Freedom of speech earned three members of the group, Pussy Riot two years in prison, as a Moscow Court found them guilty of inciting “hooliganism and religious hatred”.

“Putin scum”

The trial has taken on global relevance and few could have predicted the support and reaction for a punk bank whom until recently, many people (including myself) had never heard of. From the streets of London where protestors surrounded the Russian Embassy shouting, “Shame” and “Putin scum” , to Kiev where a topless women’s rights activist took a chainsaw to a giant crucifix.

global support

A-List celebrities are also in on the action, Madonna made a plea for the release of the band days before the verdict date, Kate Nash has piped up to comment on their role as musicians, saying that it is “important for artists to challenge the world they live in”, Paul McCartney and Sting are also fighting their corner. But in Russia itself, there is little support. One opponent writing for the Moscow Times says here that,

“Madonna is absolutely certain that Putin put Pussy Riot in jail because the group’s members criticized him. But she’s not really to blame for this. Many in the West believe this nonsense, which has been propagandized by Russia’s opposition movement and enthusiastically spread by Western media.”

religion

Unfortunately for Putin, what might have made a tidy newspaper filler if the punk band had just been ignored in the first place, has now become a global issue crossing all platforms and borders. For example I was pleased to hear this on Radio 4’s, ‘Thought for the Day’ on August 16^th, from the Reverend Lucy Winkett. In this Reverend Winkett highlights her thoughts on Pussy Riot in a religious context.

“The relationship between religion, in these cases Christianity and protest is complex and long standing. It’s arguable that the Occupy Protest which accidentally ended up outside St Paul’s Cathedral became newly freighted with religious meaning and therefore more controversial because of its relationship with religion. I am not sure there would be banners saying, ‘what would Jesus do?’ if the protest had been outside the Stock Exchange as originally planned.” She goes on to say that Pussy Riot, “express what one Christian theologian calls in the spirit of Mary Magdalene, ‘ungovernable female energy’ and in doing so they join a procession of women who have embodied protest in every domination over centuries.”

EU, US and human rights

Although their enthusiasm cannot be doubted, how wise a move it was to stage a political challenge on such a religious stage could be debated. Certainly in Russia, many are angry with what seems to be a blatant lack of respect for their faith. This I can understand. Though not a person of faith myself, if someone were to sing an anti-woman or an anti-gay punk song on an lgbt memorial I would be pretty peeved about it. That would not however give me the right to incarcerate the perpetrators and as the trial has gathered momentum worldwide backing is proving that this simply is unacceptable. With EU, US and human rights rallying behind the band.

“US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was ‘concerned about both the verdict and the disproportionate sentences… and the negative impact on freedom of expression in Russia’.”

homosexual propaganda

In Pussy Riot people have found a cross range of hooks to generate their interest. Lucy Winkett reflects on religion, for our friend at the Moscow Times it is a problem with Western ideals, women’s rights is at the forefront from the activist in Kiev (which has now become a criminal case in its own right), artistic freedom to challenge for Kate Nash, and as if all of this is not enough a backhanded comment from the judge about Pussy Riot promoting homosexual propaganda sparks even more fury. This pretty much ticks all of the boxes for making more than just the odd person a little frustrated.

appeal lost

It is an unhappy coincidence that on this day Nikolay Alexeyev’s appeal against a century long ban on gay pride in Moscow was also lost and in danger of being overshadowed by the highly publicised Pussy Riot case.

iconic symbols

Whatever your stance on the trial and its outcome, whatever your ‘hook’ may be,  it is safe to say that August 17^th 2012 has certainly put Russia on the map. Pussy Riot may find themselves becoming (for many) martyrs for a cause bigger than themselves and sure to become an iconic symbol for freedom, liberty and justice for their many supporters who are gathering worldwide momentum.