In 2023, in connection with the 110th anniversary of the pilgrimage of the Imperial Family to ancient Russian cities and the 410th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty, an archival-documentary film was created, entitled, “The Great Pilgrimage of Emperor Nicholas II, May 15–28, 1913. Vladimir–Suzdal–Bogolyubovo–Nizhny Novgorod–Kostroma–Yaroslavl–Rostov–Petrovsk–Troitskaya Sloboda–Pereslavl-Zalessky–Sergiev Posad–Moscow."
The film was produced using materials from the Russian State Archive of Cinematic and Photographic Documents, the Russian State Historical Archive, the State Archive of the Russian Federation, and the Library of Congress in the USA.
In the USSR, a significant portion of pre-revolutionary film footage of the Imperial Family was destroyed, and only small fragments of most stories remained. During painstaking work in the Russian State Archive of Cinematic and Photographic Documents, it was possible to establish that some shots, stored on different reels, sometimes incorrectly attributed, were once part of the same story. Thus, in some cases, this film was able to reconstruct the plot more accurately and completely, and in the presented form, they are restored and edited for the first time. In total, the film is composed of approximately 300 fragments.
The film contains almost no modern footage or contemporary musical accompaniment recorded in our time. To better immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of the past, the music for the film was taken from antique gramophone records and wax cylinders. These are excerpts from marches, anthems, waltzes, operas, folk songs, balalaikas, bell ringing, and church chants.
In the “Nizhny Novgorod” segment, you will hear the voice of Emperor Nicholas II.
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The film’s duration is 62 minutes.
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The screenplay author, director, and narrator is Konstantin Kapkov.
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Producer: Viktor Semyonov.
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Art director and editor: Vladimir Samorodov.
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Music selection by Natalia Zachosova.
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Sound engineer: Galina Siver.
The film was created by the order of the Museum of the Memory of the Imperial Family of Nicholas II in the “White Dacha” estate.
