Crux
19th August 2012, 18:13
Why We Should Care About Pussy Riot (http://wild-*******.com/why-we-should-care-about-pussy-riot/)
19. August, 2012 by Marcus Agar (http://wild-*******.com/author/marcusagar/) Latest (http://wild-*******.com/category/latest/), News (http://wild-*******.com/category/news/), Opinion (http://wild-*******.com/category/opinion/) No comments (http://wild-*******.com/why-we-should-care-about-pussy-riot/#comments)
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http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot6.1-219x300.jpg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot6.1.jpg)Friday was not a good day for Russian civil society. On just one day, the country’s increasingly conservative agenda and authoritarian forces orchestrated three excessive incursions on civil rights, equality and freedom of expression.
The most prominent among these worrying incidents was the harsh sentence handed down in the show trial (http://freepussyriot.org/content/nadia-tolokonnikovas-closing-statement) against Russian punk band Pussy Riot (http://freepussyriot.org). The weight of the system was brought down on the heads of three young Russian women after they dared to protest against Putin’s escalating influence over state, religion and the legislature.
On the same day, Madonna was hit with a multi-million pound law suit for ‘morally damaging’ the sensitive people of St Petersburg, and a Moscow court upheld a ban on Gay Pride Parades (http://wild-*******.com/belgrade-pride-places-faith-in-three-little-words/) in the city… for the next one hundred years.
Hail Mary, Expel Putin
International governments, human rights groups (http://wild-*******.com/civil-society-needs-to-unite-to-protect-democracy-and-human-rights-in-serbia-a-council-of-europe-chief-says/) and stars including Madonna, Paul McCartney, Nina Hagen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Hagen), Yoko Ono (http://imaginepeace.com/archives/18303) and Sting have spoken out against the prosecution of three members of Pussy Riot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot) (Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (http://freepussyriot.org/content/nadia-tolokonnikovas-closing-statement), 22) whowere convicted of ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’.
The incident that outraged the system was the band’s 40-second performance of a protest song, Hail Mary, Expel Putin (http://freepussyriot.org), at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour) to highlight what is seen as a dangerous blurring of the lines between church and state. This influence over the church was most evident when the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, campaigned on behalf of Vladimir Putin in presidential elections earlier this year.
In a statement (http://freepussyriot.org/content/art-and-human-manifesto-nadia-tolokonikovoy), Pussy Riot (http://freepussyriot.org) member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (http://freepussyriot.org/content/art-and-human-manifesto-nadia-tolokonikovoy) said: “The interests of the group members are political activism, ecology, and the elimination of authoritarian tendencies in the Russian state system through the creation of the civil society. In our song Hail Mary, Expel Putin we reflected the reaction of many Russian citizens to the patriarch’s calls for vote for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin during the presidential election.
“We, like many of our fellow citizens, wrestle against treachery, deceit, bribery, hypocrisy, greed, and lawlessness, peculiar to the current authorities and rulers. This is why we were upset by this political initiative of the patriarch and could not fail to express that.
http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot2.jpeg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot2.jpeg)“The performance was committed not on the grounds of religious enmity and hatred. We intended to express our concern: the rector of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church – the patriarch – supports a politician who forcefully suppresses the civil society, which is dear to us.
“I would like to emphasise that, while at the Cathedral, we did not utter any insulting words towards the church, the Christians, and God. The words we spoke and our entire punk performance aimed to express our disapproval of a specific political event: the patriarch’s support of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who took an authoritarian and anti-feminist course. Our performance contained no aggression towards the audience, but only a desperate desire to change the political situation in Russia for the better. We had no intentions to offend anyone.”
Disproportionate to the Crime
Cries of ‘shame’ were heard in the courtroom as they were sentenced to two years in one of Russia’s notorious penal colonies. Passing sentence, Judge Marina Syrova said they had “crudely undermined the social order”.
