Pussy Riot, Kangaroo Courts & Putin

In a strange twist of fate in the trial of the activist punk band, Pussy Riot, in which three of it’s members face a 7-year prison sentence on “Hooligan Charges” for speaking out against not only the Russian Orthodox Church but the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Putin himself, however, has called on the court for leniency saying that he [Putin] did not think that they should be judge too harshly and added that he hoped the court comes to the “right decision”.

Putin’s comments come as the prosecution called it’s first witnesses, and if these first witnesses are any indication of how the trail is going to go, it harks back to a time when the Russian court system was considered just another extension to KGB where if you found yourself facing charges as thus you basically just went to jail, in what is usually termed as a “Kangaroo Court”. Why do you ask? Well that’s simple: the prosecution’s first witness, a one Oleg Ugrik, wasn’t even there at the time the band performed inside Christ Savior Cathedral. No, he [Ugrik], a construction worker, saw it on the internet, and was reportedly “so disturbed” by the “black energy that swept over him” after viewing the video that he [Ugrik] immediately called the police offering his help, who [the Investigators] of course called on him to testify. Ugrik told the court: “These girls lowered themselves into hell of their own volition. The rot that they have released into society, thanks to the Internet has spread to millions of people.” Ugrik also accused the girls of representing a satanic cult that has “declared war against God and the Orthodox Church. Even while the girls have been in jail this tumor has continued to grow.”

Which takes us to witness number two, Eteri Ivanishvili, who works at another church in Moscow as a bursar. She also wasn’t there. Ivanishvili made her connection to the “crime” (I say that as loosely as I can) via television as it was reported by the news. But since she “supposedly” had witness a similar incident at sometime at her own church the prosecution also thought she’d [Ivanishvili] would make an excellent witness. In her statement to the court, Ivanishvili said, “All the TV channels reported it,” she said. “It was horrible, all those baffled faces of the parishioners. I saw everything.” Although, when she was crossed examined by the defense Ivanishvili could not remember which of multitude of programming of the incident that she actually had seen it on. However, during the cross examination of Ivanishvili, the judge struck down any all questions that were related to politics or, indeed, criminal law. Leaving most of their [The Defense] questions to about the “rules of etiquette that apply in an Orthodox church”. The judge in the case also struck down the question: “If a cell phone starts playing loud music, is it’s owner punished for the disturbance?”

“What all this comes down too really is that people are upset, even angry about the relationship between the Russian government and the Orthodox Church“, according to the band's manager, who is married to one of the suspects. “Under the constitution, there is a clear divide between church and state, so Orthodox leader Patriarch Kyril isn’t really supposed to interfere in politics. But eventually they softened up, and Kirill called Putin’s time in office nothing less than a “godly miracle,” thanking him for saving Russia from the “catastrophe” of the 1990s.”

Back on February 8^th of this year, Vladimir Putin, then running for a third term as President, paid a visit to the St. Daniel Monastery where he received the of endorsement from Patriarch Kyril. The endorsement (and the statement by Putin: “We must move away from the primitive notion of separation between church and state. On the contrary, we must devote ourselves to the totally different idea of cooperation.” Then there was the 120 million for the construction of Orthodox churches) brought many thinking that that meeting marked a blatant affront to the constitution. It seemed to conflate religious and political authority when the church worked in the service of the Emperor. Prompting “Pussy Riot” to pull their activist stunt at the holiest site in Russian Orthodoxy, Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

So are we seeing a return to old style politics in Russia? It just might be the case according to Masha Lipman, a political analyst in Moscow. She states: “We are seeing a concerted effort to instill fear, to let everyone know that dissent will no longer be tolerated.” Lipman points out that since his inauguration on May 7^th, Putin has used every branch of power as a bludgeon. The Parliament, for instance, has passed new laws restricting street protests. Special forces have raided the homes of activists involved in demonstrations. Courts are also preparing to hear felony charges against other demonstrators later this year. Even some top officials have started advocating censorship of Internet content. And it seems that their first target of these new censorship laws is anticorruption blogger Alexei Navalny, who is said to be the the unofficial leader of the Russian protest movement. Reportedly, Navalny is facing ten years allegedly embezzling half a million dollars worth of timber back in 2009. Although, the charges are woolly that prosecutors have dropped them twice before for lack of evidence. But now it seems the embezzled funds have “somehow” increased by 10x making the charges much more severe.

So it is beginning to seem that the “Pussy Riot” trial is just the first in what is looking like a Russia returning back to it’s former self. And that in fact what happens at this trail will have a long standing effect on the Russian people.

Sources for this are CNN and TIMEWORLD

No Love for the Pussy [Riot] in Mother Russia

Their tight, skimpy dresses clash with the brightly colored balaclavas that adorn their heads and mask their faces like armor as they charge head first into an arena where anything can and will happen. They see themselves as defenders and even, possibly, martyrs for their cause.

PUSSY RIOT may be an all female Russian punk rock band modeled after 90’s acts such as Bikini Kill and Riot Grrrl but their message is loud and clear. Pussy Riot takes to the cold Russian streets staging impromptu concerts on such subjects as the status of women in Russia and the importance of feminist discourse and a non-standard female image usually with politically loaded lyrics. And most recently they have set their angry eyes upon the recent election, namely their dislike of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Joining the growing protest of the fact that he [Putin] is once again re-elected to the top office of the country [Russia]. Staging a show at the at Russia Orthodox Church, The Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where the Maidens preformed a controversial punk prayer that contained lyrics saying “Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin” to “chase Putin out and mocks Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church back on February 21^st.

Alleged band members (the reason for the balaclavas is to keep their identities concealed for fear of prosecution) Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were arrested on March 3^rd. Both women have denied being in the punk group or taking part in the performance. A third woman, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was arrested on March 15^th. All three women are facing up to seven years behind bars for the charge of Hooliganism. Police are saying that Tolokonnikova had committed an illegal act “in a cynical way in a holy place, setting herself against society.”

The arrests have set off protests around world including Australia and the United Kingdom, and just last Thursday some 20 protesters were detained when the Moscow court ruled that the women were to be held until their hearing which has now been pushed back until June 24^th of this year after the court had previously ordered the women held until April 24^th. Investigators arguing that Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich “could become the targets of criminal acts” if they were released. Investigators also saying that they needed more time to search for witnesses and other participants in the unauthorized concert. Tolokonnikova asked the court to be released do to that she has suffered head pain while in jail and has not been given access to medical care at the detention facility and wanted to obtain a diagnosis before the possibility of being subjected to prison time. Also she argued that her 4-year-old daughter was suffering psychologically because of their separation due to her arrest. Mark Feigin, Tolokonnikova’s lawyer presented statements at the hearing Thursday from federal human rights watchdog the Public Oversight Commission and from members of the Moscow police's public chamber requesting that Tolokonnikova be freed.

Hundreds of demonstrators and members of the media converged on the Tagansky Court building in Moscow ahead of the 3 p.m. hearing, brandishing signs and wearing a T-shirt with slogans expressing support for the group. The jailing of the purported Pussy Riot members, who see themselves as political prisoners, has provoked outrage among human rights defenders and opposition activists such as Amnesty International and have held rallies in recent weeks to protest the detentions.

Although, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have criticized the women and Pussy Riot's performance but have said they do not want them to receive prison time.