Russia’s Duma finds lawful Poklonskaya’s request to prosecutor over Matilda

On behalf of director Alexei Uchitel, lawyer Konstantin Dobrynin filed a complaint against Natalya Poklonskaya’s actions to the State Duma’s commission on ethics. The lawyer said that in her statement Poklonskaya unlawfully accuses Uchitel, uses deliberately false information and calls on illegal actions in relation to the authors of the film about the last Russian emperor.

Otari Arshba, head of the parliamentary commission on ethics, said the commission didn’t find any violations in the actions by Natalya Poklonskaya. He noted the MP filed her request to the prosecutor’s office as she had received a lot of complaints from citizens who were concerned about the film Matilda.

In her request for a ban on the film, Poklonskaya refers to conclusions by experts who analysed the film’s trailers and script. The experts came to the conclusion that the movie distorts the image of Emperor Nicholas II canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church and insults the religious feelings of believers. In response, filmmaker Alexei Uchitel said it’s wrong to analyse the unfinished film and called Poklonskaya’s actions a manipulation of public opinion.

The film Matilda centers on the relationship between future emperor of Russia Nicholas II and ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska. The movie was earlier criticised by the Russian Orthodox Church and the House of Romanov. Natalya Poklonskaya insisted on probing the film for extremism. The film is in progress now. It will premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in Moscow on October 6. The wide released is scheduled for October 26.