Set in late 17th century Russia, the film takes place at a time when the Russian Church made various changes to the liturgy, resulting in the violent separation of the Old Believers. Fighting, bloodshed, and political unrest were unfortunate results. Tsar Alexis, Patriarch Nikon, and Fr. Avvakum are some of the show’s central characters.
17th century Orthodox Russia comes to life in this impressive 2011 Russian television production. The costumes are authentic, the historical scenery is stunning, and the Orthodox chanting is mesmerising.
Set in late 17th century Russia, the film takes place at a time when the Russian Church made various changes to the liturgy, resulting in the violent separation of the Old Believers. Fighting, bloodshed, and political unrest were unfortunate results. Tsar Alexis, Patriarch Nikon, and Fr. Avvakum are some of the show’s central characters.
In the first episode, much of the filming takes place in the Yaroslavl region, a little north of Moscow. In Rostov the Great, there are some fine shots of the Rostov Kremlin and bell tower. And just south of Rostov, there are beautiful shots of the impressive 17th century wooden church of St. John the Theologian.
For any projects produced for Russian TV, this series had one of the highest budgets ever. This made it possible for the producers to give a lot of attention to historical authenticity, and also to create film sets in numerous towns across Russia. The results are stunning!
This series was broadcast on Russian television in 2012, in twenty episodes. (Russian Wikipedia). Only recently has the first episode been made available with English subtitles.
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A link to the first episode is included here, including English subtitles: