25 Jul 2012
PUTIN’S RELIGIOUS WAR AGAINST PUSSY RIOT
The New Yorker
by Masha Lipman
July 24, 2012
Before their arrest, Tolokonnikova was a student of philosophy; Alekhina studied journalism and creative writing and was engaged in religious charities and environmental causes. Samutsevich, the oldest of the three, has a degree in computer programming. They are members of a larger group that also goes by the name Pussy Riot—they use a transliterated version of the English words—that combines radical performance with leftist ideas ranging broadly from anti-authoritarianism to feminism; the group cites figures such as Michel Foucault and Julia Kristeva among their many sources of inspiration, as well as the American punk-rock band Bikini Kill and the riot-grrrl movement of the nineties. Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are mothers of young children whom they have not seen since their arrest.
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21 Jul 2012
Punk Band Feels Wrath of a Sterner Kremlin
New York Times
by Ellen Barry
July 20, 2012
The three women arrested after the performance have been held in custody for more than four months, a term that was extended on Friday by six months, through next January. They could be sent to prison for seven years.
Preliminary hearings in the case offered some of the most striking courtroom images since the trial of Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, which took place in the same building. While that case tested Russians’ feelings toward a billionaire businessman, this one picks as its targets slender young women with hooded sweatshirts and Twitter accounts — avatars of the protest movement itself.
Stanislav O. Samutsevich, 73, whose daughter is one of the defendants, said that he was appalled when he heard of her performance in the church, but that the government’s response was so disproportionate that he had changed his mind.
“They led the girls into the courtroom in handcuffs — these small girls are led in, and they are half the size of the officers,” Mr. Samutsevich said, his voice tremulous, as he waited outside the courtroom. “There is something especially disturbing about it for me. It seems absurd.”
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21 Jul 2012
Russia urged to release ‘Pussy Riot’ group as court prolongs detention
Amnesty International News
July 20, 2012
A court in Moscow has ruled that three members of the female punk group Pussy Riot must remain in custody for six months after singing a protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox church, prompting Amnesty International to reiterate its call for their immediate release.
Maria Alekhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who are accused of “hooliganism on the grounds of religious hatred”, face possible prison sentences of up to seven years.
“These three activists have now been behind bars for months,awaiting a trial that should not be taking place, ” said Amnesty International Europe and Central Asia Programme Director John Dalhuisen.
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11 Jul 2012
More prison for feminist punk rockers riles liberal Russians
The Christian Science Monitor
By Fred Weir
July 10, 2012
The controversy over the provocatively named Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot, which profaned an Orthodox altar by singing an obscene anti-Putin "prayer" in Moscow's most important cathedral, notched up this week when a court refused to grant bail to three of the female band's alleged members.
The band members were arrested and charged with "hooliganism" for their performance inside the church in February, although no one was hurt and no property was damaged. They could be imprisoned for two to seven years if convicted. The women, two of whom are mothers of young children, have been incarcerated in a Moscow pretrial detention center for almost six months. Amnesty International recognized them as prisoners of conscience in April.
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01 Jul 2012
Russians join in call for Pussy Riot trio's release
Guardian
by Miriam Elder
Saturday 30 June 2012
Artists and musicians around the world have called for their release. Now, nearly four months after three women were arrested for performing a protest anthem inside Moscow's most important Orthodox church, Christ the Saviour cathedral, a growing number of Russians are joining calls for their freedom. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alehina – all members of the anarchic Pussy Riot punk band – have been in prison since March, held on charges of hooliganism which could eventually mean a seven-year sentence. Many Muscovites were happy enough to see a tough response to the band's irreverent act of rebellion, which was aimed at President Vladimir Putin. But with no trial date set, no signs that they will be released and opposition to Putin spreading, support for the trio has grown, even among those who at first condemned them. "Their actions insulted me, because I'm religious," said Alexander Ivanov, a popular musician. "It's not what they said, it's where they did it. I was offended – but for them to get seven years in jail for an unsuccessful experiment, that's going too far." Ivanov is one of more than 100 cultural figures who signed an open letter last week calling on the state to release the women, in an indication that popular unease at their plight is growing.
