Members of “Pussy Riot” in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Three members of a so-called ‘punk band’ called ‘Pussy Riot’ have each been jailed for two years by a court in Moscow for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, over a protest in a cathedral, reports the BBC.
The foul-mouthed rant included a mock prayer on the altar of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. The BBC have a video here.
Judge Marina Syrova said Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, had “crudely undermined social order”, offended the feelings of Orthodox believers and shown a “complete lack of respect” during their action in February.
Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and Samutsevich say their “punk prayer” was a political act in protest against the Russian Orthodox Church leader’s support of President Vladimir Putin.
But Judge Syrova said they “committed hooliganism – in other words, a grave violation of public order,” and quoted prosecution witnesses as saying the act had been one of blasphemy, not politics.
The website Heresy Corner carries more about the blasphemous nature of the protest and also says: ‘The incident in the cathedral was only one of many protests carried out by members of Pussy Riot and its associated art collective, Voina, which have included painting a giant penis on a Moscow Bridge, spilling live cockroaches in a courtroom and kissing policewomen. In 2008 the youngest of the trio, Nadia Tolokonnikova (then aged 18 and heavily pregnant) took part in a public orgy in a Moscow museum.’ They seem to have been trying quite hard to get arrested for some time.
Western liberals have sprung to the women’s defence. ’Pussy Riot’ have garnered support from Paul McCartney, Madonna, Kate Nash, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Faith No More, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, Patti Smith, The Beastie Boys, Zola Jesus, Jarvis Cocker, Pete Townshend, Peaches, Genesis, Courtney Love, Yoko Ono and Stephen Fry.
Mr Fry and his friends will not be pleased with another court ruling handed down in Moscow today.
Russian homosexual activist Nikolai Alexeyev alongside Britain’s Peter Tatchell, who contributed in the 1980′s to a book edited by a leading paedophile defending paedophilia.
Moscow City Court has upheld a ban on ‘gay pride’ marches in the Russian capital for the next 100 years. Russia’s best-known gay rights campaigner, Nikolay Alexeyev, had gone to court hoping to overturn Moscow City Council’s ban on homosexual parades, asking for the right to stage such parades for the next 100 years. He also opposes St Petersburg’s ban on spreading “homosexual propaganda”.
The Moscow city government argues that the gay parade would risk causing public disorder and that most Muscovites do not support such an event.
Alexeyev now intends to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to argue that Moscow’s ban on gay pride marches – past, present and future – is unjust. The European Court of Human Rights has already told Russia to pay Alexeyev damages, but that does not appear likely to happen any day soon.
See: Peter Tatchell and the paedophile book
Christian Voice Press Release – 17.00 hrs 17th August 2012
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charles mortlock
17 August 2012 at 18:46 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
nice one thanx stephen
Rox
18 August 2012 at 00:13 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
This is quite a difficult one for many Christians to handle. On the one hand, they may be opposed to homosexuality and blasphemy, but on the other, it still doesn’t seem quite right to be backing the Russian government. After all, for many years religion was systematically attacked and suppressed in Russia, so why should the wealthy ex-communist establishment swing so far in the other direction now ? Somehow, I doubt if they have really been born again , or enjoyed a Damascene conversion.
In their support of free speech, Americans ever mindful of their 18th century constitution and its amendments might well consider what is likely to happen to Julian Assange if their courts get hold of him. And along with everyone else, they should consider how a really outrageous demonstration of the Pussy kind would be met by public opinion and the Law in their own country.
Quite frankly, however much Sir Paul McCartney and Stephen Fry may favour free speech and the sentiments that Pussy Riot were expressing, I can’t imagine either of them climbing up onto the high altar of St Paul’s Cathedral and dancing there to make that point. That they were technically guilty of something goes almost without saying, and to comment on the sentencing policy of foreign courts is a very tricky business. I think it is probably best to put it down as a fairly minor Russian internal matter, and forget about it.
baglady
21 August 2012 at 08:44 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I hope that the Russian government stands firm on this. It is one thing to tolerate certain “lifestyles” and quite another to have those lifestyle “choices” rammed down everyone’s throat. Next it will be paedophilia and bestiality parades, when will we draw a line in the sand?
As for free speech, criticism should be allowed, but to desecrate a place of worship is loutish and undisciplined. It’s funny that Madonna voices support for these nihilist antics but she herself has said that she never allows her children to watch such things – hypocrisy at its finest.
No-one is allowed to criticise LBGT policies nowadays but you can be put in prison for voicing concerns over the indoctrination of the weak and vulnerable in society – children – into preoccupation with abnormal sex acts. It is a rule of thumb, whoever you are prohibited from criticising is the one who is really in charge.
Rox
21 August 2012 at 19:21 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
There has been a most ironic development of this in France .
Let us say for simplicity that Pussy Riot were a left-wing group protesting against religion intruding too much into society .
In Marseille, a left-wing group protested in support of them, wearing balaclavas like them, and the police arrested them on behalf of the left-wing government because of the balaclavas.
That is because of a law which bans face-covering in public, to prevent religion intruding too much into society.
You have to be careful in different places and ages with veils, long hair, and beards.
Sometimes they are respectable, sometimes they are not.