The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union (http://wild-*******.com/can-serbia-ask-the-right-questions-before-facing-a-future-within-europe/) led international condemnation of the sentencing as ‘disproportionate’ to the crime. Amnesty International called the ruling a ‘bitter blow’ for freedom of expression, while Human Rights Watch spoke of concerns about what this case signals for Russia. Madonna declared the Pussy Riot sentencing to be “inhumane”.
Demonstrations held outside Russia’s embassies across the world heaped embarrassment on Putin’s regime, while protest events took place in London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Dublin, Sofia and Belgrade. In Kiev, supporters hacked down a wooden cross that had been erected in a city square. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and opposition politician Sergei Udaltsov were among protesters arrested for showing their contempt for the Moscow court.
While some claim that the band’s political protest was inappropriate in a place of worship, still more see the harsh sentencing in this trial as the latest in a disquieting series of extreme events since Vladimir Putin retook the presidency in May. Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny pinned the sentence to the Russian president: “They are in jail because it is Putin’s personal revenge,’ he is reported as saying. “This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin.”
State, Religion & Legislature
The Pussy Riot incident touched on the three pillars of society: state, religion and the legislature. Fears have been expressed about the apparent bias of the court at this trial, after the defence team was often prevented from questioning prosecution witnesses and many of their own witnesses were barred from appearing. There was also concern over witnesses being asked to confirm that they were practising members of the Russian Orthodox Church.
http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot4.11.jpg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot4.11.jpg)Religion has been at the forefront of this public trial, with Patriarch Kirill describing their performance as ‘blasphemous’, despite the band’s claims to the contrary. That the church made a public gesture of calling for leniency in sentencing was a natural damage limitation exercise for them. Dramatically falling attendance figures have already ruffled the men is charge and church has been having a hard time, with negative stories circulating about the lifestyle of the Patriarch.
The Russian Orthodox Church is widely believed to be increasingly subservient to Putin, including the Patriarch’s public endorsement of him in the elections. Some claim that embarrassing news stories involving the Patriarch could be part of a smear campaign to remind the Church who is in charge.
Madonna Sued in St Petersburg
A further attack on equal human rights came when St Petersburg recently set down a new law against what the city terms ‘homosexual propaganda’. The ruling, banning the ‘propagation of homosexuality’ and ‘promotion of gay lifestyles’ caught a high profile victim on Friday: Madonna.
The singer, who recently performed in the city and had already displayed her support for Pussy Riot, was slapped with a £6.5m law suit for expressing support for gay rights during her recent concert. “If you are with me, raise your arm and show your love and appreciation for the gay community,’ Madonna said after pink wristbands had been handed out to show ‘tolerance for the gay community’. Calling for (http://www.towleroad.com/2012/08/madonna-in-st-petersburg-show-your-love-and-appreciation-to-the-gay-community.html) “respect, tolerance and love” for the LGBT community, Madonna said: “We want to fight for the right to be free.”
http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MadonnaPussyRiot.jpg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MadonnaPussyRiot.jpg)Apparently, this was too subversive for some ultra conservative members of the Union of Russian Citizens,the People’s Assembly and the New Great Russia Party, who saw dollar signs and joined forces to sue the singer for ‘moral damage’. One of those who filed the suit, Darya Dedova, said: “It is difficult to measure moral damages and suffering but maybe people who earn money regardless of moral rules will better understand this.”
In a statement that would be laughable if it were not so disturbing, a lawyer representing the group suing Madonna claimed that many had felt ‘psychological stress and emotional shock’ over the singer’s comments. A spokesperson for the Union of Russian Citizens said: “We demand that she pay for moral damage suffered by St. Petersburg residents as a result of her actions during the show.”
Moscow’s One Hundred Years of Homophobia
On this dark day, another blow to civil rights in Russia came when a court held up a Moscow City Council ban on Gay Pride Parades for the next one hundred years. Nikolai Alexeyev, who brought the suit, has vowed to fight the ban in the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg (with Russia as a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights) to prove that such bans cannot be legal. Alexeyev already has a case before the Court, to examine Russia’s response to a previous ruling that he had been discriminated against because of his sexual orientation. In that case, the Russian government argued that holding a Pride parade would risk riots.