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29 Jun 2012
In the Spotlight - Anna Malpas
The Moscow Times
In the Spotlight
By Anna Malpas
28 June 2012
I'm not sure that actors' political opinions should carry much weight and it is a bit unclear how the letter's demand could be carried out — given that the women have just had their detentions extended. But the list shows that there is mainstream support for releasing the women. It's a weighty list full of worthy names — you practically have to be a People's Artist to be on it. "If you put together all the active audience of the 100 signatories, you would get an absolute majority of the adult population," Kommersant FM's Stanislav Kucher said, arguing that, for once, this is an open letter that actually matters.
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29 Jun 2012
Editorial: an epistle of salvation
Gazeta.ru ediotorial
27.06.12
A recent written plea from Russian celebrities to the Higher court asking to free Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich is probably the last chance for the authorities to preserve face and to exit this story that has become a symbol for the obscure, senseless and lawless cruelty. Already more than 120 cultural celebrities have signed a letter asking for the members of Pussy Riot art group to be freed.
"We think that Pussy Riot hasn't committed a crime. The girls didn't kill or rob anyone, they weren't violent, didn't destroy or steal other's property. Russia is a secular state, and no anti-clerical actions, if they are not described in the criminal code are reason for criminal persecution" the letter says.
Until the participants in the punk-prayer are behind bars, the authors are sure "the atmosphere of intolerance will grow in society and that bring people towards a schism and radicalization."
Read Full Editorial: http://en.gazeta.ru/opinions/2012/06/27/a_4648145.shtml
24 Jun 2012
The Witch Hunt Against Pussy Riot
Moscow Times
by Victor Davidoff
June 24, 2012
The three detained Pussy Riot band members are certainly being treated as if they were dangerous political prisoners. Prosecutors spent three months investigating the videotaped incident that lasted no longer than a minute. The rockers have been in detention since their arrest in February. The court has regularly turned down their lawyers' requests to release them on bail, despite the fact that two of them have young children. The court insists that they are being detained for their own good, asserting that if released "they might be the object of criminal infringement" — that is, revenge by religious fanatics. This feigned concern for their well-being rings hollow considering that one of the detained women has gone on a hunger strike to protest beatings by her cellmates.
Read Full Article: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/the-witch-hunt-against-pussy-riot/460968.html
23 Jun 2012
In the Spotlight: Khamatova + Sobchak come out for Pussy Riot
Moscow Times
By Anna Malpas
22 June 2012
This week the acclaimed actress Chulpan Khamatova and It Girl and media personality Ksenia Sobchak in a rare mood of unity both criticized the jailing for another month of the outrageous anti-Putin punks Pussy Riot. Khamatova even attended the Tagansky district court where the case was being heard Wednesday and told journalists she wanted to defend the women and thought they should be allowed to go home to their children. Novaya Gazeta reported that she was in tears. That was a pretty brave and unexpected act from Khamatova, who spoke in a video supporting Vladimir Putin's reelection campaign, citing his help to her children's medical aid charity. Whereas Pussy Riot are awaiting trial after they tried to perform a strident song with the chorus: "Virgin Mary, drive out Putin!" in the shiny-marbled Christ the Savior Cathedral. Sobchak more predictably wrote on Twitter that the women's repeat detentions for a further month reeked of "injustice."
Read Full Article: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/in8200the-spotlight/460832.html
22 Jun 2012
Pussy Riot And The Russian Tradition Of Art Protest
Sabotage Times
By Daniel Kalder
21 June 2012
On the other hand, 90% of Russians think jail time is much too severe a punishment for Pussy Riot; two members have small children. A recent police inquiry also “…failed to find in the actions of persons at the Christ the Savior Cathedral motives of hatred and hostility”. But the trial is going ahead, scheduled to start on June 24th. Patriarch Kirill is showing no sign of softening his stance, and in March he lashed out at those seeking to “justify and downplay this sacrilege…My heart breaks from bitterness that amongst these people there are those who call themselves Orthodox”. In April, Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina sounded very scared indeed: “If I cannot hear my child’s voice because of my criticism of the authorities, then welcome to 1937,” she said. 1937 was the year when Stalin’s repression reached its height. We are light years away from those days, but I’d be panicked in her place.
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