History Of The World Part Ii Rasputin

Why You Keep Finding This Monty Python Sketch and How to Actually Use It

You're probably here because someone linked you "History Of The World Part II Rasputin" and you have no idea what it is, or you already know it's Monty Python and you want the actual audio, or maybe you're trying to figure out why this particular sketch exists in a separate "Part II" at all. I've dealt with all three versions of this conversation on forums over the years. The sketch comes from Monty Python's History of Britain, which is the TV series that aired in 2009. It's not from the original film era. Graham Chapman plays Rasputin, and it's basically a musical number where he sings about his relationship with the Romanov tsarina while being ridiculously inappropriate about it. The "Part I" version covers different historical beats. The Part II one is tighter, more focused on the Rasputin section specifically, and the editing choices between the two are notable if you watch them back to back.

History Of The World Part Ii Rasputin

Here's the thing most people miss when they're looking for this. The sketch doesn't exist as a standalone official release. There's no single track you can download from a legitimate store labeled exactly that. What exists are clips lifted from the History of Britain DVD and Blu-ray releases, plus various fan uploads on YouTube and similar platforms. The quality varies wildly depending on which source someone ripped it from. If you're trying to get a clean copy, your best route is the Region 2 or Region 1 DVD of Monty Python's History of Britain. The disc includes the full episode with the Rasputin segment. Audio quality is decent but not audiophile grade — it's television broadcast standard, which means compressed and a bit flat. I've tried enhancing it with simple EQ adjustments and it helps marginally, but you're working with what was broadcast in 2009. There's no high-resolution master floating around publicly. A lot of people search for this because they want the lyrics or a transcript. The sketch has that long, rambling monologue structure that makes it tricky to quote accurately from memory. The full lyrics are available on several fan sites, but the ones on the official Python archive tend to be the most reliable. I once spent about twenty minutes comparing three different lyric transcriptions because they kept diverging on the "I'm going to have sex with the tsarina" section. Turns out one had a misheard line where "stare at her" got transcribed as "share at her." I ended up just going back to the DVD and pausing frame by frame through the chorus. Worked every time.

There's also a common misconception that this sketch appeared in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life because of the musical style and historical satire. It doesn't. Different era, different project. People mix them up constantly. If you're building a Python watching list or organizing a library, keep them separate. The Meaning of Life has its own "Every Sperm Is Sacred" and "The Lumberjack Song" reprises. This Rasputin bit lives entirely in the History of Britain universe. The runtime of the actual Rasputin segment is roughly four minutes depending on which edit you find. Some YouTube uploads trim it, some include the intro banter before and after. If you need just the song itself, look for uploads sourced from the uncut DVD. The differences are small but they add up if you're compiling something or just want the complete bit without someone splicing it. One practical note about watching it: the humor relies heavily on Graham Chapman's delivery and the sudden shift from serious historical documentary tone into complete absurdity. The contrast is the joke. If you come into this expecting pure nonsense from the first second, you'll miss why it lands. The setup matters. Terry Gilliam's animation before the live action segment primes you for the tonal whiplash, and the Rasputin sketch follows that same pattern. Watch the preceding material if you can. It changes how the sketch reads.