Respect and admiration goes out to Pussy Riot: I don't know if they thought all along that they'd see jail time for their prank - if that was a result they consciously embraced from the outset - but given that they've been sentenced to two years' imprisonment (for making "devilish movements" in church!) it sure seems like they've succeeded in showing the world just how limited freedom of speech and expression is in Putin's Russia, which, ironically, they would not have done had the charges been dismissed or such. They've also shown the power of punk to still stir shit up, gotten worldwide press for their cause and their band, and struck a real blow against Putin, who seems disturbingly like the "old boss" of Soviet days. So good for them! Not sure punk has ever been used so effectively as a weapon of protest, actually, and since that's what the genre was designed for, these girls deserve nothing but respect and praise - if there were an internationally-minded Grammy for "best use of punk rock in a political protest," they'd win for sure. The only downside is that I don't imagine two years in a Russian prison will make for a very pleasant vacation - here's hoping they emerge unscathed (and remembered!).
Now what would be really cool is if every other punk band in Russia staged a protest in church praying for Pussy Riot to be released. Check out some of their music here - also a new anti-Putin song by them, cleverly edited by The Guardian to images of their protest and trial, here.
Where can I get me a Pussy Riot album, anyhow...?
An excellent article, posted on Facebook by Robin Bougie:
ReplyDeletehttp://pitchfork.com/features/articles/8920-pussy-riot/?utm_medium=site&utm_source=ticker&utm_name=ticker