0:00:03 > 0:00:07It's one of the most infamous murders of the last century.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14The killing of Grigorii Rasputin in St Petersburg in 1916.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27Known as a debauched sex-mad monk,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Rasputin believed sinning brought him closer to God.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38His mystical healing powers
0:00:38 > 0:00:42brought him to the very heart of the Russian monarchy.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Rasputin was supposedly poisoned,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51shot,
0:00:51 > 0:00:53and drowned
0:00:53 > 0:00:57in a plot led by a jealous Russian prince.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01What's really interesting is, the rigor mortis has gone.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04But former murder detective Richard Cullen
0:01:04 > 0:01:08is suspicious of the accepted version of Rasputin's murder.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13There is something completely wrong with the facts,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and the detail,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18that leads me to think
0:01:18 > 0:01:23I need to look more closely into how Rasputin actually died.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27It's a trail that takes Cullen thousands of miles.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33He uncovers startling new information
0:01:33 > 0:01:38linking the British Secret Service with the murder of Rasputin.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41This really is damning evidence
0:01:41 > 0:01:44that the British were totally wrapped up
0:01:44 > 0:01:46in the plot to kill Rasputin.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51Now, almost 90 years on, Timewatch reopens the case to ask -
0:01:51 > 0:01:55who really killed Rasputin?
0:02:27 > 0:02:29This battered and mutilated corpse
0:02:29 > 0:02:33was dragged from a frozen river in Russia in the winter of 1916.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39It's the body of Grigorii Efimovich Rasputin.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Former commander Richard Cullen
0:02:47 > 0:02:50was one of Scotland Yard's most senior officers.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54This one-time head of advanced criminal and forensic training
0:02:54 > 0:02:58has investigated some of London's most notorious and macabre killings.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04At Timewatch's request, Cullen has agreed to reopen this case.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06He begins by returning
0:03:06 > 0:03:11to the bridge where Rasputin's body was thrown into the river.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14From the written evidence and photographs,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16I think the blood must have been
0:03:16 > 0:03:19on the walkway of the bridge,
0:03:19 > 0:03:24as well as a substantial amount of blood and bloodied matting here
0:03:24 > 0:03:26on the bridge barrier.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36I think the body of Rasputin must have been rested here...
0:03:41 > 0:03:44..before being tipped over
0:03:44 > 0:03:48into the icy cold waters of the River Nevka.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56The following day,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00the blood and one of Rasputin's overboots
0:04:00 > 0:04:03were actually discovered...
0:04:04 > 0:04:08..but it still took a further day for the body to be found.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22Richard Cullen has strong links with the Russian police force.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23For the past seven years,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27he's been part of a British government-funded police initiative
0:04:27 > 0:04:31here in St Petersburg, and across the Russian Federation.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34He's helping the Russians to train detectives
0:04:34 > 0:04:36in advanced forensic techniques.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47This is the Russian State Archive.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50It's here that millions of valuable documents
0:04:50 > 0:04:54from centuries of Russian history are kept under lock and key,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58including Rasputin's murder file.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Cullen has been allowed total access to the archives.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09With the original murder file,
0:05:09 > 0:05:10he embarks on his journey
0:05:10 > 0:05:14to uncover the truth about the killing of Rasputin.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It's absolutely fascinating.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22These are the original documents that were made on the days
0:05:22 > 0:05:26following Rasputin's disappearance and subsequent finding of his body.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31This is really, really essential to the investigation.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33This is a start of the journey.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36This is the evidence that will give us the clues
0:05:36 > 0:05:38as to where else we should look
0:05:38 > 0:05:42for further information and intelligence relating to the murder.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Every murder investigation follows a pattern.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54The aim is to establish the means, motive and opportunity
0:05:54 > 0:05:55behind the killing.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03The first task for Cullen is to put together a profile of the victim.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12This is our victim, Grigorii Rasputin,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17sadistically murdered aged 47 in December 1916.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22So what do we know about Rasputin and his life?
