Pussy Riot Trial

The Russian feminist punk band that became an internet phenomenon after their provocative musical protests in public locations, like the Red Square in Moscow, went viral on YouTube. The group’s mostly anonymous members perform wearing knitted balaclavas to disguise their identities.

PUTIN ON A COURT TRIAL
In February, five members of the band were arrested after performing an anti-President Vladimir Putin “punk prayer” inside Moscow’s main Russian Orthodox cathedral, protesting the re-elected president’s close ties to the church. Three members of the group, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samut-sevich, 29, were sentenced to two years prison for hooliganism in August.

VLAD THE UNMOVED
Russia’s largely religious population has been divided by the Pussy Riot trial, with Orthodox leaders denouncing the trio’s actions as blasphemous. But the women’s imprisonment comes at a time when the anti-Putin movement is gaining momentum, and accusations of the state’s growing authoritarian power have dogged his administration. President Putin has largely kept mum on the issue, only saying there was “nothing good” in Pussy Riot’s actions.

CELEBRITY SUPPORTERS RALLY
When Madonna, Paul McCartney and the Red Hot Chili Peppers rally to your cause, the world takes notice. In August, the Material Girl pledged her support for Pussy Riot during her Moscow concert. She also expressed her anger at the jail sentence handed down to the three women. The singer said the sentence was “too harsh and, in fact, is inhumane. They’ve spent enough time in jail. I call on all of Russia to let Pussy Riot go free,” she said. In her closing statement to the court, Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich remained defiant: “Now the whole world sees that the criminal case against us has been fabricated.”