Phil Crouter
23 August 2012 at 19:05 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I think what this band did was very disrespectful, offensive to Christians and wrong. However, I am uneasy about Russia. The country has a history of being governed by autocratic despots, interspersed with brief periods of liberalism.
They have no tradition of freedom as the West would understand. The established Church often appears no more than a tool of the State. The level of anti- Semitism in the country is shocking.
One doesnt know which way the country is heading
Stephen
24 August 2012 at 12:48 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
These are heady days, Phil, aren’t they? Leaving aside the question of anti-Semitism in Russia, which seems to be increasing throughout the world, we have a previously militant anti-Christian state passing sentence on defendants for blasphemy, recognising the danger posed to Syrian Christians from the free Syrian army, standing up for morality and decency at home whilst moving a pro-family motion at the United Nations in the teeth of opposition from the United States, Britain and the rest of the European Union. Who would have thought that what 30 years ago we described as the free world should have fallen so far and that it would take the Russians to show us the way to defend the very foundations of freedom.
Rox
24 August 2012 at 14:24 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
It is a great enthusiast who writes of Russia defending “the very foundations of freedom” ! Somehow I doubt if you and Putin would actually get on so well if you met him, or even if you lived there.
Stephen
26 August 2012 at 09:17 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I think it’s ‘President Putin’ or ‘Mr President’ to you and me. Must always be respectful even if you disagree with him.
Peter
24 August 2012 at 20:48 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I have just returned from Russia and having discussed some of these things with quite a few of the ‘locals’ I am not sure how many of the country’s 140 million or so inhabitants would agree that Mr Putin and Co are defending the very foundations of freedom. Mr Putin is a very clever man and you may find you have to revise your view in future. Apparently according to some of the ‘locals’ Mr Putin has something of a messiah complex i.e. he thinks only he can save Russia and he knows best. If true that does not augur well for Russia or for freedom. Whilst the Orthodox Church in Russia is now well accepted by the state the Protestant denominations (Baptists etc) are seen as sects and treated in the same way as JW’s and the Moonies, which is with suspicion. As for morality and decency it is true that a lot of what they say they value would be welcomed by conservative evangelicals but a lot of it is smoke and mirrors when it come down to what happens on the ground. It will be interesting to see how things turn out.
Dave H
24 August 2012 at 21:23 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Dave H.
Whilst being very wary regarding the actions of the Russian Govt. in most respects, I do agree with there views in these two cases. Firstly the gay marches there I completly aplaude there stand. In the case of the punk rock this was a step to far especially where it was carried out. The keeping of decent behaviour is of parramount importance, whether we have a grevience or not. Dave H.
Marat
1 September 2012 at 00:10 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Just to mention how it is seen from inside Russia, may be it would be interesting. Society actually have no single opinion about Pussy case. Mostly wide spread opinion is – they should be judged, but either two weeks in jail or one year on probation. What we see is too much. There is a chance that higher judge will decrease it.
But I have to say one not so obvious thing. Why at all they were given to police and formal judgement started? As you probably expect, most such cases are *not* investigated – police just arrests participants for one night and they go home next day. Nobody in police like to fill forms, have one more file – they have a lot of work with really bad guys. So what happened – why police started to work formally? (Two remarks: if the case had started, it will go to court and it results in judgement in most cases. I am absolutely sure, that Mr Putin have a lot of things to care, and has no time for such things). So what happened, why police could not forget next day about this Pussy action?
My guess is: by some strange chance the Church was full of TV cameras at exactly that time. This action in one-two hours was on all TV sets in Moscow. (By the way, who organazed this – that person should be in jail instead of girls). Not my guess: The Church used for the action built in 1990s on the money donated by richest people in Moscow, may be they took this as personal insult. And these people doesn’t know how to forgive.
And one more question, if you like performance – why you do it in Church? Find another place – as they did actually before. Here is the list of Pussy’s actions in this year:
20.01.2012 pussy riot made an action in front of Kremlin – they were detained and two of 8 girld paid a fine and all were freed same day.
19.02.2012 they made an action in another Church – they were just moved out of the Church.
And two days later, they made their last action in Christ’s Church in Moscow.
vasya
6 September 2012 at 20:07 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Pussi Riot participate in hanging of gays and immigrants in the Moscow supermarket, one year prior to performance in the temple. Now gays arrange parade for their support. ahahahahah…
http://yarosh.livejournal.com/283572.html
Stephen
7 September 2012 at 11:10 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
It’s a really puzzling report, even with Google translate. What were they doing?
Marat
7 September 2012 at 17:52 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Vasya mentions that one of the old actions against immigrant workers and gays performed in big shop about year ago. It looked like hanging gays and immigrant workers. Formally it was organized by “War” group, but Pussy Riot girls participated.
michelle
27 March 2013 at 22:07 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
as a Christian I am happy to see these girls stand up for justice. Like Jesus stormed the temple to make His point, so are these girls.. In situations like this it takes people with bold moves to really make a difference. Praying more Christians stand up for justice in the future like Jesus did. Love!
Stephen
28 March 2013 at 08:55 (UTC 1) Link to this comment
No, Michelle, they were standing up for indecency, not justice, hatred, not love. They are not remotely Christ-like.
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