Director Vasily Chiginsky will release his feature film Romanovs: Devotion and Treachery on September 24, starring Vitaly Kishchenko as the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II. Chiginsky told the National News Service that the movie aims to debunk popular beliefs about the monarch's weak character based on newly discovered historical documents and research.
The historical drama covers the period from 1914 to 1918. Ksenia Kutepova stars as the emperor's wife, while Dmitry Dyuzhev portrays Grigory Rasputin.
Chiginsky said the creators consulted with historians throughout production. He explained that while the project is a feature film rather than a documentary, any small historical discrepancies were approved by experts who confirmed such scenarios were plausible within historical blank spots.
Historical events and modern parallels
The movie depicts lesser known historical events, including the brutal killing of Nicholas's brother Mikhail and his secretary in Perm. It also details the imperial family's exile in Tobolsk prior to their transfer to Yekaterinburg, while presenting the execution scene differently rather than as a bloody mess.
Chiginsky noted striking similarities between current news and the behind-the-scenes intrigues and British attitudes toward Russia during World War I. He said working with period documents frequently felt like reading contemporary headlines.
Separately, director Sergei Ursulyak has begun filming a series based on War and Peace, while director Sarik Andreasyan is making a feature film adaptation of the same novel.
