Thread: "Pussy Riot......"

Don't know if you Russians are aware of what types of news stories from Russia get reported in other countries, in mainstream media? Perhaps you'd be surprised, or perhaps not.

After a couple of months of endless stories about supposed discrimination of gay people in St Petersburg (sigh - boring!) and the rest of Russia, the latest story that actually gets a lot of space in the papers is "Pussy Riot":

(Quicky summary: The Russian girl punk band "Pussy Riot" broke into a major cathedral in central Moscow and started singing a rather blasphemous song about killing Putin..... The big outrage - I think - is that the girls are risking up to 7 years of prison for this. )

I have a view on this actually, but instead of boring everyone with my opinion (after all, I am not Russian..) - let's hear what people who are Russian think! And anyone else who wants to comment.

• Do you have sympathy for the girls' anti-Putin protest in general?

• Was it ok to break into this cathedral and stake a protest there?

• Should the band members get punished by the law and if so, what type of punishment would you support? Or if they should not be punished, why not?

• What would have happened if somebody tried something equivalent in Brezhnev's time? Was this good or bad?

• What would happen if somebody did this in London, Washington, Paris...? (I think they'd try to find a terrorist angle on them and do some serious poking around in their life and they'd find themselves in all sorts of registers shortly. The punishment, at least in the UK - would be a very hefty fine and suspended prison.)

A news report about this in English.



Just surprised that the offense "hooliganism" can have a such a lengthy prison term associated with it! I would have guessed a couple of years, at most, for a such an offense.

This story is known but I believe it happened in March, a little bit old for news

This story is actively covered by Russian media too, because court hearings are happening these days.
I personally disapprove of Pussy Riot "performance".
I think that they should get something like a month or two of community service.
But they are charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility, and thus could end up in prison for up to 7 years!
I think it's ridiculous. And the court is clearly biased against them.
Personnel of the church is regarded as a victim of this crime. They testify that they were insulted and demand satisfaction.
Russian Orthodox Church officials also publicly demand strict punishment for the girls. Christians and non-Christians debate heatedly about trademark Christian forgiveness and its extent.

Russian writer Leonid Kaganov wrote satirical essay about the court hearings: Леонид Каганов: 2012/08/04 Стенограмма заседания Хамовнического суда.
BTW, someone has translated it to Swedish: http://www.kniivila.net/2012/jesus-i...skvadomstolen/.

Толоконникова на 9-том месяце беременности, за три дня до родов, участвует в публичном групповом сексе
anarchia_ru: Интервью с одним из лидеров арт-группы "Война"


Куриный перформанс

(Удалены грязные фотки. Л.)




Акция "Х*й в плену у ФСБ"


Акция "Лобзай мусора"

Originally Posted by Doomer

This story is known but I believe it happened in March, a little bit old for news

I only heard about it now, because of the court hearings. In fact, it was on the front page of the main evening paper where I live, a week or so ago (not much happens here....)

Originally Posted by ВарраВа

Толоконникова на 9-том месяце беременности, за три дня до родов, участвует в публичном групповом сексе

Not sure how much of that is illegal (probably most isn't, apart from a lesbian assault on the metro!). But she seems a bit nutty and obviously her morals are far from mainstream... If she really hates the government/system so much, then getting involved in political opposition, organising demos etc seems more effective! Maybe she/they are exhibitionists more than anything else, just liking the attention. Has there been any interviews with her asking what on earth her agenda is? At the moment I think she simply seems like a lunatic, a bit like the FEMEN group.

7 years in prison is probably great if you want to scare everyone else off messing about in the church in the future... But for the actual crime, it seems disproportionate in the extreme, rather un-Christian. "Judge not lest ye yourselves be judged..."

Originally Posted by xdns

Personnel of the church is regarded as a victim of this crime. They testify that they were insulted and demand satisfaction.

Hmmm..... They can make their point without ruining the lives of these girls with a 7 year prison term!

Originally Posted by xdns

BTW, someone has translated it to Swedish: http://www.kniivila.net/2012/jesus-i...skvadomstolen/.

Thanks! Gosh, that DOES read like a comedy. It's hard to believe that this is what the judge really said.

I know of this man and his blog, he covers Russia in one of the bigger Swedish mainstream papers, and this is his private in-depth blog on Russia. But I stopped reading his blog because he seems to absolutely hate Russia (covers only negative stuff) and I think he is a bit two faced in his views in general. Plus, one of his big themes which is Russia being a military threat to Sweden is not only ridiculous but totally unconstructive. I am really fed up with Sweden's official take on Russia and Belarus at the moment.

They can make their point without ruining the lives of these girls with a 7 year prison term!

The Church did not require any punishment for them.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Thanks! Gosh, that DOES read like a comedy. It's hard to believe that this is what the judge really said.

It's a parody, of course.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Plus, one of his big themes which is Russia being a military threat to Sweden is not only ridiculous but totally unconstructive.

Comrades, our plans to invade Sweden are no longer secret!

Originally Posted by Marcus

The Church did not require any punishment for them.

The Church has recently softened its position.

Originally Posted by xdns

It's a parody, of course.

