The first time I saw the video of Pussy Riot performing inside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour I was a little shocked. I have to say that their music is just awful. And the location of their gig/protest wasn’t very clever. It was certainly going to offend a lot of Russian Orthodox believers. Russians are quite conservative people, and they aren’t used to the awful behavior that we often see in the UK. Visit any British town on a Friday/Saturday evening and you will be astounded at the level of drunkenness and violence. You will never see this in Russia. That’s why many Russians were so shocked by Pussy Riot, they aren’t used to this type of protest.
Russia has many faults and annoyances for me, but in general people are fairly cultured and well behaved. Pussy Riot certainly aren’t a group that should be emulated by Russian youth.
I don’t go to church very often, but protesting in a church is a little disgusting to me.
The western media is doing it’s usual anti-Putin dance, with claims of political persecution and some reports even fail to manage the location of the Pussy girls protest.
Putin is called a dictator, and Russia is compared to North Korea and China.
I wonder what the reaction would be if, lets say, a group of Occupy protesters broke into Westminster Abbey wearing balaclavas and started singing “F*** Cameron”? Judging from the reception that Femen got in London, I don’t think they would be very welcome.
In the UK we see people jailed for making jokes on Twitter, swinging off the Cenotaph or stealing bottles of water, so I think we have no right to condemn Russia.
Putin’s comments about the band seem fairly sensible. If the girls had pulled this stunt in a different type of church, lets say a mosque or a different country then they would be lucky to get out alive.
The 2 year sentence handed down is quite harsh, but I guess that the Putin administration wanted to send a clear message.
What do you think about Pussy Riot? Should they be jailed or freed?
Let us know by leaving a comment below.
