In September 1915 Maklakov published his most famous article, describing Russia as a vehicle with no brakes, driven along a narrow mountain path by a "mad chauffeur", a reference to either the Tsar or Grigory Rasputin. The extent of his involvement in the murder of the "mad monk" is a matter of keen debate. One of the participants in the assassination, Vladimir Purishkevich, claimed that it was Maklakov who supplied Prince Felix Yusupov with poison to murder Rasputin but he himself denied it.