“I thought the church loves all its children, but it appears that the church only loves those who vote for Putin!”
For anyone who hasn’t seen the coverage of PUSSY RIOT, here is a brief summary:
Pussy Riot is a group of Russian feminist philosophers/a punk rock band. They are recognizable for wearing multi-coloured tights, dresses and brightly coloured balaclavas. They appear as anonymous in the balaclavas, as they represent a movement and ideas, not individuals.
In February some Pussy Riot members played a punk rock song or “punk prayer” entitled, “Our Lady, Chase Putin Out,” in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, for which they were arrested and held on remand. They are currently on trial, with the verdicts expected on Friday 17th August 2012. Due to the intention of the state to jail them for up to seven years, on charges of hooliganism and inciting religious hatred, and with the state prosecutor claiming that the women have “abused God,” protests have erupted in Russia and around the world.
The women’s intention was to highlight links between the Russian government and Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader supported Putin during recent elections. The Putin regime has moved further towards totalitarianism in recent years, a fact highlighted by the draconian prosecution of the women, compared by some to the 1960’s trial of The Rolling Stones which was famously described as ‘the breaking of a butterfly on a wheel.’
In the tradition of Soviet/Russian anti-political/anti-dissident show trials, the Pussy Riot women have grasped the opportunity to speak their ‘last words’ of the trial to the court, in which they ignore the pseudo-legal rabbit snare of the case and its particulars, and speak about freedom, art and politics – the things that brought them into the sphere of controversy in the first place.
Many commentators have suggested that the seemingly crude and simple protest of these women has created the greatest challenge to Putin’s power to date, and could foreshadow a landslide of further protest and upheaval. My feeling is that when we insist on being ourselves and speaking the truth, it upsets the ‘patriarchy that be’ and the shit hits the fan. In a good way.
Support these women! Go to protests, wear a balaclava or bright tights, sign petitions, follow their news and social media, talk to your friends about them, write to your MP or other official parties to press them to support the women, do anything you can to make sure that PUSSY RIOT stays on the lips of the thinking public and everyone else. But most of all – be inspired. Bravery that points out the truth creates consequences that we can never foresee – if we have the faith to act without hindsight.
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