Similar claims were used by Serbia (http://wild-*******.com/civil-society-needs-to-unite-to-protect-democracy-and-human-rights-in-serbia-a-council-of-europe-chief-says/) when its government banned (http://wild-*******.com/serbia-has-failed-its-people-dented-its-future-in-europe-a-democracy-campaigner-claims-the-eu-is-watching-closely-says-eu-delegation/) the Belgrade Pride Parade (http://wild-*******.com/belgrade-pride-places-faith-in-three-little-words/) in 2011. It remains to be seen whether Serbia’s new leadership will show more commitment to the principles of equality and human rights or if it will impose a fresh ban on this year’s Parade, planned for 7 October.
Why We Should Care
Why should we care what happens in Russia? For me, the answer is clear: The world over, we have seen people demand freedom of expression and democracy: From Latin America and Eastern Europe in the 1980/90′s to the Arab Spring in 2011. Around the world, many people have sacrificed themselves for the right to live in peace, with personal dignity and respect for others. I believe that a world populated by people in countries with strong civil societies, governed by the rule of law, with freedom of expression and democracy for all, creates a safer and more rewarding world in which to live.
If Russia wants to play a credible role in the international community, based on respect for human rights, democratic values and the rule of law, it needs a civil society at its base. People around the world are watching with concern to ensure that this regional leader can uphold its world position.
Such heavy-handed infringements on human rights, equality and justice signal a worrying trend in Russia and warrant our attention and interest. As has been seen so many times in countries with state controlled media, the only way that people can hear about what is happening on their own doorstep is in reports from international news outlets.
We are witnessing Russia’s omnipotent ruler flexing his muscle in defiance of anyone or anything that gets in his way. With this conviction Putin has sent a message to Russians and to the world: If you dare to mess with me, you will pay a high price for doing so.
19. August, 2012 by Marcus Agar (http://wild-*******.com/author/marcusagar/) Latest (http://wild-*******.com/category/latest/), News (http://wild-*******.com/category/news/), Opinion (http://wild-*******.com/category/opinion/) No comments (http://wild-*******.com/why-we-should-care-about-pussy-riot/#comments)
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http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot6.1-219x300.jpg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot6.1.jpg)Friday was not a good day for Russian civil society. On just one day, the country’s increasingly conservative agenda and authoritarian forces orchestrated three excessive incursions on civil rights, equality and freedom of expression.
The most prominent among these worrying incidents was the harsh sentence handed down in the show trial (http://freepussyriot.org/content/nadia-tolokonnikovas-closing-statement) against Russian punk band Pussy Riot (http://freepussyriot.org). The weight of the system was brought down on the heads of three young Russian women after they dared to protest against Putin’s escalating influence over state, religion and the legislature.
On the same day, Madonna was hit with a multi-million pound law suit for ‘morally damaging’ the sensitive people of St Petersburg, and a Moscow court upheld a ban on Gay Pride Parades (http://wild-*******.com/belgrade-pride-places-faith-in-three-little-words/) in the city… for the next one hundred years.
Hail Mary, Expel Putin
International governments, human rights groups (http://wild-*******.com/civil-society-needs-to-unite-to-protect-democracy-and-human-rights-in-serbia-a-council-of-europe-chief-says/) and stars including Madonna, Paul McCartney, Nina Hagen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Hagen), Yoko Ono (http://imaginepeace.com/archives/18303) and Sting have spoken out against the prosecution of three members of Pussy Riot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot) (Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (http://freepussyriot.org/content/nadia-tolokonnikovas-closing-statement), 22) whowere convicted of ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’.