0:06:22 > 0:06:27Rasputin was born in a remote Siberian village in 1869
0:06:27 > 0:06:31into a family of illiterate peasant farmers.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32He was a wild youth
0:06:32 > 0:06:36who was regularly drunk and often accused of theft.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41But his life took an unexpected turn
0:06:41 > 0:06:44when he spent several months in a monastery.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48It was the beginning of his life as a self-styled holy man.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Among his powers, he claimed to be able to heal the sick.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59After more than a decade of preaching,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03his reputation had spread to the capital, St Petersburg.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07He finally made his entrance in 1903.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The enigmatic monk became a celebrity around St Petersburg.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21He was a newsworthy character,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25and was a favourite subject for the local press.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29He began mixing in the highest circles of St Petersburg society.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Eventually, it was this that was to secure his access
0:07:32 > 0:07:35to the heart of the Russian Royal Family.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47After his introduction to the ruling Tsar Nicholas
0:07:47 > 0:07:49and his wife the Tsarina,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Rasputin became a regular visitor to the palace.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Alexei, their only son and heir to the throne,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59suffered from haemophilia -
0:07:59 > 0:08:03regular bleeding fits that could have killed him at any time.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10In her despair, the Tsarina became dependent on Rasputin.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13She had total belief in his alleged powers.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Chto zhe delat'?! Poshli kogo-nibud'! Poshli kogo-nibud'!
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Whenever the attacks occurred,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Rasputin would be instantly summoned to the child's side.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25HE RECITES A RUSSIAN PRAYER
0:08:52 > 0:08:56On several occasions, it appeared he saved the young boy's life.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07So Rasputin was becoming increasingly powerful.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09He was wired into Russian society
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and was already starting to influence policy making.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15But what about his private life?
0:09:15 > 0:09:19This famous photo fascinatingly gives us an insight
0:09:19 > 0:09:22into another side of Rasputin's private life.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26From the moment that he arrived in St Petersburg,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29he held this almost magnetic attraction for aristocratic women.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31They flocked to be at his side.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It was a situation that he really revelled in.
0:09:40 > 0:09:46Rasputin's interest in women was not confined to the upper classes.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51Rumours abounded of his frequent visits to the city's bath houses,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54where he would enjoy the pleasures of local prostitutes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Women weren't his only vice.
0:10:02 > 0:10:08Rasputin also had a well-documented passion for drinking.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13He was a frequent fixture in many of the city's drinking houses.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20He soon became infamous for his drunken debauchery.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27But his behaviour began to turn the press against him.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32They now lampooned Rasputin in political cartoons.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36He was seen as a crazed and malevolent manipulator
0:10:36 > 0:10:39of his patrons, the Russian Royal Family.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41In the Russian parliament,
0:10:41 > 0:10:46those opposed to Rasputin began to refer to him as "Dark Forces".
0:10:48 > 0:10:51The situation became so serious
0:10:51 > 0:10:55that Rasputin was placed under 24-hour surveillance by the Okhrana,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57the Tsar's secret police.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03The political situation in Russia was becoming critical.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07By 1916, Russia was on the brink of revolution,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and WWI had been raging for two years.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers
0:11:16 > 0:11:19were fighting the Germans in a bitter conflict.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Russia was being attacked on the Eastern Front,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28a line that stretched over 1,000 miles from north to south.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33The war was not going well for Russia.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35The situation became so serious
0:11:35 > 0:11:39that the Tsar now took personal control of his armies in the field.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44It took him away from St Petersburg,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47and effectively left the Tsarina in charge.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55With the Tsar out of the capital,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Rasputin now had the undivided attention of the Tsarina.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01He claimed he was anxious
0:12:01 > 0:12:04to end the senseless slaughter of ordinary Russians,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08in contrast to the aristocracy's pro-war views.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Spasibo tebe, matyukha.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19By this stage, Rasputin wasn't doing himself any favours at all,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22and he wasn't winning any friends amongst the aristocracy.
