On 11th August 2025, the premiere of the documentary-film, based on the book Романовы: убийство, поиск, обретение [Romanovs: murder, search, acquisition] by the abbot of the Nizhny Novgorod Ascension Pechersk Monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin), took place at the Record Cultural Center, in Nizhny Novgorod.

The documentary-film is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the glorification of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family as Royal Passion-Bearers by the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 14th (O.S. 1st) August 2000.

PHOTO: it was “standing room only” at the Nizhni Novgorod premiere

The event was attended by Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin), the scriptwriter and director of the film Irina Vdovina-Sudina, Doctor of Historical Sciences and leading specialist of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History Lyudmila Lykova, participant in the search for the remains of Tsesarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria in 2007 Leonid Vokhmyakov, participant in the search for the remains of the Imperial Family in 1979 Gennady Vasiliev, retired Senior investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Vladimir Solovyov, who headed the investigation into the “Ekaterinburg Remains”, Olga Ryabova, the widow of screenwriter Geliy Ryabov (1932-2015), who led an expedition in 1979 to search for the remains of the Imperial Family, among other guests.

Before the screening, Irina Vdovina-Sudina addressed the audience: “We have all gathered today for the premiere of this documentary-film. Our apologies, we did not expect that there would be more spectators than seats in the hall. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the glorification of Nicholas II and his family, and the creation of the film is timed to coincide with this date. I did not immediately want to take on such a complex topic, which causes so many contradictory opinions, but having immersed myself in it, I began to embrace it wholeheartedly. The film is not only about the mystery of finding the Ekaterinburg remains, it is also about mistakes, redemption and repentance.”

PHOTO: Irina Vdovina-Sudina addressed the audience

The film explores how for many decades Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin) collected information about the fate of the Imperial Family’s remains, following their execution on the night of 16-17 July, 1918. As a youth, Nikolai Zatekin (the secular name of Archimandrite Tikhon) worked with a team of plasterers in Moscow’s St. Daniel’s Monastery. It was during a conversation with a colleague, that the subject of the fate of the remains of the Tsar and his family piqued the interest of Zatekin for the first time. After moving to Sverdlovsk (renamed Ekaterinburg in 1991), he began to collect materials about the history of the family of the last Russian emperor.

PHOTO: Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin)

In 1985, Zatekin met the film director and writer Geliy Ryabov (1932-2015). Recall that in 1979, it was Ryabov along with geologist and local historian Alexander Avdonin, who discovered the burial place of the remains of the Imperial Family on the Old Koptyaki Road, near Sverdlovsk [Ekaterinburg]. This event was preceded by a long and painstaking collection of information, on the basis of which the researchers concluded that the remains of the Imperial Family, contrary to the widespread version, were not destroyed, but transferred from mine No7 at Ganina Yama and buried in the forest on the territory of the Porosenkov Log tract.

The remains were exhumed from the ground only in 1991. In 2007, another excavation was carried out at Porosenkov Log, a result of which the remains of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna were found and identified. This find became a counterargument for those who were against the recognition of the remains as those of Nicholas II and his family. More than once in disputes, opponents pointed out that 11 people were murdered in the Ipatiev House, and the remains of nine were found in Porosenkov Log by Geliy Ryabov and Alexander Avdonin. The second grave, containing the two additional remains settled the argument, at least for some.

PHOTO: following the end of the documentary-film, retired senior investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Vladimir Solovyov, took part in a question and answer period

After a series of studies and examinations were carried out, the remains of 9 people were buried on 18th July 1998, in the St. Catherine Chapel of the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The remains of Alexei and Maria were transferred to the Lower Church of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow in December 2015, and remain there until the present – pending the decision by the Council of Bishops.

In 2015, the Investigative Committee of Russia resumed the investigation into the death of the Romanovs. During the investigation, the remains found near Ekaterinburg in 1991 were re-examined.

“In 2022, a meeting of the Holy Synod was held, where representatives of the state commission, which had studied the remains since 2015, and members of the church commission headed by Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga. The conclusions of the first investigation confirmed, that the found remains belonged to Emperor Nicholas II and his family. It was decided to submit the issue of the remains to the Council of Bishops for approval,” said Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin).

PHOTO: following the premiere, Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin) took the time to sign copies of his book Романовы: убийство, поиск, обретение [Romanovs: murder, search, acquisition]

Following the documentary-film’s premiere, the audience were invited to ask questions to the panel of experts who participated in the making of the film, including Vladimir Solovyov, Lyudmila Lykova, Olga Ryabova and Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin). The latter, then took the time to sign copies of his book Романовы: убийство, поиск, обретение [Romanovs: murder, search, acquisition]

© Paul Gilbert. 13 August 2025