P U S S Y R I O T

I am a complete lack of feminism. "There's a man and a little girl who need him.." and bla. Second, there is a few people alive who I really give respect to.

And then, Tolokno comes in. Actually, she came in a lot of times before. Sometimes naked. Sometimes amazingly gross. It was ok, because aside from being a feminist, she was (and still is) a punk. Also, she has a daughter who turns 6 next year. I even met her husband in person. He is an anarchist. Aand also a punk.

And then, was that performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on February 21 and as a conclusion, the imprisonment of the three of girls including the leader, Tolokno. 

This scandal might lead to nothing. Or there could be no scandal at the first place. But there was a scandal, but with two great consequences: Putin's Russia was disclosed, and the world opened a new feminism icon and she is Russian. 

And if you are not Russian, but heard something about the band and think that they should be all right girls because, well, Madonna supports them, I want you to know about them a little more, I want you to respect them for more. So here some basic facts about the whole thing.

• Pussy Riot is not just a feminism movement, their actions are aimed against (and it's very important) the policies of Russian President dictator  Vladimir Putin and the hypocrisy of the Russian Orthodox Church (church is no good for you. pretty NEVER – editor's note) and they also stand up for the LGBT rights.

• Pussy Riot band consists approximately of 13 members but all of them are anonymous (except of the scandalous three) wearing bright balaclavas and going under nicknames (my favorite are Tomcat and Seraphima, sorry for such a revelation).

• The group cites punk rock and speaks about Bikini Kill and Karen Finley as well as the Riot grrrl movement as their inspiration. 

Aand more quotes:

"What we have in common is impudence, politically loaded lyrics, the importance of feminist discourse and a non-standard female image. The difference is that Bikini Kill performed at specific music venues, while we hold unsanctioned concerts. On the whole, Riot Grrrl was closely linked to Western cultural institutions, whose equivalents don't exist in Russia."

Aand more wiki for those who are familiar with this stuff:

In a February 2012 interview with Vice magazine, Pussy Riot member "Serafima" named her major feminist influences as Simone de Beauvoir, Andrea Dworkin, Emmeline Pankhurst, Shulamith Firestone, Kate Millett, Rosi Braidotti and Judith Butler.

• You don't have to criticize their vocal abilities as its already been said by themselves: "You don't have to sing very well. It's punk. You just scream a lot."

• Whatever place they consider as a new stage, their performances will always be unsanctioned. They will never perform on a real stage as they can't stand being a part of the "capitalistic system" as they call it. Instead, they usually appear at somehow symbolic places. Starting with several metro stations and tram's roofs, they also appeared atop of a garage beside the prison, where opposition activists were being held, once they performed at the Lobnoye Mesto in Red Square, and their last video was shoot atop of an oil derrick and a petrol station where they covered a portret of the chairman of "Rosneft" (an oil company owned by the government) with black oil-like dirt.

• On February 21, 2012, five members of the group staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior which the women described as a protest directed to the Church leader's support for Putin during his election campaign. In spite of this, when the three of them where chased and captured by the authorities, the judge stated that they had "crudely undermined the social order" showing a "complete lack of respect" for believers, so they were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

•  On October 10, following an appeal, Samutsevich was freed on probation, her sentence suspended. The sentences of the other two women were upheld. In late October 2012, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were separated and sent to prison.

• Mark Feygin, the creepiest lawyer for the girls, stated that they would appeal the verdict, but that "Under no circumstances will the girls ask for a pardon [from Putin] ... They will not beg and humiliate themselves before such a bastard". Tolokonnikova in her turn stated that "Our imprisonment serves as a clear and unambiguous sign that freedom is being taken away from the entire country."

Well, as I already said, I don't like them from an aesthetic point of view, but I respect them for their active political position which led to the worldwide scandal. They make the world listen to the story about what really happens in Russia. Now there is one more question in my pre-communication questionnaire: "What do think about the whole thing?"