0:12:22 > 0:12:23Here he was,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27almost a member of the inner sanctum of the Royal Family
0:12:27 > 0:12:30with unfettered access to the Tsar and Tsarina.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Politically, he'd become so powerful,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35he had placed many of his friends
0:12:35 > 0:12:39in the highest positions in both the government and in the church.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The nobility were right to be afraid of him.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Rasputin was effectively eroding their power base.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58The motive for an aristocratic plot seems clear enough.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02The upstart monk was becoming too powerful.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06The next task in the investigation is to walk through the events
0:13:06 > 0:13:09of the murder night as told in the accepted version.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Cullen visits the scene of the crime, the Yusupov Palace,
0:13:16 > 0:13:21in 1916, home to Rasputin's self-confessed murderer,
0:13:21 > 0:13:22Prince Felix Yusupov.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29The Yusupov family were one of the wealthiest in the whole of Russia.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33It was this amazing affluence that they felt was threatened
0:13:33 > 0:13:37by Rasputin's increasingly powerful position.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Today the scene of the crime is a major tourist attraction.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47We're in Felix Yusupov's study.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50In the accepted version of events around Rasputin's death,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53this is known as the conspirators' room.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57In this room are the four other conspirators to the murder.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Sitting on my left is Purishkevich, a member of the Russian parliament.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05On my right by the door is Dr Lazavert.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09His role in the conspiracy was to grate the cyanide into the cakes
0:14:09 > 0:14:12that Rasputin was allegedly to eat.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16At the far end of the table is Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich,
0:14:16 > 0:14:21the favourite cousin of the Tsar and at one time engaged to Olga,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24the Tsar's eldest daughter.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26By the window we have Lieutenant Sukhotin.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29We know very little about him,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32except he was a good friend of Felix Yusupov.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37And it's Prince Felix Yusupov's memoirs
0:14:37 > 0:14:41that provide us with the accepted version of the murder of Rasputin.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58'My head was a whirl of thoughts during my last drive to Rasputin's.
0:15:01 > 0:15:08'My object was to keep Rasputin in good humour and to clear his mind of all suspicion.'
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Otets Grigorii! Dozhdalis'.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25THEY CHAT
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Prince Yusupov had deliberately befriended Rasputin
0:15:36 > 0:15:40so he could lure him to his home without his guards.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54'I felt disgusted and ashamed at the thought of the vile means
0:15:54 > 0:15:59'and appalling deception with which I was luring this man to my home.'
0:16:04 > 0:16:07'On entering the house, I heard my friends' voices.'
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Upstairs, the conspirators waited.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Downstairs in the dining room,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22cakes and wine for Rasputin had been laced with cyanide.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29'Does he suspect anything, I wondered.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34'But there and then, I decided that in any case he should not leave the house alive.'
0:16:39 > 0:16:42'Rasputin stopped to listen.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44' "What is going on ?"
0:16:44 > 0:16:47' "My wife has friends with her, they will go away soon."
0:16:51 > 0:16:56'I took the plate of poison cakes and passed them to him.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'I had only one idea in my head - to make him drink wine
0:17:02 > 0:17:07'out of those poisoned glasses, and eat the poisoned cakes.'
0:17:15 > 0:17:17' "They're too sweet", he said.
0:17:19 > 0:17:26'I stood before him and followed each movement he made, expecting every moment to be his last.'
0:17:36 > 0:17:40'He looked at me and I seemed to hear him say, "You see ?"
0:17:40 > 0:17:43' "It doesn't matter how you try,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46' "you can't do me any harm." '
0:17:46 > 0:17:49The poison didn't seem to be working.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Panicked and fearful
0:17:52 > 0:17:56of what he believed were Rasputin's mystical powers,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Yusupov returned to the conspirators with the news.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18' "The poison has had no effect", I said.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22'We began to discuss what to do next.'
0:18:31 > 0:18:35'Finally, I took the gun and went down to the dining room.'
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Nakonets Skol'ko ya v podvale sidet' odin budu?!
0:18:49 > 0:18:53'"God give me strength to end it all", I thought.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56'A streak of lightning seemed to run through my body.'
0:18:56 > 0:18:59BOOM ECHOES
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Yusupov returned to the conspirators' room
0:19:06 > 0:19:08satisfied that the job was done.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Oh, slava Bogu!
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Slava Bogu!
0:19:15 > 0:19:19But when they questioned him whether Rasputin was finally dead...
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Yusupov began to have doubts
0:19:24 > 0:19:29- as to whether the shot had in fact been fatal.- V chem delo?
0:19:29 > 0:19:33- 'I was suddenly seized by a vague feeling of alarm.'- V chem delo?!
0:19:33 > 0:19:37'I was overwhelmed by the desire to go down to the dining room.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43'Rasputin lay motionless.'
0:19:54 > 0:20:00Up until this point, everything in Prince Yusupov's memoirs seems fine.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04But from now on, things become increasingly complicated.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Yusupov tells us that one of the other principal conspirators,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Vladimir Purishkevich,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12now becomes more heavily involved in the plot.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Ya vas sprashivayu - v chem delo?
0:20:27 > 0:20:31'The eyes of Rasputin, greenish and snake-like,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33'fixed themselves upon me.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40'I tried to tear myself away, but his iron clutch held me with incredible strength.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47'I rushed upstairs, calling on Purishkevich !'
0:20:48 > 0:20:52'Rasputin made a final leap towards the door.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58'He was like a wounded animal. Purishkevich rushed after him.'
0:21:04 > 0:21:09So now we have two guns and two killers.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Vladimir Pureshkevich also wrote his account
0:21:12 > 0:21:15of the events of that evening.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I compared the memoirs of these two men
0:21:18 > 0:21:23and found a substantial number of major and important inconsistencies.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Two examples of this are -
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Yusupov says he returned to the conspirators' room
0:21:30 > 0:21:35where he was handed a pistol by one of his fellow conspirators.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Purishkevich says that Yusupov returned to the room,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43went to his desk and took his own pistol from the desk drawer.
0:21:43 > 0:21:49Later on, Purishkevich says that after he shot Rasputin in the yard,
0:21:49 > 0:21:54he stood by the body for several minutes. He did not see Yusupov.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Yusupov said he was present in the yard.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01The inconsistencies are such
0:22:01 > 0:22:05that is impossible to reconcile the accounts of these two men.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25With no body to examine, the next best thing for a murder detective
0:22:25 > 0:22:27is access to the autopsy pictures.
0:22:32 > 0:22:33A full record of them
0:22:33 > 0:22:37is now held at St Petersburg's Museum of Political History.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Thank you very much.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Although selected prints have been published,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46the full set has never been released.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51What's really interesting is, the rigor mortis has gone.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56I suppose this was 36 hours after he was taken from the water.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59If you actually...
0:22:59 > 0:23:05compare that with a photograph of him being taken from the Nevka,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08his body is deep frozen.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11And he'd have had to have been thawed out
0:23:11 > 0:23:14in a relatively short period of time.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I've now obtained good copy photographs
0:23:40 > 0:23:44of the original post-mortem and scenes of crime.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47The first photograph shows a bullet wound
0:23:47 > 0:23:51to the left-hand side of the body, just below the chest.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53This wound is consistent
0:23:53 > 0:23:58with the wound that Yusupov says he caused in the basement.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07The second photograph
0:24:07 > 0:24:12shows a bullet wound to the right-hand side of Rasputin's back.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17Now this could be consistent with Purishkevich's story
0:24:17 > 0:24:20of having shot Rasputin in the courtyard.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28But on closer examination,
0:24:28 > 0:24:33this bears all the hallmarks of a close-contact wound -
0:24:33 > 0:24:36starring around the edge of the wound
0:24:36 > 0:24:39and a sooty deposit around the edges.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42This means that this wound is inconsistent
0:24:42 > 0:24:44with Purishkevich's story.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Purishkevich has Rasputin way across the courtyard
0:24:51 > 0:24:53at the point that he fires the gun.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02But now Cullen is confronted with evidence
0:25:02 > 0:25:05that seems to have no explanation at all.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09The third wound is to Rasputin's forehead.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Now, neither Yusupov nor Purishkevich
0:25:11 > 0:25:15mention a wound being inflicted to the forehead.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21With neither Yusupov nor Purishkevich claiming credit
0:25:21 > 0:25:22for the shot to the head,
0:25:22 > 0:25:27what is the truth behind the mysterious third wound ?
