Rasputin’s Daughter Was A Cabaret Dancer, A Lion Tamer, And Someone Who Lived In The Shadow Of His Scandals
Maria Rasputin, born Matryona Rasputin in 1899, initially lived in the village of Pokrovskoe. Her father, Grigori Rasputin, would later become one of the most notorious figures in Russian history, and she’d go on to live a wildly fascinating life as a cabaret dancer and lion tamer.
But, back then, the Rasputin family were peasants, and Maria ultimately changed her name in an attempt to climb Russia’s social ladder.
During her early childhood, her father was a starets, or a spiritual advisor, who traveled the country preaching, and Maria was skeptical of his claims.
Then, in 1906, Grigori was introduced to the royal family in St. Petersburg, and his legacy changed overnight. Now known plainly as “Rasputin,” he was said to have saved the life of the heir to the Russian throne, Alexi, who had hemophilia, a blood disorder.
As a so-called healer, Rasputin became famous in Russia. Tsar Nicholas Romanov II and his wife believed that only he would be able to keep Alexi alive and protect the future of the Romanov dynasty, even though it’s unclear how he successfully stopped Alexi’s bleeding.
Regardless, Rasputin moved to St. Petersburg, where he was kept busy with royal duties. Meanwhile, Maria and her sister, Varvara, relocated to the city to live with their father.
She was entranced by the Tsar’s daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, who were about the same age. The entire Romanov family came to depend on Rasputin’s supposed healing practices, too.
Yet, outside the palace walls, the Russian public was growing concerned about Rasputin’s relationship with the Tsar and believed he had too much impact on government matters. This ultimately led to the fall of the Romanov family.
It was 1916 when some aristocrats attempted to assassinate Rasputin, but their mission proved challenging. Rasputin survived being poisoned, shot, and stabbed before he drowned in the Neva River.
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Once the “Mad Monk” had died, Maria identified his body. Then, she and her sister stayed with the Romanovs for a short while until it became apparent that they were also in danger.
Maria and Varvara were given 50,000 rubles by Empress Alexandra and told to flee. The whole Romanov family was soon killed by the Bolsheviks.
Maria wound up going to Europe, marrying Boris Soloviev, and had two daughters with him. Still, in the end, she was left with no family.
Her father had been killed, and her sister wound up dying under mysterious circumstances. As for her mother and brother back in Pokrovskoe, they reportedly vanished into Soviet labor camps.
So, once her husband Boris died of tuberculosis in 1926, Maria realized she could use her name to help support both herself and her daughters. She was able to land a cabaret job offer, despite never dancing before, and took on the position.
Three years later, in 1929, she ran away and joined the circus. She proceeded to traverse Europe and used her familial ties to get more employment opportunities. Maria even became a trained lion tamer and used her father’s reputation to boost the appeal of her acts.
She claimed that she was “performing magic over wild beasts just as her father dominated men.” Other times, she called herself “the daughter of the famous mad monk whose feats in Russia astonished the world.”
Eventually, the circus traveled to America, and Rasputin’s daughter wasn’t allowed entry to the country. So, both of her daughters stayed back in Europe, and Maria lived in the United States. She finally retired from the circus in 1935 after she was mauled by a bear.
Maria tied the knot again, marrying a man named Gregory Bernardsky, and their union didn’t last long. Nevertheless, she became a United States citizen, and during the Red Scare, some Americans accused her of being a communist. She wholeheartedly disputed that.
“I am constantly being persecuted and branded a communist due to my name being Maria Rasputin, daughter of Gregory Rasputin, known as the ‘Mad Monk of Russia.’ I left Russia 28 years ago and am now a naturalized American citizen, for which privilege I thank God every night, as I love the United States of America from the bottom of my heart,” she wrote in a 1948 letter to the LA Times.
“I wish to announce publicly that I am not a communist, even though my name is Maria Rasputin, daughter of Gregory Rasputin.”
While residing in sunny Los Angeles after retiring from lion taming, she worked a variety of gigs, from babysitting to teaching Russian. She also penned various books about her father, which she stated was an attempt to clear his name.
Her last work, published in 1977 and entitled “Rasputin: The Man Behind The Myth,” included diary entries and anecdotes from her upbringing in Russia. Still, some people weren’t sold on the idea that Maria was truly Rasputin’s daughter.
This is because once Rasputin’s daughters escaped from St. Petersburg, multiple people came forward and also said they were his heirs. It was unclear how many children he’d fathered out of wedlock, which made it tough to verify these claims.
When Maria died in 1977 at the age of 77, the New York Times published her obituary and headlined it, “Maria Rasputin Bern, Insisted She Was Child of ‘Mad Monk.'”
The former dancer and circus performer was found dead in her Silverlake home after she phoned a neighbor and said she was having trouble breathing.
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