Russian monk of the Khlysty sect.
Born in Siberian. Gained wide fame as a mystic; introduced to the Imperial Court in 1905 where his use of hypnosis to control the Royal prince's haemophilia lead to him having a great influence over the (religiously inclined) tsarina and thus the tsar. Fear and anger over his influence culminated in his assassination on December 17, 1916 at the home of Prince Iusupov.