European Pressphoto Agency
Under guard in the defendants' cage on Monday, band members, from left, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Aliokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich
[Washington Post, 7/30]
On Feb. 21 in Moscow, five young women, dressed in neon spandex and colorful ski masks, stood in front of the altar in the gilded Cathedral of Christ the Savior, headquarters for the patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
To show disrespect was the women's intent. They are Pussy Riot, a female punk band whose work is broadly anti-authoritarian and feminist. They had been popping up in recent months with protest performances, some aimed at President Vladimir Putin. In the cathedral, they danced, hopped and uttered a few lines of a "punk-prayer" with the refrain "Our Lady, chase Putin out."
The stunt lasted about 30 seconds before they were ejected, but a subsequent video, with music and more lyrics spliced in, was distributed online. Three of the women were detained in March and have been sitting in prison ever since; their incarceration was just extended for six months. They are charged with "hooliganism" - but the case is about much more.
The person who appears to have been most offended was Putin, who has faced large street demonstrations against his rule in recent months. The incarceration of Pussy Riot can only be interpreted as an attempt to make an example out of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23; Maria Alekhina, 24; and Ekaterina Samutsevich, 29. Two are mothers of young children.
Some 200 prominent Russian culture and arts figures signed a letter expressing outrage, and 42,000 people have added signatures. Certainly, Russians are entitled to be offended or delighted by the cathedral antics. A brief arrest or citation might have been appropriate for the stunt, but months or years behind bars is grossly excessive.
From their cell, the band sent a handwritten letter to friends and supporters on Thursday. "We'd like to stress that we do not support violence, we have no grudges against anyone, our laughter is in some sense laughter through tears, and our sarcasm is a reaction to judicial lawlessness," they wrote.
While grateful for public support, they acknowledged, "the harshness and rudeness of our opponents is hard to understand even now."
Their trial began today and they face up to seven years in prison -- ridiculous for a prank. Putin ought to free the judicial system to punish the real lawlessness and corruption around him.
[WSJ]
MOSCOW—Three members of a feminist punk band pleaded not guilty in a trial that has become a nationally watched landmark in the struggle between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and an emboldened protest movement against him.
The drawn-out detention of the three women and the involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church in the case has made for the most politically charged trial since demonstrations calling for an end to Mr. Putin's domination of Russian politics began to gain momentum in December.
The three pleaded not guilty on Monday to the criminal charge of hooliganism motivated by religious hostility for staging an anti-Putin "prayer" in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Each defendant could face up to seven years in prison in the case. They were arrested after they and other members of the band known as Pussy Riot climbed onto the ambo, a platform usually reserved for priests, and sang "Our Lady, chase Putin out!"
The defendants, speaking from a courtroom cage, used the first day of trial testimony to define their stunt as a purely political protest against the Russian Orthodox patriarch's support for rule by Mr. Putin. The patriarch, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has called their act blasphemous.
The church, to which most Russians belong, has been a pillar of support for Mr. Putin during his 12 years as Russia's president and prime minister.
The government prosecution of the women appeared to mark an end to the relative tolerance the Kremlin displayed during a winter of large antigovernment demonstrations. It also signaled an attempt by Mr. Putin to shore up his authority by appealing to his conservative and religiously observant base.
Until now, leaders of protesters who have been detained periodically have spent no more than a few weeks in jail. Some of the demonstrations were allowed to go on without any detentions of protesters.
In court Monday, a prosecutor called the stunt "a deliberate and carefully planned action to abase the feelings and beliefs of the followers of the Christian world and denigrate the spiritual foundations of the state." He noted that the band members wore neon-colored balaclavas to conceal their identity. Two other performers weren't caught.
The court then heard from the first of several witnesses who testified that the band's antics were satanic and had caused them suffering.
"I experienced bitterness and pain and feel it to this day," testified a church attendant, Lyobov Sokologorskaya. "It all looked like devilish skipping. They raised their legs and everything that was below their waists was visible. And that on the ambo, in front of the heavenly gates." Several other church workers who were present also testified that they were offended.
