Hear about the weird and wicked Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin.

Hear about the weird and wicked Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin from Dr. MayaLisa Holzman. Rasputin, self-proclaimed holy man and mystic, lived from 1869-1916 and held the ear of Tsarina Alexandra, last Empress of Russia.

This talk will focus on Rasputin’s relationship with the royal court and his influence on the Romanovs in their last decade of rule. Dr. Holzman will present some of the mythology surrounding the Russian mystic and royal adviser, while also dismantling the apocryphal and implausible to show the role played by Rasputin in the Russian Empire's downfall.

A native Oregonian, MayaLisa completed her doctorate in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2016. She is currently teaching U.S. History at OSU-Cascades.

MayaLisa's teaching and research interests include the Second World War, Civil Rights and the Cold War, borderlands, gender, youth, propaganda, and U.S.- Russian/Soviet relations. Her research has been supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Institute of International Education, the Social Science Research Council, and the Council for European Studies.


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