0:25:27 > 0:25:32It's time to bring in some Russian assistance.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54During his many years working with the Police Academy in St Petersburg,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Cullen has come across many promising young detectives.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05One of the best is Ilya Gavrilov.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Ilya has been enlisted by Cullen to assist with his investigation.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19Cullen now has reason to suspect that a third, unidentified gun
0:26:19 > 0:26:24may have been used in the killing of Rasputin.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30What Cullen needs is something more conclusive
0:26:30 > 0:26:33that will help to confirm the theory.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to express train number one,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51'departing from platform five.'
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Cullen and Ilya are bound for Moscow.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14Ilya has uncovered a story
0:27:14 > 0:27:18that leading pathologist Professor Vladimir Zharov
0:27:18 > 0:27:22carried out a detailed study of Rasputin's death 10 years ago.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25As one of Russia's principal investigators,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Professor Zharov had access to all relevant documents.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32His report, however, was never published.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36But Ilya has learned that it confirmed the possibility
0:27:36 > 0:27:38of a third gun, linked to a third killer.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48- This way ?- Yes.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Professor, I read a translation
0:27:51 > 0:27:55that said you and two of your colleagues
0:27:55 > 0:27:58carried out a re-investigation of Rasputin's death.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03It suggests that a third person was actually involved in the murder.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05How did you come to that conclusion?
0:28:05 > 0:28:08ILYA TRANSLATES INTO RUSSIAN
0:28:08 > 0:28:11My...ne daem otsenku...
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Professor Zharov told Cullen
0:28:14 > 0:28:17that microscopic measurements of the entry wounds
0:28:17 > 0:28:20proved that the three bullet holes were different sizes.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It all pointed to a third gun.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Believing that Yusupov and Purishkevich
0:28:26 > 0:28:29did both shoot at Rasputin,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Professor Zharov concluded that a third person could be involved.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Which wound does he think is from the unknown gun ?
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Is it the wound to the head ?
0:28:38 > 0:28:41ILYA TRANSLATES
0:28:47 > 0:28:51ZHAROV REPLIES
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Yes, probably this one in the centre of the forehead.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58The leading pathologist in Russia
0:28:58 > 0:29:02had confirmed that a third gun fired the bullet in the head.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08The precision of this third shot,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11directly in the centre of Rasputin's forehead,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14had all the hallmarks of an assassin.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19For Cullen, this was a pivotal moment.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22He was now on the trail of a professional killer.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28It's a trail that leads him back to St Petersburg.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37At the time of Rasputin's murder,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39St Petersburg was Russia's capital city.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52As WWI raged, spies of all the great powers
0:29:52 > 0:29:55came here to monitor events and attempts to influence them.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02Among them, the British Secret Service had a base here.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16Ilya is about to reveal to Cullen a crucial link
0:30:16 > 0:30:20between the British Secret Service and Rasputin's murder.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30Richard, do you see over there, that yellow building in front of us ?