Defense lawyer Violetta Volkova read statements from the defendants saying their February protest was about the March 4 election, in which Patriarch Kirill I had signaled support for Mr. Putin, then prime minister, to return to the presidency. They said Russia is supposed to be a nonreligious state.
"We aren't enemies of Christians," defendant Nadezhda Tolokonnikova wrote in her statement. "Our motives are exclusively political." If anyone was insulted, she said, "then I am prepared to accept that we made an ethical mistake."
Speaking from the metal and clear-plastic courtroom cage, the defendant added: "We admit our political guilt, but not legal guilt."
The defendants, all in their 20s, had been led handcuffed to the courtroom, the same one where billionaire oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted of fraud two years ago.
Like that politically charged case, the prosecution of the women has polarized Russians.
Several dozen people gathered outside the courthouse, chanting "Victory!" and other slogans supporting the defendants. A smaller crowd nearby jeered them.
A group of leading conservative writers has called for tough punishment. A poll released on Monday by the independent Levada Center said 43% of Russians believe prison sentences would be too harsh, up from 32% who felt that way in April. Amnesty International said the prosecution is politically motivated and prejudiced by a series of denunciations of the women by leading politicians and clerics.
Defense lawyer Mark Feigin said he had no doubt the women would be convicted.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dismissed criticism of the case in a weekend interview with the Times of London. "Let us wait for the investigation to be over and the verdict of the court and then we can say if a crime was committed or not," he said.
Last edited by Squaredancecalling Steve; July-30th-2012 at 07:08 PM.
Putin's visit to the games came as leading British musicians joined an international outcry over the band's treatment. The Who's Pete Townshend, former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and others said that the band members were involved in legitimate protest and called for their release in a letter published Thursday in The Times of London.
LONDON (AP) — Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday criticized the feminist punk rockers facing trial for performing a "punk prayer" against him at Moscow's main cathedral, but said that a punishment for them shouldn't be too severe.
Putin's comments to Russian reporters on a visit to the London Olympics were the leader's first reaction to the trial of three members of the Pussy Riot band, whose imprisonment has drawn international outrage. It may signal that the Kremlin has opted for a milder punishment for the women than the seven years they could face.
Asked about the case, Putin said that the stunt "was no good" and would have entailed a much tougher punishment for its participants if they had performed it at a holy site in Israel or even death if they had done it at some Muslim site in Russia's North Caucasus region.
"If they went to desecrate some Islamic holy site, we wouldn't even have had time to take them into custody," he said before suggesting that they had already learned their lessons and mustn't face an especially tough punishment.
"I don't think that a verdict should be very severe," he said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. "I hope that the court will make a fair, well-founded ruling."
Courts in Russia closely heed signals from the government, and Putin's statement sounded like a clear sign that the verdict for the rockers might be milder than anticipated.
Putin's visit to the games came as leading British musicians joined an international outcry over the band's treatment. The Who's Pete Townshend, former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and others said that the band members were involved in legitimate protest and called for their release in a letter published Thursday in The Times of London.
Asked whether he discussed the Pussy Riot case during his Thursday's talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Putin answered negatively.
Pussy Riot performed their stunt two weeks before Putin's return to the presidency in March's election, when five women dressed in brightly colored miniskirts and balaclavas took over a pulpit of the Christ the Saviour, Moscow's main cathedral for less than a minute. They high-kicked and danced while singing a song pleading "Virgin Mary, drive Putin away!"
The three members of the band — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 — have been in custody for five months since their February stunt.
At their trial that began in earnest Monday, they pleaded not guilty to the charges of hooliganism driven by "religious hatred", saying that they simply wanted to express their outrage about the Russian Orthodox Patriarch's support for Putin.
The trial fell into a broader pattern of widening crackdown on dissent after Putin's return to presidency. Their prosecution has caused a sharp public divide and drawn protests from rights groups who have declared them prisoners of conscience.
Madonna gave support to the band at her Moscow concert, and the journalists at the women's trial broke into applause following each of their statements to the court
Protesters from New York to Moscow are planning demonstrations ahead of a verdict in the trial of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, who will learn Friday whether they will be sent to prison for holding an impromptu anti-government performance.
