University of Virginia Library

Cakes and Wine

Principally there were cakes-each
containing a huge dose of
powdered potassium cyanide. In
addition, there was poisoned wine.

Dr. Lazovert, the Prince recalled,
had assured him that each
of the cakes contained enough
poison "to kill several men instantly."
But a question hung over
all. As the Prince knew, Rasputin
was considered by many to be
a starets, or holy man, and was
said to have occult powers.

After first refusing the cakes,
the monk began to cat-one, then
another; and he sipped two glasses
of poisoned wine and asked for
more.

While his co-conspirators hid
upstairs, the Prince-at Rasputin's
bidding-began to sing. The
monk's head dropped and his
eyes closed.

But when the song ended, the
monk opened his eyes and asked
for another.

"Would he never die?" the
Prince wrote. "Unbelievingly, I
sang another song. It was now
2:30 in the morning, and the
ghastly nightmare had been going
on for two hours."