0:30:30 > 0:30:31This is Yusupov Palace.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35And over there, there is Hotel Astoria,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38where British Secret Service was based.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46Ilya also tells Cullen that at the time of Rasputin's murder,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48there were persistent rumours
0:30:48 > 0:30:51that the British Secret Service was somehow involved in the plot.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05Could the man that Cullen is looking for be British ?
0:31:09 > 0:31:12He recalled that a certain Englishman
0:31:12 > 0:31:16mysteriously appears on the scene late in Yusupov's memoirs.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22A character by the name of Oswald Rayner
0:31:22 > 0:31:25arrives at the time of the murder.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27He's described as a friend
0:31:27 > 0:31:30that Prince Yusupov had met at Oxford University.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Could this be the third man ?
0:31:34 > 0:31:39Cullen returns to England on the trail of Oswald Rayner.
0:31:53 > 0:31:59He soon discovers that Oswald has a surviving nephew - Gordon Rayner.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03He was a very secretive,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05distant person.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08He never spoke, to my knowledge,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12even to those of his generation, of his time in Russia.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16It is now pretty clear that he was working for the SIS -
0:32:16 > 0:32:18the Secret Intelligence Service,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20the forerunner of MI6.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25Unfortunately, he burnt his papers,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28so there is nothing in the family records
0:32:28 > 0:32:32to say exactly what he'd been up to.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36When he died, we learned from his obituary, which had been written by,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39I think, his mother's cousin,
0:32:39 > 0:32:43that, um...Oswald had been in the Palace
0:32:43 > 0:32:47the night Rasputin was murdered.
0:32:56 > 0:33:01Gordon Rayner has really set the alarm bells ringing -
0:33:01 > 0:33:06the fact that his uncle was a secret service officer in St Petersburg.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10He was working for the SIS, the forerunner of MI6.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15And that...he burnt all his records
0:33:15 > 0:33:17of his time in Russia.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21The big question is - why, and what was in them ?
0:33:26 > 0:33:32'I think what I need to do now is make some enquiries to find out
0:33:32 > 0:33:38'what the British Secret Service was doing in St Petersburg at the time of Rasputin's murder.'
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Andrew Cook is a leading expert on the history of the Secret Service.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54He's been researching Rasputin's death intensively.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Cullen wants to know if Oswald Rayner and the other agents
0:34:00 > 0:34:03would have been concerned about Rasputin.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05They certainly would.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09Principally why would be down to the influence
0:34:09 > 0:34:13that they would have seen him having directly on the Tsar,
0:34:13 > 0:34:18the Tsarina, the Russian court, the decision-making process in Russia.
0:34:18 > 0:34:19We know as well,
0:34:19 > 0:34:24through the papers of the St Petersburg secret service station,
0:34:24 > 0:34:28that in their regular reports back to London,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32they are referring to Rasputin in code or shorthand
0:34:32 > 0:34:34as "Dark Forces".
0:34:34 > 0:34:39From your extensive research, was there a particular key player
0:34:39 > 0:34:43among British agents in St Petersburg at this time ?
0:34:43 > 0:34:47I think one key figure in particular is John Scale.
0:34:47 > 0:34:53He seems to have been intricately wired into the upper echelons
0:34:53 > 0:34:54of Russian society
0:34:54 > 0:34:58at court level, at government level, at diplomatic level.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02He's very much into taking the bull by the horns,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05going out into the field, running missions himself,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09so, to me, he's certainly one of the key players.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13He died in 1947,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16and he has a surviving daughter,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20who I believe is 91 years old and lives in Scotland.
0:35:27 > 0:35:33I wondered if John Scale's daughter will have any recollections
0:35:33 > 0:35:38of her father's time as an agent in the British Secret Service,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41or whether she'll remember anything.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54He went to Russia and learned Russian,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58but I don't think he was on the Secret Service when he went there.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00But he certainly was later on,
0:36:00 > 0:36:05and then I think became part of the household -
0:36:05 > 0:36:08he was attached to the Tsar.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10I'm sure, from the way he talked,
0:36:10 > 0:36:14that he lived in the palace, because he seemed to know them all well.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18What were your father's feelings about Rasputin ?
