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Associated Press: Orthodox believers protest movie about Russian czar’s affair

Published Oct. 23, 2017 at 9:38 pm

Russian Orthodox Christians gather to protest against the movie "Matilda" at the Church of the Resurrection in Moscow on August 1, 2017."Matilda", a Russian movie about a love story between the last Russian Tsar Nikolay II and the ballerina Mathilda-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinskaya set for theater release in October, is believed by many Russians to insult the monarchy and offend religious sentiment. / AFP PHOTO / Mladen ANTONOV

Photo by AFP

About 20 Orthodox believers in Russia have sung prayers to protest the release of a movie about the last Russian czar’s affair with a ballerina.

They gathered outside the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, where “Matilda” was shown October 23 to a selected audience ahead of its release this week.