Pussy Riot

The foreign media has been closely following the trial of three members of Pussy Riot, a Russian punk band that staged a concert/protest at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. They were arrested and charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” for briefly performing a punk song called Holy Shit in protest against the rule of President Vladimir Putin. There are a couple of things that are interesting to me in this story. The first is that while the West has been covering the trial extensively, the Russian media has been largely silent on the issue other than to condemn what they did. In the foreign media the three women who were arrested and are trial are pinned as opposition to the regime. Numerous musicians in the West have come out in support of these women during their recent concerts in Russia including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, and Madonna. We were talking about this in class last week and my professor said no mater how most Russians feel about the regime many seem to be decidedly against these women because the protest was performed in a church. They have also been named as feminists in the West which, if you read an earlier post of mine is not a popular term in Russia. Here is an interesting interview with the women regarding their feminist viewpoints http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jul/29/pussy-riot-russia-interview-video The women face up to seven years in prison and it is pretty evident that no matter what the Western world thinks these women will go to jail. Amnesty International has taken up their case and asked the Russian government to free them from custody. Here is their petition if you are interested in supporting these women:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=517749