0:36:18 > 0:36:23That he had never met anyone with such an aura of evil.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26He said it was quite extraordinary.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Wherever he was, you felt this...
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Well, evil, I think it was.
0:36:33 > 0:36:39And I know my father was with the people who planned his murder.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42He wasn't actually there when it happened,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45because he was away with the Tsar somewhere,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49but he was among the ones who carried it out.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59I'm absolutely stunned by what Muriel had to say.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03I didn't ever think that British secret agents
0:37:03 > 0:37:06were actually involved in a plot to kill Rasputin.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10But she was so adamant about the involvement of her father.
0:37:10 > 0:37:15He was...with people who...
0:37:15 > 0:37:18planned his murder... ..planned his murder...
0:37:22 > 0:37:26And the extent of the hatred that he felt for Rasputin...
0:37:26 > 0:37:29He had never met anyone
0:37:29 > 0:37:32with such an aura of evil. ..evil.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38This really adds another dimension to the investigation,
0:37:38 > 0:37:41and I need to look at the reasons now, I think,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44behind why the British wanted to kill Rasputin.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47What would have been in it for them?
0:37:54 > 0:38:00As Andrew Cook explained, the answer lay in the politics of WWI.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05There's a general feeling, a view held by the British government
0:38:05 > 0:38:08that Rasputin is an unhelpful influence.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12His views...advice was actually being taken seriously,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15and not only being taken seriously,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18but was actually being acted on very actively by the Tsar.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23The Tsar was now away constantly,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26controlling his troops on the Eastern Front.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33Back in St Petersburg, the Tsarina was now effectively in charge.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Rasputin took advantage of the situation.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43He put pressure on her to get Russia to pull out of the war.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48A separate peace deal could mean only one thing
0:38:48 > 0:38:51for Britain, France and the Allies,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53and that would mean the Germans
0:38:53 > 0:38:57would then have the potential to deliver a knockout punch
0:38:57 > 0:39:01by moving their troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06If Rasputin had succeeded,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10it would have freed up over 350,000 German soldiers.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13For the British, it would have been a catastrophe.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16With that possibility looming,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Secret Service agents in St Petersburg had a simple solution.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24The people on the ground like Scale and Rayner
0:39:24 > 0:39:26would have had strong views of their own
0:39:26 > 0:39:29in terms of Rasputin's influence,
0:39:29 > 0:39:31and they certainly would have felt
0:39:31 > 0:39:36that his influence is a very malign one and it comes across equally
0:39:36 > 0:39:41that they feel that... it should be removed.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45The British motive to kill Rasputin was becoming clear.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49And Andrew Cook had uncovered something even more compelling.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53Amongst his research papers was a startling piece of new evidence -
0:39:53 > 0:39:59a top-secret memo from 1916 that would lead Cullen to the assassin.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04This memo provides us with amazing evidence.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09It is from one of the secret service agents in St Petersburg
0:40:09 > 0:40:12to John Scale, and it says...
0:40:12 > 0:40:19"Although matters here have not proceeded entirely to plan, our objective has clearly been achieved.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24"Reaction to the demise of "Dark Forces" has been well received by all.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29"Rayner is attending to loose ends and will no doubt brief you on your return."
0:40:29 > 0:40:31This is damning evidence
0:40:31 > 0:40:35that the British were wrapped up in the plot to kill Rasputin.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38"Our objective has been achieved."
0:40:38 > 0:40:43"Reaction to the demise of "Dark Forces" has been well received by all."
0:40:43 > 0:40:47And of the British agents who knew of the plot,
0:40:47 > 0:40:52the one most closely associated with it is Oswald Rayner.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56"Rayner is attending to loose ends and will no doubt brief you on your return."
