Razputin

Razputin is a variant transliteration of the Russian name Rasputin that can refer to different figures in real and fictional contexts. The name is associated with the historical figure Grigori Rasputin, a Russian mystic and advisor, and with Razputin Aquato, the fictional protagonist of the video game series Psychonauts.

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (1869–1916) was a Russian mystic and faith healer who gained influence at the court of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra after reportedly aiding their son, Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia. He became a confidant of the empress and a controversial figure, seen by many as wielding undue influence over the imperial family and Russian politics. Rasputin’s reputation was the subject of extensive mythologizing, and he was assassinated in 1916 by nobles and others. His life has since become a recurring motif in popular culture, where he is often portrayed as enigmatic or malevolent.

Razputin Aquato, commonly known as Raz, is the protagonist of the 2005 video game Psychonauts and a central character in its 2021 sequel Psychonauts 2. He is a young circus escape artist with potent psychic abilities, who leaves his family to join the psychic investigative organization known as the Psychonauts. Raz travels through mentally constructed dreamscapes to solve mysteries and confront personal fears, establishing himself as a core figure in the series’ narrative.

Usage note: Razputin is less common as a formal historical name than Rasputin; in contemporary contexts it appears mainly as a distinctive given name in fiction or as an alternate transliteration.