The incident that outraged the system was the band’s 40-second performance of a protest song, Hail Mary, Expel Putin (http://freepussyriot.org), at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour) to highlight what is seen as a dangerous blurring of the lines between church and state. This influence over the church was most evident when the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, campaigned on behalf of Vladimir Putin in presidential elections earlier this year.
In a statement (http://freepussyriot.org/content/art-and-human-manifesto-nadia-tolokonikovoy), Pussy Riot (http://freepussyriot.org) member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (http://freepussyriot.org/content/art-and-human-manifesto-nadia-tolokonikovoy) said: “The interests of the group members are political activism, ecology, and the elimination of authoritarian tendencies in the Russian state system through the creation of the civil society. In our song Hail Mary, Expel Putin we reflected the reaction of many Russian citizens to the patriarch’s calls for vote for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin during the presidential election.
“We, like many of our fellow citizens, wrestle against treachery, deceit, bribery, hypocrisy, greed, and lawlessness, peculiar to the current authorities and rulers. This is why we were upset by this political initiative of the patriarch and could not fail to express that.
http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot2.jpeg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot2.jpeg)“The performance was committed not on the grounds of religious enmity and hatred. We intended to express our concern: the rector of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church – the patriarch – supports a politician who forcefully suppresses the civil society, which is dear to us.
“I would like to emphasise that, while at the Cathedral, we did not utter any insulting words towards the church, the Christians, and God. The words we spoke and our entire punk performance aimed to express our disapproval of a specific political event: the patriarch’s support of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who took an authoritarian and anti-feminist course. Our performance contained no aggression towards the audience, but only a desperate desire to change the political situation in Russia for the better. We had no intentions to offend anyone.”
Disproportionate to the Crime
Cries of ‘shame’ were heard in the courtroom as they were sentenced to two years in one of Russia’s notorious penal colonies. Passing sentence, Judge Marina Syrova said they had “crudely undermined the social order”.
The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union (http://wild-*******.com/can-serbia-ask-the-right-questions-before-facing-a-future-within-europe/) led international condemnation of the sentencing as ‘disproportionate’ to the crime. Amnesty International called the ruling a ‘bitter blow’ for freedom of expression, while Human Rights Watch spoke of concerns about what this case signals for Russia. Madonna declared the Pussy Riot sentencing to be “inhumane”.
Demonstrations held outside Russia’s embassies across the world heaped embarrassment on Putin’s regime, while protest events took place in London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Dublin, Sofia and Belgrade. In Kiev, supporters hacked down a wooden cross that had been erected in a city square. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and opposition politician Sergei Udaltsov were among protesters arrested for showing their contempt for the Moscow court.
While some claim that the band’s political protest was inappropriate in a place of worship, still more see the harsh sentencing in this trial as the latest in a disquieting series of extreme events since Vladimir Putin retook the presidency in May. Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny pinned the sentence to the Russian president: “They are in jail because it is Putin’s personal revenge,’ he is reported as saying. “This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin.”
State, Religion & Legislature
The Pussy Riot incident touched on the three pillars of society: state, religion and the legislature. Fears have been expressed about the apparent bias of the court at this trial, after the defence team was often prevented from questioning prosecution witnesses and many of their own witnesses were barred from appearing. There was also concern over witnesses being asked to confirm that they were practising members of the Russian Orthodox Church.
http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot4.11.jpg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PussyRiot4.11.jpg)Religion has been at the forefront of this public trial, with Patriarch Kirill describing their performance as ‘blasphemous’, despite the band’s claims to the contrary. That the church made a public gesture of calling for leniency in sentencing was a natural damage limitation exercise for them. Dramatically falling attendance figures have already ruffled the men is charge and church has been having a hard time, with negative stories circulating about the lifestyle of the Patriarch.
The Russian Orthodox Church is widely believed to be increasingly subservient to Putin, including the Patriarch’s public endorsement of him in the elections. Some claim that embarrassing news stories involving the Patriarch could be part of a smear campaign to remind the Church who is in charge.
