I need help. There is someone poisoning my relationship with

[HCE SuiGeneris]

my brother. This person has been insidiously undermining our friendship with whispers and innuendo. Can you tell me who it was -- an historical figure -- that ran the throne from position of adviser or confidant? I believe it was a religious figure. Thank you very much for any help.

I am writing a letter to express my dismay at what is occurring, and want to cite what happens when one relies too heavily on one source of information.

[ret5hd]

1. rasputin

[HCE SuiGeneris]

2. Thank you kindly...

:hi:

[Divernan]

4. Lots of info on Rasputin's influence on Czar Nicholas & Czarina.

(ras-PYOOHT-n) A Russian monk of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Before and during World War I, Rasputin gained great influence over both Nicholas II, the czar of Russia, and his German-born wife, who considered him a miraculous healer. The czar’s only son suffered from hemophilia, a blood disorder, and Rasputin seemed to be the only person who could alleviate the disease. When Rasputin told Nicholas how Russia should be ruled and whom Nicholas should choose as government officials, the czar followed his advice carefully. Jealous Russian noblemen murdered Rasputin in 1916, but his direction of the czar’s policies was to prove disastrous after his death: Czar Nicholas was overthrown in 1917 and executed in 1918. (See photo, next page.) 1

[Javaman]

9. I heard that Rasputin did the nasty with the Czarina...

and that he was especially well endowed.

that's why he got the axe...er...bullets...er...poison...er...beaten...er...drowing...

[yellowcanine]

3. Do you mean this guy?

Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Richelieu

[HCE SuiGeneris]

5. YES! I was just researching Robespierre and Rasputin -- not them.

Thank you, thank you! :hi: :bounce:

[Lerkfish]

6. I think you're thinking of Svengali

or maybe just me that's thinking of svengali

Svengali
This article is about the literary character. For the card trick unconnected to this character, see Svengali deck.
Svengali is the name of a fictional hypnotist in George du Maurier's 1894 novel, Trilby. A sensation in its day, the novel created a stereotype of the abusive hypnotist that persists to this day.

The word "Svengali" has entered the language meaning a person who, with evil intent, tries to persuade another to do what is desired. It is frequently used for any kind of coach who seems to exercise an extreme degree of domination over a performer (especially if the person is female or believes he or she can only perform in the presence of the coach).


The character

He "would either fawn or bully, and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humour, which was more offensive than amusing, and always laughed at the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. And his laughter was always derisive and full of malice."

Svengali transforms Trilby into a great singer using hypnosis, but she cannot perform without his help in entering a trance state. The relation between Svengali and Trilby forms only a small portion of the novel, which is mainly an evocation of Bohemian Paris in the 1850s.

http://www.answers.com/topic/svengali

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. No wonder I needed help. I have knowledge of all these characters

but it is a mish-mash of poorly recalled memories. Svengali seems to best define the person I mentioned in my OP. Thank you.

[Lerkfish]

8. you could also be thinking of Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grima