The Romanovs (2014)
Director: Manfred Oldenburg
Genre: Documentary, History
Language: English
Release date: 5. August 2014 (Germany)
Synopsis:
No other family has shaped Russia as much as the Romanovs. For three centuries, the tsarist dynasty ruled over the largest country in the world. The Romanovs manifested their power through marriage politics, armed force and dictatorial rigour. Myths and legends surround the ruling dynasty. Great names are associated with them, revered and feared in equal measure.
Peter the Great modernised the country and made it a major European power. With Catherine the Great, a German woman conquered the Russian tsarist throne. With wit and cunning, she became the most powerful woman in the world. Under Nicholas II, the Tsarist Empire came to an end. In one of the most brutal political murders of the 20th century, the last tsar, his family and his most loyal servants were killed on the night of 16-17 July 1918.
In those days, the Bolsheviks hunted down members of the Romanov family throughout Russia. 18 members of the dynasty and countless people from their circle fell victim to them. However, some were able to flee the country in time. Around 60 members of the tsarist family are still living around the world today.
The filmmakers visited the descendants of the Romanovs. The elderly brothers Prince Nicholas and Prince Dimitri take a personal and knowledgeable look back at their family history. The fate of the Tsar's family, which they have actively helped to clarify, remains with them to this day. Chief investigator Vladimir Solovyov gives an impressive account of how the murder of the century, with all its brutality and many mysteries, was solved. Xenia Sfiris, the great-niece of the last tsar, bears witness to life at the Russian tsar's court in the past. She gives a first-hand account of her grandparents' memories of the tsar's family and of the tsar's whisperer Rasputin, who was legendarily murdered in her grandparents' house with the help of her grandfather.
The film documents the events that took place in the Tsarist Empire in a visually stunning way. It takes the viewer on a journey of discovery through the history of Russia. In St. Petersburg, the Romanov palaces present themselves as stone witnesses to former power and immeasurable wealth, while in Yekaterinburg the scars of the past from the massacre of the tsarist family are omnipresent. Even behind the gates of the Moscow Kremlin, where the history of Romanov rule once began, it was possible to capture rare footage from the centre of power.
The documentary spans the period from the heyday of the ruling family to the legacy of the Romanovs. Based on selected biographies, the film reflects on the history of Tsarist Russia and deals with the overarching question of how the 300-year rule of the Romanovs shaped the country. In an exciting and entertaining way, the film also explores the origins of today's balance of power. The legacy of the tsars can still be clearly felt in today's Russia - and not just in the imposing buildings built by the Romanovs. Anyone observing today's politics in Russia will discover many parallels to times long past.
