Mystical monk and philandering fool; enigmatic peasant who held extraordinary sway in the court of tsar nicholas and his wife, alexandra. For almost a century, historians have speculated about the role this improbable ho...Mystical monk and philandering fool; enigmatic peasant who held extraordinary sway in the court of tsar nicholas and his wife, alexandra. For almost a century, historians have speculated about the role this improbable holy man played in the start of the Russian revolution and the demise of the romanov dynasty.