Vladimir Mitrofanovich Purishkevich (; , Kishinev – 1 February 1920, Novorossiysk, Russia) was a far-right politician in Imperial Russia, noted for his monarchist, ultra-nationalist, antisemitic and anticommunist views. Because of his restless behaviour, he was regarded as a loose cannon. At the end of 1916, he participated in the killing of Grigori Rasputin. Early career Born as the son of a poor nobleman in Bessarabia, now Moldova, Purishkevich graduated from Novorossiysk University with a degree in classical philology. Around 1900, he moved to Saint Petersburg. He became a member of the Russian Assembly group and was appointed under Vyacheslav von Plehve. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, he helped organise the Black Hundreds as a militia to aid the police in the fight against left-wing extremists and to restore order. After the October Manifesto, he was one of the founders of the Union of the Russian People and its deputy chairman. Following a disagreement with Alexander Dubrovin on the influence of the State Duma, he founded his own organisation, the Union of the Archangel Michael, in 1908. The popular Purishkevich, described by Vladimir Kokovtsov as a charming, unstable man who could not stay a single minute in one place, was elected as a deputy of the second, third and fourth Imperial Dumas for the Bessarabian and Kursk province. He gained fame for his flamboyant speeches and scandalous behaviour such as speaking on the 1st of May with a red carnation in his fly. He was a hardline supporter of sacerdotal autocracy, and of Russification to create unity. Purishkevich's hostility to the Jews was caused by his perception of them to be the "vanguard of the revolutionary movement". He wanted them to be deported to Kolyma. He believed that the "Kadets, socialists, the intelligentsia, the press and councils of university professors" were all under the control of Jews. During the war, Purishkevich became critical of the performance of the government and the role of Alexandra and Rasputin but not of the Tsar. Criticism of Rasputin On 3 November 1916, Purishkevich went to Mogilev and talked with Tsar Nicolas II on Rasputin. On 19 November, Purishkevich gave a speech in the Duma and coined the phrase "ministerial leapfrog" to describe the seemingly continuous government reshuffles. He compared Rasputin with the False Dmitri. The monarchy was becoming discredited: Purishkevich stated that Rasputin's influence over the Tsarina had made him a threat to the