Two Years for Pussy Riot and International Disdain for Russia

Square One Politics

On the 17th of August three members of the Russian feminist punk-rock collective ‘Pussy Riot’ were sentenced to two years of prison convicted of hooliganism. The alleged hooliganism was a politically charged impromptu performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Russian politics is marred with corruption and deceit; in this blog I will explain why Pussy Riot staged their performance, why they have been sentenced and how this reflects on Russia.

In March 2012 three members of Pussy Riot were arrested for their performance in a cathedral in Moscow which called for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resign. Lyrics from the performance included:

Virgin Mary, Mother of God, banish Putin, banish Putin,
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, banish him, we pray thee!

And…

Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
Be a feminist, we pray thee,
Be a feminist, we pray thee.
Bless our festering bastard-boss.
Let black cars parade the Cross.

The three women, Maria Vladimirovna Alyokhina (24), Yekaterina Stanislavovna Samutsevich (30) and Nadezhda Andreyevna Tolokonnikova (22) were brought to trial with prosecutors seeking a 7 year jail sentence.

Why did Pussy Riot stage the performance?

The Pussy Riot performance was not the only protest Vladimir Putin faced after re-election; just days after the announcement he was met with crowds of over 100,000 gathering outside the German Parliament calling for a recount. In March 4 2012 Putin was faced with allegations that his true number of votes had been inflated by 10%. Accusations were made that Putin’s cohort made use of ‘carousel voters’; this involves sending groups of citizens from one polling station to the next allowing them to vote multiple times.

It will probably never be known what happened in the 2012 election; the result was widely accepted by the West. Whether the West would have been as accepting if a similar election and accompanying protests happened in the Middle East is up for debate.

What does this mean for Russia?

Unfortunately, the Russian judicial system is notorious for its harsh sentences and outright support of the government. However, this is the first time such worldwide attention has been garnered for a particular case. The move has been condemned by the US, UK and the EU with the US state department issuing a statement of support for Pussy Riot: “We urge Russian authorities to review this case and ensure that the right to freedom of expression is upheld.” It is unlikely this will affect Putin’s power within Europe, if anything it will incite further support from much of the population who are deeply distrusting of the West.

A bit of research will show that in the UK a similar act would likely be classed as ‘disturbing the peace’ – disturbing others by creating loud noise (including music) in a public space. In the UK, disturbing the peace usually leads to an arrest (to stop the alleged disturbance) but only results in a fine or jail time if the noise has been accompanied by violence.

Politics and Music:

One of the reasons the sentence has been met with such global criticism is that music has always been used as a means of ‘Freedom of Expression’ (a right in most developed countries) and politics and music have often been mixed.

When Berlin was divided by the wall, the GDR issued regulations that 60% of songs on the radio, in restaurants, at the office or dancing events must be composed by GDR musicians with the other 40% coming from a GDR publishing firm. The rise of the German punk movement saw huge musical protest against this with many radios violating the GDR’s terms. For more information about the GDR and the Berlin Wall see my post about a recent trip to Germant here.

The Clash has been credited with pioneering the advocacy of radical politics in punk rock. Their album ‘Sandanista!’ contained numerous political statements, most notably ‘Washington Bullets’ criticising both the US’s foreign policy and communism.

In 1968 civil unrest in Europe and America led the Rolling Stones to pen the politically charged (and incidentally, one of my all-time favourite Stones songs) ‘Street Fighting Man’. The song was banned in Chicago (one of the states hardest hits by the protests) over allegations that it supported and encouraged further violence.

Finally, if you are interested in Zack de la Rocha’s (Rage against the Machine) views on Bush and the USA check out his speech halfway through ‘Wake Up’ at Coachella in 2007.

Concluding Remarks:

Pussy Riot’s sentence has been a massive blow for freedom of expression and basic human rights. One can only hope that the mass media attention that Pussy Riot has received will allow people to see that this is not an isolated case. In 2010 the organisers of a controversial art exhibit were fined for ‘inciting religious hatred’, another vague and inaccurate allegation. In 2008 it was discovered that the Russian police fabricated evidence of tax fraud against human rights lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Tragically, the evidence of fabrication was not revealed until after Magnitsky was beaten to death in jail.The ambulance sent to help him was delayed for an hour and jail nurses simply isolated and handcuffed him in a room as he bled to death. Another Russian human rights lawyer, Stanislav Markelov, was murdered after uncovering an assassination carried out by the Russian government. The list goes on.

Across the globe citizens are persecuted for standing up to corrupt governments or wrongly imprisoned. Only yesterday an 11 year old Pakistani girl with Downs Syndrome was arrested for ‘desecrating the Koran’. In Bahrain President of the Bahrain Human Rights Centre, Nabeel Rajab, is currently in prison for organising ‘illegal demonstrations’. He was sentenced before his lawyers were able to reach the Court House. Again, the list goes on. hairy girl unshaven girl https://zp-pdl.com/fast-and-easy-payday-loans-online.php www.zp-pdl.com payday loan