Khioniya Kuzminichna Guseva (her first name has alternatively been spelled as Khionia or Jina or Chionya and her surname has been alternatively spelled as Gusyeva; ) was a former prostitute and a disciple of the monk, Iliodor, during the reign of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

She was said to be horribly disfigured and was lacking a nose caused by syphilis.

On June 29 1914, Grigori Rasputin, adviser to the Russian Royal Family, was visiting his wife and children in his hometown, Pokrovskoye, along the Tura River, in Siberia. He had either just received a telegram, or was just exiting church, when he was attacked by Guseva who drove a knife into his abdomen. Guseva purportedly screamed "I have killed the Antichrist!" after the attack. Still not dead, she chased him through the streets to finish the task. He hit her in the face with a shaft, and a crowd quickly gathered chanting "Let's kill her." She turned herself over to the constable and was placed on trial. She was found to be insane and was placed in an asylum until the October Revolution.

Rasputin accused Guseva of conspiring with the defrocked monk, Iliodor, because he despised him and his Khlysty inspired beliefs. Guseva denied the accusation, but Iliodor later confessed.

After several days, Rasputin recovered though remained his intense pain until his death. His behaviour was greatly changed.

The dates of Khioniya Guseva's birth and death are unknown.

See also

• List of assassins

References

• Edvard Radzinsky, The Rasputin File (2000, Anchor, USA) ISBN 0-385-48910-2 (paperback)