Madonna Sued in St Petersburg
A further attack on equal human rights came when St Petersburg recently set down a new law against what the city terms ‘homosexual propaganda’. The ruling, banning the ‘propagation of homosexuality’ and ‘promotion of gay lifestyles’ caught a high profile victim on Friday: Madonna.
The singer, who recently performed in the city and had already displayed her support for Pussy Riot, was slapped with a £6.5m law suit for expressing support for gay rights during her recent concert. “If you are with me, raise your arm and show your love and appreciation for the gay community,’ Madonna said after pink wristbands had been handed out to show ‘tolerance for the gay community’. Calling for (http://www.towleroad.com/2012/08/madonna-in-st-petersburg-show-your-love-and-appreciation-to-the-gay-community.html) “respect, tolerance and love” for the LGBT community, Madonna said: “We want to fight for the right to be free.”
http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MadonnaPussyRiot.jpg (http://wild-*******.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MadonnaPussyRiot.jpg)Apparently, this was too subversive for some ultra conservative members of the Union of Russian Citizens,the People’s Assembly and the New Great Russia Party, who saw dollar signs and joined forces to sue the singer for ‘moral damage’. One of those who filed the suit, Darya Dedova, said: “It is difficult to measure moral damages and suffering but maybe people who earn money regardless of moral rules will better understand this.”
In a statement that would be laughable if it were not so disturbing, a lawyer representing the group suing Madonna claimed that many had felt ‘psychological stress and emotional shock’ over the singer’s comments. A spokesperson for the Union of Russian Citizens said: “We demand that she pay for moral damage suffered by St. Petersburg residents as a result of her actions during the show.”
Moscow’s One Hundred Years of Homophobia
On this dark day, another blow to civil rights in Russia came when a court held up a Moscow City Council ban on Gay Pride Parades for the next one hundred years. Nikolai Alexeyev, who brought the suit, has vowed to fight the ban in the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg (with Russia as a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights) to prove that such bans cannot be legal. Alexeyev already has a case before the Court, to examine Russia’s response to a previous ruling that he had been discriminated against because of his sexual orientation. In that case, the Russian government argued that holding a Pride parade would risk riots.
Similar claims were used by Serbia (http://wild-*******.com/civil-society-needs-to-unite-to-protect-democracy-and-human-rights-in-serbia-a-council-of-europe-chief-says/) when its government banned (http://wild-*******.com/serbia-has-failed-its-people-dented-its-future-in-europe-a-democracy-campaigner-claims-the-eu-is-watching-closely-says-eu-delegation/) the Belgrade Pride Parade (http://wild-*******.com/belgrade-pride-places-faith-in-three-little-words/) in 2011. It remains to be seen whether Serbia’s new leadership will show more commitment to the principles of equality and human rights or if it will impose a fresh ban on this year’s Parade, planned for 7 October.
Why We Should Care
Why should we care what happens in Russia? For me, the answer is clear: The world over, we have seen people demand freedom of expression and democracy: From Latin America and Eastern Europe in the 1980/90′s to the Arab Spring in 2011. Around the world, many people have sacrificed themselves for the right to live in peace, with personal dignity and respect for others. I believe that a world populated by people in countries with strong civil societies, governed by the rule of law, with freedom of expression and democracy for all, creates a safer and more rewarding world in which to live.
If Russia wants to play a credible role in the international community, based on respect for human rights, democratic values and the rule of law, it needs a civil society at its base. People around the world are watching with concern to ensure that this regional leader can uphold its world position.
Such heavy-handed infringements on human rights, equality and justice signal a worrying trend in Russia and warrant our attention and interest. As has been seen so many times in countries with state controlled media, the only way that people can hear about what is happening on their own doorstep is in reports from international news outlets.
We are witnessing Russia’s omnipotent ruler flexing his muscle in defiance of anyone or anything that gets in his way. With this conviction Putin has sent a message to Russians and to the world: If you dare to mess with me, you will pay a high price for doing so.