Emperor Nicholas II reigned for 22 years. With his murder, the last Orthodox Christian monarch, along with the thousand-year history of thrones and crowns in Russia, ended, ushering in an era of lawlessness, apostasy, and confusion, one which would sweep Holy Orthodox Russia into an abyss which would last more than 70 years.

This new video production is based on the research of project colleague and independent researcher Paul Gilbert, who also presents this video.

In the first 24 hours of it’s release on YouTube, some 3,000 people had watched the video!

The creators have done a remarkable job of incorporating a wonderful collection of photos – both vintage B&W and colourized by Olga Shirnina (aka KLIMBIM) – vintage newsreel film footage and music.

Vintage B&W photo of Nicholas II colourized by Olga Shirnina (aka KLIMBIM)

One viewer noted on his Facebook page: “Only 20 minutes long, this is the BEST portrayal of the last Tsar’s Orthodox faith I have ever seen. Very well-made, historical and moving.”

The crowning moment of the video is near the end, which shows film footage of the actual canonization ceremony performed on 20th August 2000 by Patriarch Alexei II (1929-2008) in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow. You can hear His Holiness calling out each of the names of the Imperial Family. The footage is extremely moving to watch.

This 20-minute video is presented in the framework of the production of the book The Romanov Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceal published by Mesa Potamos Publications in 2019.

The Romanov Royal Martyrs is an impressive 512-page book, featuring nearly 200 black & white photographs, and a 56-page photo insert of more than 80 high-quality images, colourized by the acclaimed Russian artist Olga Shirnina (Klimbim), and appearing here in print for the first time.

Click HERE to read my review Romanov Book of the Year: The Romanov Royal Martyrs

Click HERE to explore the book. Click HERE to order the book

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I am truly honoured to be a research colleague of this important publishing project. I am most grateful to Father Prodromos Nikolaou and the Holy Monastery of St. John the Forerunner of Mesa Potamos in Cyprus for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this new video which tells the story about Russia’s last Orthodox Christian monarch.

This is my second video produced within the framework of the production of the book The Romanov Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceal published by Mesa Potamos Publications in 2019. My first video The Conspiracy Against Nicholas II was released in 2018 with more than 32,000 views to date:

© Paul Gilbert / Holy Monastery of St. John the Forerunner of Mesa Potamos. 9 July 2020