What I find very piquant and erotically resonant is that the Security Guard and her stalwart, 'fuck with me not!' attitude is far more appealing to me than the gauche 'barely beyond adolescence' females pouting away behind her.
Last edited by baksheesh; August-16th-2012 at 08:03 PM.
Q: 'How do you start free improvising?'
A: 'Well I usually start on D as a matter of fact'
"I wandered alone in the desert and cried "Oh Lord! Oh Lord! What hast thou done, lately?"
"Thought is not a saffron-robed monk pissing in the snow"
"Bitterness slowly crept into the marriage and by the time Lovborg was six years old his parents exchanged gunfire daily"
Notice the shirt of the band member on the right. I suspect she appreciates the irony of wearing a shirt displaying the "No pasaran!" slogan that was made famous by a Spaniard who sought refuge from Franco's fascists by fleeing to...Russia.
Notice the shirt of the band member on the right. I suspect she appreciates the irony of wearing a shirt displaying the "No pasaran!" slogan that was made famous by a Spaniard who sought refuge from Franco's fascists by fleeing to...Russia.
It actually became famous 20-years earlier in France.
Now Garry Kasparov has been arrested for who knows what since it's edited.
"There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind."
- Duke Ellington
“Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated.”
- George Bernard Shaw
"As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion."
Having seen the video of them 'doing their thing' at the church, I can't see what all the fuss is about supporting them.
I also get that the protests may be a symbol in support of other issues.
I ask the question:
In this country if this type of thing happens where people barge into a church or synagogue, someone would call the cops and they'd likely get taken to jail and face some charges. All else aside wouldn't that be expected?
They don't mess around over there, so they were sentenced to 2 years hard labor ( according to a friend who gets the Russian news )
Last edited by Mike Schwartz; August-17th-2012 at 04:55 PM.
There are reports Kasparov was beaten by police. We've tracked some of his political activities on the chess threads
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 2:04PM EDT
Last Updated Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 2:21PM EDT
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was among those arrested outside a Moscow court on Friday where members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot were found guilty of hooliganism.
A post on Kasparov’s Facebook page indicates the 50-year-old was also beaten by police.
The Facebook update reads: “We just spoke to Garry on the phone. He is at the police station. He was beaten but says he is okay. He isn't sure what will happen next. It seems the police are waiting for orders from above.”
A video posted on the BBC website shows Kasparov, a pro-democracy activist, speaking to journalists outside the punk rockers’ hearing in Moscow when police grab him and drag him to a nearby police van.
The video shows Kasparov saying, “He uses law, or what is left of Russian law to protect his own stay in power,” moments before his arrest.
Kasparov became the youngest-ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22. He retired in 2005 to devote his time to politics and writing.
The Russian chess grandmaster was a leader amongst the opposition activists after Vladimir Putin was elected president in March, after serving as president from 2000 to 2008 and then moving into the prime minister’s office to avoid a constitutional ban on more than two consecutive terms.
During an anti-Putin protest Kasparov was quoted as saying, "This was not an election. This was a special operation run by a thug who wanted to return to the Kremlin."
Meanwhile, protests continue around the globe after three members of the all-girl Russian punk band were each sentenced to two years in prison for staging a guerrilla performance of a song that criticized Putin.
The members of Pussy Riot have already been in jail for six months.
Immediately after the decision was issued, Twitter came alive with supporters of the band slamming the ruling and calling on like-minded sympathizers to join demonstrations.
I ask the question:
In this country if this type of thing happens where people barge into a church or synagogue, someone would call the cops and they'd likely get taken to jail and face some charges. All else aside wouldn't that be expected?
They wouldn't go to jail. Ask the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence -- they've done it a lot!
Having seen the video of them 'doing their thing' at the church, I can't see what all the fuss is about supporting them.
I also get that the protests may be a symbol in support of other issues.
I ask the question:
In this country if this type of thing happens where people barge into a church or synagogue, someone would call the cops and they'd likely get taken to jail and face some charges. All else aside wouldn't that be expected?
