen cabinets, eat candy, and then leave everything “as it was.”
During his life, Harry had studied thousands of types of locks and could open almost any of them with a simple wire. These skills were acquired by him during training in a locksmith's workshop, while studying the archives of Scotland Yard, which he became acquainted with while visiting London. Everywhere he visited, Houdini studied locks and made miniature master keys with his own hands.
Despite early death, Houdini lived full life: acted in films and was one of the first aeronauts. Large quantity So far no one dares to repeat the “tricks” of the great Houdini.
Russian history is rich mysterious personalities. Their life gave rise to rumors; popular rumor supplemented the images with unique features. After death, their names became surrounded by new myths and legends, eliminating any hope of a solution.
The prerequisites for the appearance of False Dmitry I in Russia are associated with mysterious death under unclear circumstances, the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry. The impostor, who pretended to be the heir who miraculously escaped death, chose a good time: taking advantage of the unrest in the country, False Dmitry took possession of the Moscow throne for almost a year.
The most popular version of the origin of False Dmitry I, which is still supported by many historians, was put forward by the government of Boris Godunov. In correspondence with the Polish king Sigismund, Godunov identified the impostor with the fugitive monk of the Chudov Monastery, Grigory Otrepyev.
However, historian Nikolai Kostomarov suggested that False Dmitry could have come from Western Rus', being the son of a nobleman or boyar. Some researchers put forward the version that the impostor’s courage can be explained by a sincere belief in his royal origin. He turned out to be a blind tool in the hands of the boyars, who, having overthrown Godunov, destroyed him.
Jacob Bruce (1669-1735)
One of the associates of Peter I, a native of a noble Scottish family, Jacob Bruce, was a very extraordinary person. A statesman, diplomat, military man, scientist and engineer - he left behind a bright mark. But he also gained a reputation as a warlock, “the sorcerer from the Sukharev Tower” and the first Russian Freemason.
The creation of the magical image of Jacob Bruce was greatly facilitated by the Russian romantic literature. Candidate philological sciences Irina Gracheva writes that “judging by some data, Yakov Vilimovich had a skeptical rather than a mystical mindset.”
Contemporaries noted that Bruce did not believe in anything supernatural. When Tsar Peter showed the relics of the holy saints to the Scotsman, he “attributed this to the climate, to the properties of the land in which they were previously buried, to the embalming of bodies and to abstinent life.” Yakov Bruce should go down in the history of Russia primarily as a talented military engineer who was involved in improving artillery guns and a scientist who contributed to the development of Russian science.
Monk Abel (1757-1841)
No official documents about the life of monk Abel (in the world of Vasily Vasiliev) have survived. The only exception is the case of the Ministry of Justice Russian Empire 1796, in which a monk was accused of distributing a book of his prophecies.
Historians do not question the identity of Abel, but the authenticity of the prophecies attributed to him is not recognized by most of them. In particular, the Orthodox interpreter Nikolai Kaverin notes that many of Abel’s predictions were constantly updated, and this indicates the formation of the “heresy of Tsardom”, the main sin of which is the equation of Nicholas II and Christ.
Abel's prophecies, in the form in which they exist now, predict destinies with amazing accuracy Russian emperors from Paul I to Nicholas II. In addition, the prophecies predict the end of the monarchy in Russia, the civil and two world wars, the appearance of aircraft and underwater vehicles, as well as the use of asphyxiating gases.
Princess Tarakanova (1745?-1775)
Princess Tarakanova is one of the most famous adventurers in Europe. According to Vice-Chancellor Alexander Golitsyn, “her resourceful soul is capable of great lies and deception.” She changed lovers, names, places of residence like gloves, each time inventing new story of its origin.
The princess claimed the Russian throne under the name of Elizaveta Vladimirskaya, posing as the daughter of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna and Alexei Razumovsky.
According to historians, the decision to impersonate a grand ducal person is largely connected with the sensational story in Europe of the impostor of Emelyan Pugachev.
Princess Tarakanova refused to recognize herself as an “ordinary woman” until the very end. According to one version, the impostor died of tuberculosis in the Peter and Paul Fortress, according to another, she died there during the flood of 1777.
Count Palen (1745-1826)
Count Peter Palen entered Russian history primarily not as an excellent officer who advanced highly in military service, but as a cunning diplomat and intriguer who played main role in the overthrow of Paul I.
For some, he is a hero who saved the Fatherland from a tyrant tsar, for others he is Judas, who betrayed the sovereign who trusted him infinitely.
But for most historians, Palen is nothing more than a puppet in the hands of the Russian nobility, who wanted to quickly get rid of the unpopular courtier.
Some researchers are convinced that Masonic roots should be sought in the conspiracy against the Tsar, organized by Palen. However, in lately In the motives of Palen’s actions, they increasingly see an “English trace”: perhaps this is how British diplomacy, through the count, took revenge on Paul for his alliance with Napoleon and for colonial interests in India.
Alexander I (1777-1825)
The Emperorship of Alexander I can be called one of the most mysterious in history. national history: he scandalously ascended to the Russian throne and mysteriously left it. Publicly declaring his reluctance to reign, Alexander I was the Russian autocrat for a quarter of a century.
In 1825, when the health of the wife of Alexander I worsened, the imperial couple left for the south. After visiting Crimea, the tsar himself fell ill, which led to his sudden death. That's what the official version says.
But there are also legends, one of which says that the emperor did not die, but faked his death in order to retire from worldly affairs. According to the most common version, he went to Siberia, where, under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich, he spent the rest of his days.
Of course, this version has no documentary evidence. A story appeared in the Russian emigrant press that after the autopsy empty coffin Alexander I, in the presence of Alexander II, placed the body of a long-bearded old man there. However, the mystery of the victorious tsar could be clarified by genetic examination, which specialists from the Russian Forensic Science Center do not exclude.
Grigory Rasputin (1869-1916)
The personality of Grigory Rasputin is shrouded in so many myths and legends that it is not easy to discern the real one in him. historical character. In revolutionary and Soviet propaganda, the image of the “old man” was so demonized that it acquired caricature features. Many of the accusations brought against Rasputin - of sectarianism, debauchery, behind-the-scenes influence on politics - were never brought to completion due to the fact that they did not receive proper confirmation. For example, the alleged closeness of Rasputin to royal family was refuted by many courtiers.
In the 1990s, the time came for another extreme. Religious veneration of Grigory Rasputin gave rise to the idea of canonizing the “elder” as a holy martyr. Such an initiative was categorically rejected by Alexy II, drawing attention to the “dubious morality” of Rasputin, who cast a shadow on the August Family.