You're reading: Guardian: Film about Russia’s ‘holy tsar’ premieres after threats and violence

A film about Russia’s last tsar has had its first screening amid heavy security after attacks on a cinema and a film studio by religious extremists determined to prevent its release.

Matilda, directed by the Russian film-maker Alexei Uchitel, tells the true story of a romance between the future Nicholas II and Mathilde Kschessinska, a teenage prima ballerina at the Mariinsky theatre in St Petersburg.

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