Are you kidding - that was not clear from the translation I read!!
Some trials in the UK are not far from that - the judges amuse themselves by making ironic comments or applying very dry humour to some cases.
I'll check it out again.

Originally Posted by xdns

Comrades, our plans to invade Sweden are no longer secret!

Yeah right, because you REALLY need more taiga and iron mines..... (that's all we have here, really...)
Well - I am really not worried about this LOL, because last time there was a conflict between Russia and Sweden was in the 17th century and as far as I am aware it was WE who attacked, and (sadly ) lost.... our entire little "Baltic Empire".

Nevertheless there are a few "Russia" blogs in Sweden that are "watching" the Russian military and coming up with various ridiculous conspiracy theories. Particularly, they tout the idea that the more the our defense is dismantled, the more tempting the idea will be for Russia. What tosh!

Originally Posted by Marcus

The Church did not require any punishment for them.

Good! It would have been totally unchristian of them to insist that Pussy Riot was locked up for 7 years. I assume they did not hurt anyone physically, or damage property in the church?

Perhaps they can just up the security a tiny bit in this particular cathedral so that people can't walk in and set up concert equipment without anyone taking notice until they start singing.

I DO object to people taking the p-ss with other people's faith though.

I originally thought this thread was about overpopulation of cats in Russian streets.

Originally Posted by Valda

I originally thought this thread was about overpopulation of cats in Russian streets.

LOL!!! Yeah the name is terrible. This group does everything it can to provoke... But if you did not recognise the name, then you haven't been following news out of Russia at all latetely.

because last time there was a conflict between Russia and Sweden was in the 17th century and as far as I am aware it was WE who attacked, and (sadly ) lost.... our entire little "Baltic Empire".

Последняя война между Россией и Швецией произошла в 1809 г., когда Россия завоевала Финляндию.
Finska kriget - Wikipedia
Северную войну начал против Швеции Северный альянс. Первой в войну вступила Дания.

ok, ok, I meant to say the 18th century and I sometimes mix up the way of saying centuries in English since you have to remember to go one up on the century you actually mean. I guess I was off by a few years because I thought this war was in the late 17 hundreds, not 1809. War history is not my forte, so perhaps I should not have bothered with that comment.

But again, that was an observation in response to someones elses comment, and it is not the topic of this discussion!

Originally Posted by Hanna

But again, that was an observation in response to someones elses comment, and it is not the topic of this discussion!

Мы же просто общаемся и не обязаны строго придерживаться заданной темы. Потом, я написал это не для того чтобы обвинить вас в незнании истории, а просто для точности.

Allright then, so what is your view on Pussy Riot and the trial?

The state is requiring 3 years of колонии общего режима for them, actually. Probably they would get less.
Medvedev said exactly: "they got what they wanted - известность".
I think they are given too much attention. What would be if they had done the same in a mosque?

I don't understand, why does the process last for so long.
"Ведь всё ясно, как божий день!", как сказала бы фрекен Бок!
1 year in prison is the maximum they will receive, I think. Probably, less.
Personally I condemn the girls, of course, but adequate penalty would be about 1 year of garbage collection for each.

Жаль, что телесные наказания отменили. Я бы выдрал, как следует, розгами по голому заду прилюдно. А то, что их в СИЗО держат, так это власть только из себя посмешище делает имхо.

Do you have sympathy for the girls' anti-Putin protest in general?

I don't. Their "protest" was stupid.
I am globally not in sympathy with "all that avant-garde", although I visit contemporary exhibitions, concerts etc.
Last time I visited "King Crimson" concert - that was really unbelievable piece of art.
But pussies are kind of piece of crap.

Was it ok to break into this cathedral and stake a protest there?

I am not a believer, but it was absolutely abnormal.

Should the band members get punished by the law and if so, what type of punishment would you support? Or if they should not be punished, why not?

They should be arrested for 15 days. It is a kind of standard punishment for easy law-brakes in Russia.

What would have happened if somebody tried something equivalent in Brezhnev's time? Was this good or bad?

I am not sure, I was born in 1977, but most likely that person would be housed in a mental clinic for indefinite period of time.

Originally Posted by Basil77

Жаль, что телесные наказания отменили. Я бы выдрал, как следует, розгами по голому заду прилюдно. А то, что их в СИЗО держат, так это власть только из себя посмешище делает имхо.

Oh dear - I think you are joking. Either way I'd be more on Denis' line - anyone who behaves like a hooligan in a church, whether they are in Russia or anywhere else, deserves a bit of punishment - a month or two. But it would be unchristian to punish them in such a way that they could not recover their lives afterswards.

Although a month or two of therapy probably would do Ms Tolokonnikova a lot of good, judging from the videos of her masturbating with a dead chicken and having group sex while 8 months pregnant...
Something must have gone wrong in her childhood. I think she needs help more than anything else. And she certainly was not considering her child when she knowingly got herself arrested and thrown in prison.

I think this has very little to do with a genuine and serious wish to change the political situation.

Medvedev was right in that what they wanted most of all, is attention.

Did she say she was a Canadian citizen or something? If so, why not just send her back there?