Pussy Riot are free, but the beast lives on
http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/18260/1/pussy-riot-are-free-but-the-beast-lives-on
Pussy Riot are free, but the beast lives on
Anastasiia Fedorova on the regime that deigns to free those it should never have locked up
It's true, Pussy Riot members are free. Yesterday, the Russian parliament passed a Putin-backed amnesty law which covers Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova from Pussy Riot, members of the Greenpeace Arctic 30 and four Moscow protesters from May 2012. Seems like we should all be happy. But this justice, like their trials, is fake. Putin's PR move just exposed the insides of the corrupt system. The innocent are forgiven for non-existent crimes. Those who should never have been jailed are free. Today's Russia can sometimes go from Kafka to Orwell to Monty Python; with the upcoming Olympics promising to become the triumphant high-budget fail of the century. And Pussy Riot, jailed or free, are crucial figures in Russian's struggle for freedom and human rights.
Pussy Riot were the end of an era. The mid-2000s in Russia was a happy time. We were all young or growing up, discovering the pleasures of the world, faster internet, first iPods, new magazines and beautiful clothes. On the weekends I remember dancing with my friends to nu rave and spilling vodka-grenadine cocktails on each other. None of us were concerned with politics. Not until we suddenly ended up in a sickeningly conservative country.
Your life is just dust to them, and can be taken at any moment. Tomorrow there might be a sentence for you; and a week later, an amnesty. All up to the dark creature's mind.
Out of the darkness they appeared on the Red Square, wearing bright coloured-balaclavas and shouting "Putin Zassal" (“Putin pisses himself from fear”). Then the legendary “Punk Prayer”, which took place on the 21 February 2012 at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Pussy Riot rocketed into history and martyr superstardom. They were a splash of colour over traditional Orthodox Church gold, with the chorus “Mother of God, Chase Putin Away” later added to the video.
“What exactly did they do wrong?”, their lawyer demanded to know during the trial. “They didn't pray the right way or were crossing themselves too fast?” Fat orthodox priests and the silent conservative majority saw the perfect enemy: women, artists, rebels, and blasphemers. Pussy Riot attacked the very heart of Putin's kingdom, a million-pound golden cake, now known worldwide ironically enough as The Pussy Riot Church. ...............
