
Their slogan is Orthodoxy or Death. They are convinced Russia should be ruled by an autocratic monarch. They believe the coming of a new tsar may be imminent.

The Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers is a small fringe group of Russian nationalists with no political power that stages processions, rallies and even burns books to promote their views.

Denis, a member of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers, marches to commemorate 100 years since the killing of Tsar Nicholas II. Clad in all-black and marching with their Orthodox banners, the group pairs a biker club's aesthetic with the gold of religious icons.

Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich returns home after meeting other members of the union. "We are striving for the restoration of an autocratic monarchy. Like the one we had under our tsars," Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich, the group's white-bearded leader, said. "It is only possible through the church. In no way is this possible in a political secular way because that would be a dictator," he said.

Pawel, a member of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers, sits in his bedroom where he keeps a collection of icons from the monasteries he has visited. Its leaders say they are unsure how a shift to a monarchy might come about, with some members seeing the change emerging from a bloody social convulsion and others simply praying for it to happen. Ultra nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky has referred to Putin as a modern-day tsar, but the Orthodox group's political allegiances are unclear and it is not suggesting that the Russian president head an autocratic monarchy.

Local churchgoers attend a procession organised by the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers to commemorate 100 years since the killing of Tsar Nicholas II. The group held a religious procession at a monastery in Moscow last month to mark one of the most important recent dates in their calendar: the 100-year anniversary of the murder by the Bolsheviks of Russia's last monarch, Tsar Nicholas II. The tsar, his wife and five children were shot on the night of July 16-17, 1918, in the basement of a merchant's house in the city of Yekaterinburg, 1,450 km (900 miles) east of Moscow.

Icons of Tsar Nicholas II. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the state atheism it espoused, the church canonised the tsar and his family, and his popularity as a historical figure has grown amid a Russian Orthodox Church resurgence under President Vladimir Putin. Russian religious conservatives last year waged a campaign to block the release of Matilda, a Russian movie the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers described as blasphemous for its depiction of a romance between the tsar and a young ballerina.

Members of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers prepare for an informal award ceremony at their headquarter. The group did not attend the main memorial event in Yekaterinburg to mark the centenary of his murder however. It was told it would not be allowed to raise its standards - some of which feature skulls and radical slogans like Orthodoxy or Death - at the event, Igor Miroshnichenko, a member of the group, said.

1 / 18 Slideshow Valeriy, a member of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers, collects banners at a church before a procession to commemorate 100 years since the killing of Tsar Nicholas II, organised by the union. Nikolai, a member of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers, marches at a procession to commemorate 100 years since the killing of Tsar Nicholas II. Local churchgoers attend a procession organised by the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers to commemorate 100 years since the killing of Tsar Nicholas II. Members of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers take metro after a procession in Spaso-Andronikov Monastery to commemorate 100 years since the killing of Tsar Nicholas II. Pawel, a member of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers, walks towards the Senezh lake. Pawel at his house. Pawel holds bottles of holy oil and holy water that he has collected from different churches he has visited. Denis, a member of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers, visits the church inside TV and Radio Broadcasting Centre Ostankino where he works, during a break. Igor Miroshnichenko, a member of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers, holds his cross at his studio in Moscow, Russia, July 12, 2018. Igor Miroshnichenko works at his art studio. A portrait painted by Igor Miroshnichenko of his student. The art studio of Igor Miroshnichenko where he teaches art and where the union members gather. Members of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers prepare for an award ceremony at their headquarter. Military Orthodox Mission, a group that espouses socially conservative Orthodox values, awarded some union members for their work to commemorate Tsar Nicholas II. Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich works on an article in his office at his home. A cat walks in the living room of Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich's house. Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich at his home. Woman marches with a banner to support the Tsar family on the Unity of Nation day in Oktyabrskoye Polye. Members of the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers attend a march of the Unity of Nation in Oktyabrskoye Polye.

Story Instead, the group gathered at the Andronikov Monastery of the Saviour in Moscow on July 17 where they marched with tall crosses and standards depicting Russia's last tsar.