Anthony the Wanderer
Anthony the Wanderer | |
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Странник Антоний | |
Anthony as photographed by Karl Bulla, 1911, Russian State Film and Photo Archive | |
| Born | Anthony (Anton) Isayevich Petrov c. 1834 Kolesnikovo village, Pyatkovo volost, Yalutorovsky Uyezd, Tobolsk Governorate, Russia |
| Died | c. 1911 Kolesnikovo village, Pyatkovo volost, Yalutorovsky Uyezd, Tobolsk Governorate, Russia |
Anthony the Wanderer (Russian: Странник Антоний; real name Anthony (Anton) Isaevich Petrov; c. 1834 — after 1911) was a Russian wanderer, widely known in Russia during the reigns of Emperors Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II. Some contemporaries, and on the basis of their testimonies, later Soviet and Russian historians attributed to him the influence on the last Russian emperor.
Anthony the Wanderer collected funds for the construction of village churches and schools. However, there were confirmed several cases of entrusted to him money thefts, and fraud in building materials and payment for work; these thefts took place over a long period of time. To humble his body, Anthony wore two poods penance chains (verigi) and a heavy cane. Regardless of the weather or the season, he walked barefoot. Anthony was known as a righteous man, but his contemporaries were also aware of cases of drunkenness involving minors.
Anthony the Wanderer was closely acquainted with a number of prominent government officials, deputies and some representatives of the higher clergy. Candidate of historical sciences Andrei Tereshchuk found close similarities in the personality, appearance, outlook and biography of the Anthony the Wanderer and Grigory Rasputin.