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Richard Cullen's journey was ending in the place were the plot began,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09the Astoria Hotel - the former headquarters
0:41:09 > 0:41:13of the British Secret Service in St Petersburg.
0:41:20 > 0:41:27'This is almost certainly the place where the British would have hatched their plan to kill Rasputin.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32'It was here that Oswald Rayner worked as a secret agent
0:41:32 > 0:41:36'along with his superior John Scale.'
0:41:36 > 0:41:41'It is my belief that it's highly likely that this was a rogue operation,
0:41:41 > 0:41:47'carried out without the official sanction of the British Secret Service. With Scale out of the city,
0:41:47 > 0:41:53'I believe that Rayner was present on the night to make sure that Rasputin was eliminated.'
0:41:56 > 0:41:59From the British Secret Service headquarters,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Cullen makes the short walk back to the scene of the crime.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12With all the evidence he has uncovered,
0:42:12 > 0:42:16he can now reveal what he believes really happened
0:42:16 > 0:42:18in Rasputin's final hours.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22There are elements of Prince Yusupov's memoirs
0:42:22 > 0:42:25that Cullen doesn't contest.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30I do believe that at some time Yusupov did go upstairs
0:42:30 > 0:42:34to the conspirators' room and took a pistol.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37He came back down to this study.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Yusupov fired the first bullet.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49Nakonets! Skol'ko ya v podvale sidet' odin budu?!
0:42:49 > 0:42:54The bullet passed through the stomach and into the liver,
0:42:54 > 0:42:56causing massive damage.
0:42:58 > 0:43:04The second shot, so the original pathologist tells us in 1916,
0:43:04 > 0:43:09was fired very shortly afterwards and from close range into the back,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11hitting the kidney.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15In the accepted version of events,
0:43:15 > 0:43:20the second shot is delivered by Purishkevich from a distance.
0:43:26 > 0:43:32But the forensics now tell us that it was fired from close range.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39CULLEN: I'm certain the second shot, due to its close range
0:43:39 > 0:43:42and the fact that it came very quickly after the first,
0:43:42 > 0:43:46was actually fired by Purishkevich in the cellar.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48ARGH !
0:43:52 > 0:43:56Both of the bullet wounds, individually,
0:43:56 > 0:44:00would have been fatal within 10 to 20 minutes.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05The shock of being hit by two bullets in quick succession
0:44:05 > 0:44:09would have meant that he would have fallen immediately to the floor.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13In the accepted version,
0:44:13 > 0:44:18we have Rasputin weaving across the courtyard in his attempt to escape.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22But the forensic photographs taken by the police at the time
0:44:22 > 0:44:27show a dead straight line of blood leading from the main door.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29This almost certainly means
0:44:29 > 0:44:33that Rasputin's body was carried across the courtyard.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36He was wrapped up in linen,
0:44:36 > 0:44:41and he was taken from here to the courtyard
0:44:41 > 0:44:44in the belief that he was dead.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50The conspirators carried him towards the main gate of the courtyard,
0:44:50 > 0:44:54where a car was waiting to take him to the Nevka River.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01'He was barely alive. He was bleeding profusely from two wounds.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06As they approach the gate,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09he either groaned, or moved,
0:45:09 > 0:45:13and they realised he was still alive.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23At that point,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26someone with a gun,
0:45:26 > 0:45:30of a different calibre from those used before,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33appears on the scene
0:45:33 > 0:45:37and delivers what was the fatal shot.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40It is my belief that Oswald Rayner,
0:45:40 > 0:45:45an officer with the British Secret Service, murdered Rasputin.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52I believe this pool of blood
0:45:52 > 0:45:56marks the spot where Rayner shot Rasputin through the head,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59making certain that the murder was complete.
0:46:08 > 0:46:1214 months after the murder of Grigorii Rasputin,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Russia did make peace with Germany.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17But by then it was too late
0:46:17 > 0:46:21to prevent an Allied victory on the Western Front.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25The murder of Rasputin had achieved its aim.