On September 10, leader of the movement 'Christian state – holy Rus', Alexander Kalinin wrote about the arson of the Yaroslavl cinema club 'Neft', located in cultural center 'Neftyanik'. On the video, an unknown person throws an incendiary mixture into a building that is very similar to 'Neftyanik'.
The leader of Christian fundamentalists denied involvement in such crimes and called to stop provoking Orthodox and refuse to show the film 'Matilda'. He insists that the leadership of 'Neft' insulted faithful in the media. According to Kalinin, video of the arson was sent to him by anonymous supporters.
The director of the cinema club Andrey Alekseev told the correspondent of «7x7» that 'Neftyanik' had never been set on fire, and the authors of the video may have found a similar building – we can assume that the arsonists know Yaroslavl well.
'It's a fake and a provocation. We are going to ignore and prepare for the premiere of 'Matilda',' Alekseev added.
The film 'Matilda' directed by Alexei Uchitel is released on October 26.
This movie revolves around relationship between Emperor Nicholas II and the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya. Christian radicals protest against it – they organize religious processions and 'prayerful standing'. Journalists of 'Novaya Gazeta' found representatives of the cult 'tsarebozhtsy' among the opponents of 'Matilda'. Director Andrei Zvyagintsev spoke in support of his colleague Alexei Uchitel and recalled that the connection between Nikolas Romanov and the ballerina was a historical fact, senseless to deny.
On January 26, 2017, Andrei Alekseev published a letter from the 'Christian State' demanding to refrain from showing Matilda. After the Cossack attacked the Yekaterinburg cinema, he intended to apply to the police to ensure order during screenings.
On September 12, cinema chains 'Cinema Park' and 'Formula Kino' refused to screen 'Matilda' because of the threats.
Daniil Kuznetsov, «7x7»
