Is rasputin responsible for the downfall of the romanov family?

Answer 1

No. Tsar Nicholas II's persecution and abuse of the Russian people was responsible for their fall. It is well known that the Tsar was a weak-willed and indecisive individual who would change his mind multiple times. The Russian peasants and the Jews had no rights at all. In fact, whole towns of Jews were slaughtered, just for being Jews, with the Tsar's approval. The workers also wanted better conditions, but when they went to petition the Tsar in a peaceful demonstration, with whole families there, the Tsar's police gunned them down. They had no weapons and were even carrying posters praising the Tsar. This sparked the revolution of 1905, before Rasputin ever arrived in St. Petersburg. That revolution was a clear demonstration of the people's dissatisfaction with the Tsar's government. When the 1917 Revolution, ending the Romanov rule occurred, Rasputin had been dead for 4 or 5 months already. In addition, Rasputin was anti-war and anti-violence of any kind. The myths and legends to the contrary were perpetrated by the aristocracy who hated him for being close to the Tsar and for helping the Jews and advising equal rights for them. The aristocrats' gossip became history, rather than the stories of the common, poor people whom he helped.