The Presidential Library’s portal presents the opening of the first State Duma of the Russian Empire on rare newsreel shooting

April 27 and 28, 2021 the Presidential Library’s portal presents a unique opportunity to see the first and only newsreel shooting of the opening of the first convocation of the State Duma of the Russian Empire and the State Council in Live broadcasts section. This event took place 115 years ago, on April 27, 1906 in the St. George throne room of the Winter Palace.

The priceless newsreel, recreated and digitized by Russian specialists, was handed over to the Presidential Library by the Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents. It captures all the main moments of the state ceremony of the Russian Empire.

Imperial regalia are brought into the St. George Throne Hall of the Winter Palace. Then Nicholas II with Empress Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna entered the hall “in the order of the big exit”. The solemn divine service is performed by His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony, accompanied by the Metropolitans of Moscow - Vladimir, of Kiev - Flavian, archbishops and bishops and the court clergy. The emperor is seated on the throne. The Minister of the Imperial Court Vladimir Fredericks gives Nicholas II the speech from the throne, which the Emperor delivers while standing. The emperor's speech is accompanied by the credits: “You have a difficult job to do. I believe that love for the Motherland, an ardent desire to serve it will inspire and unite you ... I will guard with unshakable institutions that I have given, with the firm confidence that you will devote all your strength to selfless service to the Fatherland to clarify the needs of the peasantry so close to My heart...» After the end of the speech to the throne, Nicholas II and the empresses ceremonially leave the St. George throne room of the Winter Palace to the inner chambers. Further in the frame - a prayer service in the meeting room of the State Council in the premises of the Noble Assembly. The first meeting of the State Duma of the first convocation in the premises of the Assembly of the Nobility...

...Unique shots for history were captured by the cameraman and personal photographer of Nicholas II Alexander Yagelsky. This was the first experience of indoor and artificial lighting in the history of Russian cinematography. The film was kept in the archive for over a century and was never shown, because the filming was carried out at a frequency of 4-6 frames per second on low-sensitivity film; the negative was strongly over-developed. In 1972, an attempt was made to make a positive print, but it was unsuccessful and the film, it would seem, forever took its place in storage, as a material that is not suitable for use. Only in 2013, frame-by-frame manual scanning on a flatbed scanner, followed by frame assembly and image animation, allowed director Nikolai Mayorov to recreate a unique newsreel. The order of the plans and the credits were restored on the basis of the official report in the newspaper Government Gazette dated April 26 and 28, 1906, the original gramophone recordings of 1906-1915 were used in the sound design.

Now this unique documentary of not only the history of the Russian state, but also the history of Russian cinema is publicly available to the Presidential Library’s portal.

During the period from April 26 to April 30 a video lecture Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich - Chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Society and a video tour of the exhibition Tsar and President. Alexander II and Abraham Lincoln. Liberator and Emancipator, which took place in the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo" will be available in Live broadcasts section.

On the eve of the celebration of the 76th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War it will be possible to learn about the documentary chronicle "Berlin operation April 25 - May 2, 1945" and a video about the electronic collection of the Presidential Library Memory of the Great Victory.

The schedule of broadcasts of films and video lectures for the coming week is available on the Presidential Library’s portal in Live broadcasts section.

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