Articles

26 Apr 2012
Free Pussy Riot, the Only Band that Matters in 2012

Tobi Vail
eMusic
04.25.12
Pussy Riot haven’t made any records yet, but they have released several songs as soundtracks to YouTube videos of their guerilla theater actions. Each performance shows them seizing control of public space and jumping up and down in colorful costumes to wild, frenetic punk songs with aggressive female vocals, singing political lyrics that question authority and challenge the status quo. The chaotic, celebratory nature of their shows is invigorating. In an interview with Miriam Elder for the Guardian in early February, the band said they were interested in creating a “culture of protest,” arguing that there’s a need for many different kinds of actions, explaining, “We want to create a new form of protest — maybe not such a huge one, but we compensate for that with the bright provocative and illegal nature of our performances.”
 
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http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/music-news/spotlight/free-pussy-riot-the-only-ban...
25 Apr 2012
Russia: Where and under what conditions are the activists of Pussy Riot imprisoned?

Politzeki
By Oleg Lurye
(Source: Moscow Echo Radio)
 
Let us have a little wander round the detention prison, IZ – 77/6, where the three activists from the punk group Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova andEkaterina Samutsevitch are imprisoned. They are being charged with hooliganism, which comes under Article 213 of the Russian Republic’s Criminal Code and carries a sentence of up to 7 years. They will stay here at least till April 24. We shall also try to work out the why three girls are being kept in these conditions and whether their action (or their misdemeanour as the prosecutor puts it) is really commensurate with being kept in Moscow’s infamous detention prison No. 6.
Read Full Article: http://politzeki.tumblr.com/post/21776080124/russia-where-and-under-what-conditions-are-the

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24 Apr 2012
Let Pussy Riot go

The Moscow News
Natalia Antonova
23/04/2012 21:09
 
All of this probably means that in Russia, punk is going to prosper. It’s a bit like a scavenger, after all: it needs carrion to consume, and the police and the courts are always up for leaving a fresh trail of bodies and destroyed lives in their wake.
Dostoevsky already said everything there was to say about the Russian courts in “The Brothers Karamazov.” But considering the historic repressions against the church, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction, and some people are genuinely happy about that. For as long as they think that today’s courts can solve the problems that Pussy Riot’s performance dragged to the surface, the church will suffer. And punk will prosper.
Read Full Article: http://themoscownews.com/russia/20120423/189659689.html

http://themoscownews.com/russia/20120423/189659689.html
24 Apr 2012
Pussy Riot and free speech: How Russian capitalism and religion are attacking dissent

Death + Taxes
by DJ Pangburn
4/23/2012
 
This past Saturday was Global Pussy Riot Action Day, which was an opportunity for supporters to raise awareness about the detention of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, who have refused to say if they are in fact members of Pussy Riot. Since Pussy Riot’s mid-March protest prayer, their situation has gradually infiltrated the mainstream media, whereas before it was mostly the concern of indie media. More press should hopefully raise awareness of the absurdity of the state and religious response.
To get a batter grasp of the situation in which the Pussy Riot members find themselves, it might be useful to examine the state of free speech in Russia.
Read Full Article: http://feministing.com/2012/04/23/russias-pussy-riot-remain-in-jail/

http://feministing.com/2012/04/23/russias-pussy-riot-remain-in-jail/
23 Apr 2012
First Among Estates

April 23, 2012
New York Times
By MASHA GESSEN
For the church, the punk group represents vaster dark forces. Two weeks ago, all the priests of Russia’s Orthodox parishes were given a letter to read to their flock during Sunday services. Warning against “the forces of aggressive liberalism,” the letter said, “The church will not be swayed from its position of not accepting such anti-Christian phenomena as the recognition of same-sex marriage, freedom of expression of all forms of desire, uncontained consumerism and the propaganda of permissiveness and decadence.” It has thrown its support behind a bill banning “homosexual propaganda,” which has already been adopted in several cities.
Read Full Article: http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/russias-orthodox-church-though-more-powerful-feels-more-vulnerable/

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23 Apr 2012
What American women could learn from Pussy Riot, a Russian punk rock girl band

Washington Post - She The People
Suzi Parker
4/21/2012

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have an American version of Pussy Riot to lead the soundtrack on this country’s war on women? They could protest at Ted Nugent concerts, write lyrics about Rush Limbaugh andBill Maher and call out politicians on both sides, or the Secret Service, when they insulted women. And with the protection of free speech. Pussy Riot would love to have that freedom.
Read Full Article:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/what-american-women-could-learn-from-pussy-riot-a-russian-punk-rock-girl-band/2012/04/21/gIQAYr42XT_blog.html

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20 Apr 2012
Pussy Riot members will be detained until 24 June

FREEMUSE
Freedom of Musical Expression
April 20, 2012
On Thursday 19 April more than 100 demonstrators and journalists had gathered outside the Tagansky Court building in downtown Moscow before the appearance of Alyokhina, Tolokonnikova and Samusevich. The Moscow Times reports that 30 Pussy Riot supporters were detained when demonstrating outside the court. (Other sources say 13 people were detained.) Police arrested anyone with signs or wearing T-shirts with slogans expressing support for the group.
 
Read Full Article: http://freemuse.dk/sw47336.asp

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20 Apr 2012
Russian court refuses to free anti-Putin punks

Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:10pm BST By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW | (Reuters) - A Russian court refused on Thursday to free three members of a women's punk band that sang a protest song against Vladimir Putin in a cathedral, despite calls for their release by activists and backers who scuffled with police at the hearing.
 
Read Full Article: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/19/uk-russia-pussyriot-idUKBRE83I1J620120419

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17 Apr 2012
Meet Pussy Riot, Russia's Punk Protesters

Bloomberg Businessweek
By Peter Savodnik
April 16, 2012
Pussy Riot is the latest sign that the kids, at least the ones in Russia, are not alright. The punk rock collective is fond of turning up in such public places in Moscow as Red Square and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to perform songs about how much they hate Vladimir Putin. Members sport colorful skirts, leggings, and most important, masks—the better to protect their identities. Starting on April 19, a court will decide whether the band keeps rocking out or spends the next seven years in prison.
 
Read Full Article: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-16/pussy-riot-russias-punk-protesters-explained

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11 Apr 2012
The Patriarch & Putin Have a Pussy Riot

realclearreligion.org
05/04/2012
by Tim Kelleher

March may typically come in like a lion and go out like a lamb, but for Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church (MP), the lion has bounded into April, teeth sharp and stomach growling.
Three headaches have the potential to develop into something much more damaging to those living in Russia and the former Soviet republics, as well as to the wider world of the Orthodox communion.

We begin with the ingloriously named, Pussy Riot, an activist group who recently staged its most controversial act of political performance "art" to date, in the bosom of Russian Orthodoxy -- Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow's Red Square.

The action took the form of what one member called "a prayer," (aka, a song called, "Holy Sh#t!"); lyrics include, "Mother of God, get rid of Putin!"

According to reports from the Russian capital, it's virtually impossible to go out in public with any chance of avoiding the topic, not only of what happened, but what should happen next. Handicappers see things as fairly evenly split -- between those calling for vigorous prosecution and those appealing for lenience.

Read Full Article: http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2012/04/05/the_patriarch__putin_have_a_pussy_riot.html

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