They don't mess around over there, so they were sentenced to 2 years hard labor ( according to a friend who gets the Russian news )
Here for first time offenders it would be community service and/or a fine. I think trespassing at most is 6 months to a year in a county jail and possibly a fine.
"There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind."
- Duke Ellington
“Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated.”
- George Bernard Shaw
"As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion."
They thought it would be a cause célèbre, and they were right. I'm sure they were prepared to face these consequences although they didn't want them. Sending them to prison makes Putin look bad, further estranges him from the youth and the forces for democracy, reinforces the notion of a tightening yoke . . . and that's what they wanted, too.
OUTSTANDING!
Explains the choice of location, and gives a great window into the perspective of the gathering anti-Putin forces. Kuryokhin would have loved it!
The three Pussy Riot members who were sentenced to two years in prison last week will become the centerpiece of a Sept. 10 pop-up exhibition and fundraiser in New York backed by Amnesty International.
Five videos of the group -- which comprises not only those arrested but other performance artists -- will be shown at Lombard-Freid Projects in Chelsea in a show called “Pussy Riot.”
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Ekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Maria Alekhina, 24, were convicted of inciting religious hatred and hooliganism with their Feb. 21 “punk prayer,” “Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin, Drive Putin Away.” In that action, five women (two weren’t brought to trial) in neon tights and balaclavas danced by the altar of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Tolokonnikova and Alekhina have young children.
“This is not about raising awareness or protesting anymore,” said Lea Freid, a partner at Lombard-Freid. “This is about raising money for the women, their families and defense.”
The trial sparked international protests. Supporters of the trio have included Paul McCartney, Sting and Madonna. On the eve of the verdict, actress Chloe Sevigny joined other performers to read translations of the women’s writings in a packed basement of Manhattan’s hip Ace Hotel.
Petition Tossed
Lombard-Freid has partnered with Amnesty International for the show and fundraiser. The nonprofit organization attempted to deliver a petition with 70,000 signatures calling for the women’s release to the Russian Embassy in Washington on Aug. 14. An embassy official dumped the papers on the sidewalk.
“We consider Pussy Riot prisoners of conscience and continue calling for their immediate and unconditional release,” said Ilona Kelly, interim director of the individuals-at-risk program at Amnesty International of the USA Inc. “We are very excited about the exhibition.”
The idea for the exhibition originated with Victoria Dushkina, 28, the general manager of Moscow’s Gary Tatintsian gallery, who said she came to New York two weeks ago hoping to organize a show of the art collective’s work. The project is unrelated to her work at the gallery, she said.
“I want to support them,” Dushkina said. “I share their spirit of opposition. I feel like I could have participated in one of their performances. I could have been in their place.” In their performance art, the collective tends to pursue actions that are unauthorized.
People Afraid
Dushkina got no response from the major Moscow galleries she approached with her campaign. “People are afraid,” she said. “I decided to come to New York because here no one is afraid.”
The five video performances to be screened at Lombard-Freid show the women -- in groups ranging from three to eight -- spouting out slogans such as “Feminist whip is good for Russia!” and “Death to prisons, freedom to protests!” -- to deafening electric-guitar accompaniment.
“The videos will be looped non-stop,” Dushkina said. “I’d like to create the atmosphere of absurdity and hysteria that characterized the Pussy Riot trial.”
In April, a brief exhibition called “Toasting to the Revolution’’ at Chelsea’s Family Business Gallery starred one member of the art collective as a diva with half her blue hair shaved off and a cigarette hanging from her pink lips.
Printed on paper and glued to the wall, the 2012 piece “Free Pussy Riot!” by David Ter-Oganyan and Alexandra Galkina was priced at $5,000.
Muse highlights include Ryan Sutton on dining, Patrick Cole on music.
Russian police forbids 2 guys from St Petersburg to say 'Good Morning' to people in the streets (it's sorta local flash mob, 2 guys come to the subway stations every morning and say good morning or have a nice day to the passers by) Now they can't do that. Smacks of totalitarianism again
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Originally Posted by Squaredancecalling Steve
