It’s been a few weeks now since Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich of the Russian feminist collective Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison by a Moscow court for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”, and as if their situation wasn’t bad enough, this week a Russian university professor tried to use their case to get away with murder.
It was announced today 38-year-old university professor Igor Danilevsky has confessed to killing two women in the city of Kazan, one of whom had been persuaded by him to take out a loan to pay off his debts. He scrawled the words Free Pussy Riot on the wall of the scene in an effort to distract attention – and, of course, throw suspicion on Pussy Riot’s supporters.
Before Danilevsky’s confession, Kremlin supporters siezed on the news of the graffiti as proof that the women were part of a dangerous and violent movement.“"If you still think that breaking the norms of behaviour in a church doesn't change anything, then I recommend you read the latest news” tweeted Ashot Gabrelyanov, owner of a pro-government paper.
The Pussy Riot case has attracted the attention of the world – and has shown that for all Russia’s claims of being a democratic and secular state, they’re still putting young women in prison for singing what might seem to a lot of western ears a not particularly extreme song inside Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral. Yes, it's a bit sweary, but not much, and it's more about Putin than God.
Punk-Prayer "Virgin Mary, Put Putin Away"
(choir)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away
?ut Putin away, put Putin away
(end chorus) ...
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners crawl to bow
The phantom of liberty is in heaven
Gay-pride sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB, their chief saint,
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order not to offend His Holiness
Women must give birth and love
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
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(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist
Become a feminist, become a feminist
(end chorus)
The Church’s praise of rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
A teacher-preacher will meet you at school
Go to class - bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Bitch, better believe in God instead
The belt of the Virgin can’t replace mass-meetings
Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!
(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away
?ut Putin away, put Putin away
(end chorus)
Orthodox church members may find their behaviour distasteful – and there was nothing polite about it – but it’s hard to see why it should be punished with a prison sentence, let alone such a long one. Chillingly, the judge declared that “The court does find a religious hatred motive in the actions of the defendants by way of them being feminists who consider men and women to be equal” - a belief which, the judge added, goes against the Orthodox Church
Kathleen Hanna, the groundbreaking artist behind feminist bands such as Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, had little sympathy for “A lot of the people [in Moscow] who were in the church [when Pussy Riot performed their "Punk Prayer"] said they were physically damaged by this; that it has ruined their lives,” she told the website Pitchfork. “Well, I am still damaged by seeing Bush/Cheney bumper stickers, but I can't just go rip them off someone's car. I can't just decide that they shouldn't exist. It's scary to think that feminist performance artists have to be completely afraid; that they can't make whatever the fuck they want. But I hope this doesn't make more women afraid. I hope this makes more women ready to fight.”
The three young women have faced their conviction with courage. "We are mentally prepared [for jail]," Samutsevich wrote to the Guardian. "I don't see anything super-scary in having to serve 1.5 years and work. I don't think that it'll become some sort of especially difficult test for us – we've already lived through the past five months relatively easily and the evil plan of our authorities, to jail us so as to break us and sour us, has already failed miserably. The problem for Putin personally now is that a lot of people no longer see his strong hand and authority, but his fear and uncertainty in the face of the progressive citizens of Russia, who grow more and more numerous with every step like our verdict.”
Pussy Riot may be behind bars, but the fight for more freedom and democracy in Russia continues – and as many human rights activists have pointed out, these young women are just three out of thousands of people all over the world who have been imprisoned effectively for their political beliefs.
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So what do you think? Is musical protest a good way of challenging the system? Or would the three young women have spent their time campaigning in a less direct way?
Images via amnestyinternational.com, irishtimes.ie
