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.
Nicholas II, who was executed along with his family by Communist revolutionaries in 1918, was canonised by the Russian Orthodox church in 2000.
The Russian Orthodox church has urged the creative community to show “tact and respect”.
The film, which was initially due for release in March, was shown in Vladivostok, in Russia’s far east, on Tuesday.