Pussy Riot Faces 3 Years in Russian Prison; Madonna Is Not Pleased [Pussy Riot]

Madonna — in the middle of a world tour — has just arrived in Moscow, where she did, indeed, make some statements regarding the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, as some hoped she would.

The three women in the band (Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23; Maria Alekhina, 24; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29) were arrested in March and have been in jail ever since. Their crime? Staging a political protest — in the form of a "punk prayer" song at Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral — against Vladimir Putin. They face up to seven years in prison; the charge is "hooliganism."

Yesterday, Madonna spoke with reporters who asked about Pussy Riot:

"I am against censorship and my whole career I always promoted freedom of expression, freedom of speech, so obviously I think what's happening to them is unfair and I hope that they do not... I hope they do not have to serve seven years in jail," Madonna told Western journalists in comments picked up by Russian media.
"That would be a tragedy," the US superstar said.

Of course, Madonna' support of the band is being viewed as anti-Russian Orthodox Church. A spokesman for a pro-Church group says: "It is not in our power to ban her, but we call on the authorities — who position themselves as Orthodox believers — to do so… This little singer is openly mocking our laws, our traditions and our culture." Her Madgesty, who is scheduled to perform in Moscow tonight and in St. Petersburg on Thursday, is not the only celebrity who has expressed support for Pussy Riot: the Who's Pete Townshend and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys have also urged the Russian government to release the women. She is, however, arguably more famous, and may draw more attention to the case.

Today, prosecutors asked the court for a three-year sentence instead of a 7-year stint. As the AP reports:

Prosecutor Alexander Nikiforov portrayed the request as lenient, saying it takes into account the fact that two of the defendants are young mothers and that they have good references.

And if they were not mothers? Just women who, for less than one minute, took over a church pulpit and did some "singing, high-kicking and dancing"? Seven years. In what is surely a super scary Russian prison. We should know the actual sentence by the end of the week; by then, Madonna will be on her way to Helsinki.

Madonna faces Russia protest for backing jailed punks [AFP]
Punk case: 3 year sentence? [Salon via AP]

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Russian Artist Sews His Mouth Shut to Support Pussy Riot [Video]

Aug 7, 2012 7:20 PM  

YOU'RE WELCOME. Okay, this actually happened a few weeks ago, but I was just thinking that maybe you haven't climbed up inside your own vagina to sob yet today. So here you go! Russian artist Petr Pavlensky has apparently sewn his own mouth closed—like, using a needle, and a mouth—in solidarity with jailed Putin protestors Pussy Riot. I have no reason to suspect that this is fake, though I suppose it could be. Either way, Russians do not fuck around. In America we'd probably just go with a jester's cap and some bongos. FREE PUSSY RIOT!

Pussy Riot Protest: Russian Artist Sews His Mouth Shut in Solidarity [LinkNews]

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Vladimir Putin Craftily Suggests that Pussy Riot Shouldn’t Be Punished ‘Too Harshly’ [Pussy Riot]

In a sort of surprising twist to the Pussy Riot saga, Russian President, shirtless outdoorsman, and Siberian tiger whisperer Vladimir Putin said that Pussy Riot's bandmembers shouldn't "be judged so harshly" for their impromptu punk rock performance in February on the altar of Moscow's Christ the Savior Church. Putin explained that, though he still regards Pussy Riot with a disapproving frown, Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich should all be shown some leniency for their act of civil disobedience.

It's fleetingly ironic that Putin would express a desire for Pussy Riot to be shown leniency, considering that the band was protesting his enduring grip on political power in Russia. Observers, however, believe that Putin's move is a highly-calculated effort to reassure Western consumers of Russian energy exports that due-process reigns supreme in a country that has long been criticized for judicial corruption and human rights violations. Nikolai Polozov, Pussy Riot's defense lawyer, said that Putin's statement is very clearly political, even if it indicates that his clients might avoid the maximum seven-year sentence for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred":

In my opinion this is a gesture towards the West, towards the consumers of Russian energy resources and [Mr Putin's] business partners. Given the significance of such signals, we can expect some softening of the prosecution's position.

Though the Russian government has characterized the Pussy Riot trial as part of a wider crackdown on dissent and civil disobedience, opinion polls show that Russians aren't buying it and instead seem to sympathize with the punk rockers who've been languishing in jail since February. Polozov also thinks that, despite what Putin is saying now, the Russian leader is not to be trusted. "To tell the truth," he tweeted, "I don't believe Putin. If the signal gets through and the court reacts, OK, but if not we will fight on."

Vladimir Putins says Pussy Riot should not be treated too harshly [Telegraph]

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Pussy Riot Goes on Trial Monday as the World Watches Uneasily [Pussy Riot]

The three women who staged an extremely punk-rock protest concert against Vladimir Putin on the altar of Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral will go on trial this Monday as the rest of the world watches, not particularly convinced that the members of Pussy Riot are going to get a fair shake in Russian courts. Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich will face charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility, and, if found guilty, could face up to seven years in prison.

Pussy Riot's members have already been languishing in jail since February. The Human rights groups and high profile musicians such as Sting and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have made no secret of their skepticism regarding Russia's judicial process, and think that the girls' fate is subject largely to the whims of President Vladimir Putin as well as the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill (whose name and title, we might note, are just a few typos away from the being the name of a potentially awesome punk-rock band). Kirill, who speaks on behalf of an organization that has gained political influence in the wake of the Soviet Union's disintegration, has used particularly harsh language to characterize Pussy Riot's impromptu performance, which he styles as a far-reaching anti-clerical campaign. Pussy Riot has no lead singer, leaving room for rotating membership. The band modelled itself on riot grrrl bands like Bikini Kill, and organized their performance as way to demonstrate dissatisfaction among young Russians with Vladimir Putin's intransigent existence in Russia's political hegemony.

Russians face trial for "punk prayer" about Putin [Reuters]

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