Rasputin's political power emanated from a supposed ability to staunch the tsarevich's bleeding and lessen his pain.

ECONOMIST: Ra-Ra-Rasputin

"On the basis of the expert analysis, it is possible to conclude with a large degree of certainty that parts of the skeleton... belong to Tsarevich Alexei and his sister, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna Romanova", Vladimir Gromov told Russian media.

BBC: NEWS | Europe | Lost Romanov bones 'identified'

When he arrived in St Petersburg just after the October Revolution in 1905, he made an immediate impression on the church authorities and was quickly brought into the presence of the royal family who harboured the terrible secret of Tsarevich Alexei's haemophilia.

ECONOMIST: Ra-Ra-Rasputin