Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk-rock collective that stages politically provocative impromptu performances in Moscow, on subjects such as the status of women in Russia, and most recently against the election campaign of Prime Minister Putin for president of Russia.
Performances and influences
Their usual costume is brightly-colored dresses and tights, even in bitterly cold weather, with their faces masked by balaclavas, both while performing and giving interviews, for which they always use pseudonyms. The collective is made up of about 10 performers, and about 15 people who handle the technical work of shooting and editing their videos, which are posted to the Internet. The group cites punk rock and Oi!Angelic Upstarts, Cockney Rejects, Sham 69, Era and The 4-Skins as their most important musical inspiration.
The band also mentions American punk rock band Bikini Kill and the Riot grrrl movement of the 1990s as an inspiration in an interview by The St. Petersburg Times. “What we have in common is impudence, politically loaded lyrics, the importance of feminist discourse and a non-standard female image,” Pussy Riot said.
Altar protest
On February 21, 2012, as a part of a protest movement against Vladimir Putin, Pussy Riot performed a punk rock song in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow.
The song was performed in the Altar, which in Orthodox churches is a segregated, most sacred area in the church, where only members of the priesthood are allowed. In the song, the group prayed to the “Theotokos” (Mother of God, i.e. the Virgin Mary) (rus. Bogoroditsa) to “chase Putin out”. The words of the final Christian liturgical hymn “Sanctus” (“holy, holy, holy, Lord God”) were changed by Pussy Riot to “shit, shit, shit of Lord God” and the patriarch in the song was called a bitch (rus. suka).
Arrest and prosecution
On March 3 Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, two alleged members of Pussy Riot, were arrested by Russian authorities and accused of “hooliganism”. Both arrested women at first denied being members of the group and started a hunger strike in protest against being held in jail away from their young children until their case comes to trial in April.On March 16 another woman, Ekaterina Samutsevitch, who had earlier been questioned as a witness in this case, was similarly arrested and charged.
On June 4 the group was presented with formal charges on an indictment 2,800 pages long. On July 4 they were suddenly informed that they would have to finish preparing their defense by July 9. They announced a hunger strike in response, saying that two working days was inadequate time for preparations for a trial defense. On July 21 the court extended their pre-trial detention by another six months.
All three members of Pussy Riot are recognized as political prisoners by the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (SPP). Amnesty International named them prisoners of conscience due to “the severity of the response of the Russian authorities”.
Some prominently expressed opinions in Russia have been much harsher. Speaking at a liturgy in Moscow’s Deposition of the Robe Cathedral on March 21, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill I condemned Pussy Riot’s actions as “blasphemous” saying that the “Devil has laughed at all of us ... We have no future if we allow mocking in front of great shrines, and if some see such mocking as some sort of valour, as an expression of political protest, as an acceptable action or a harmless joke.”Meanwhile, several thousands of Orthodox and Catholic believers, the believers of other religions and atheists signed a petition to Patriarch Kirill, begging the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to stand up for the girls. Singer Alla Pugachyova appealed on the women's behalf, stating that they should be ordered to perform community service rather than be imprisoned. According to BBC correspondent, Daniel Sandford, “Their treatment has caused deep disquiet among many Russians, who feel the women are – to coin a phrase from the 1967 trial of members of the Rolling Stones – butterflies being broken on a wheel.”
By late June 2012, growing disquiet over the trio’s detention without setting a trial date and concern over what was regarded as excessive and arbitrary treatment, led to the drawing up of an open letter. It was signed by leading oppositional figures as well as director Fyodor Bondarchuk, a supporter of Putin, and actors Chulpan Khamatova and Yevgeny Mironov, both of whom had appeared in videos for Putin’s re-election campaign.
In July 2012, sociologist Alek D. Epstein published a compilation of artistic works by various Russian artists entitled “Art on the barricades: Pussy Riot, the Bus Exhibit and the protest art-activism” in support of the trio.
The trial of the three women started in Moscow on July 30. Charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility”, they face possible sentences of up to seven years imprisonment. In early July, a poll conducted in Moscow found that half of the respondents oppose the trial while 36 percent support it. The rest were undecided. The defendants pleaded not guilty, insisting that they had not meant their protest to be offensive.
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Penangkapan dan penuntutan
Pengadilan Rusia, hari Rabu (14/03) memerintahkan agar dua musisi punk rock perempuan tetap ditahan karena menggelar pertunjukan di dalam gereja.
Dua personel band Pussy Riot, yakni Nadezhda Tolokonnikova dan Maria Alekhina kini menghadapi ancaman hukuman tujuh tahun penjara.
21 Februari lalu, lima personel Pussy Riot merebut microphonealtar gereja pusat Kristus Sang Penyelamat di ibukota Moskow, yang terkenal sebagai tempat ibadah yang sering dikunjungi para pejabat Rusia. Mereka lantas menyanyikan lagu berjudul “Doa para punker” yang liriknya berisi “Bunda Maria… bawa Putin pergi”.
Dalam waktu kurang dari semenit, personil band itu langsung dikelilingi aparat keamanan. Dua dari lima personal Pussy Riot ditahan dan kini menghadapi ancaman hukuman dengan dakwaan melakukan “hooliganisme” di dalam gereja.
Vladimir Putin, yang baru saja terpilih sebagai presiden untuk ketiga kalinya dalam Pemilu 4 Maret lalu, menggambarkan pertunjukan itu sebagai sesuatu yang tidak menyenangkan bagi semua pemeluk kepercayaan, sambil menyampaikan harapan agar kejadian serupa tidak terulang.
Gereja Orthodoks Rusia mengatakan, dua perempuan itu pantas diadili atas tuduhan menghina agama, meski ribuan pemeluk kepercayaan di Rusia telah menandatangani petisi untuk mendesak gereja agar memaafkan mereka.
Pengadilan Rusia mengatakan, kedua punk rocker perempuan itu akan tetap ditahan, dan menyatakan bahwa personel band lainnya yang melakukan pertunjukan di dalam gereja juga telah diidentifikasi dan akan ditangkap.
Band punk rock Pussy Riot menjadi terkenal di Rusia, saat menyanyikan lagu anti presiden Putin di Lapangan Merah pada awal tahun lalu. Video pertunjukkan yang diunggah di internet itu, menjadi sangat terkenal di Rusia.
Band punk rock perempuan ini juga sering melakukan pertunjukkan di tempat umum seperti kereta bawah tanah. Mereka biasanya tampil dengan rok mini serta ciri khas masker ski warna cerah buatan sendiri untuk menyembunyikan identitas mereka.
Web: http://freepussyriot.org/