Pussy riot!
Greetings, my wicked emo hipster punks beloved freedom-drunken democratoholics! Now imagine the following situation. It's a cool Tuesday afternoon in February. Just a couple of weeks remain until the hottest presidential election in Russia for years. The big Christ the Savior cathedral in Moscow, symbol of the new Russian statehood embodied by Vladimir Putin the Savior. The gates fly open and four young girls step inside. Provocative dresses with bare shoulders, colorful stockings and hoodies, oh my! It's the punk band Pussy Riot who've stormed Russia's main temple to pray to Mother Mary for the end of Putin's rule. ("Make him go away, O, Mother!") But they do their prayer in a somewhat unconventional way...
The prayer lasts for less than 5 minutes and is in the form of a catchy punk piece, stuffed with political statements, and duly recorded on camera. The video is then promptly uploaded on the Internetz, and goes viral in a day. The transgression of the four girls against the church order is severe! Or at least it used to be in Soviet times. Or maybe not only then. I'm telling you from personal experience, you never know which century you're in, once you've stepped on Russian soil. But what about those dark commie ages? You know, those were the times when such misdeeds would grant you years and years in prison. And you wouldn't like to spend a day in a Soviet prison, especially if it's located east of the Urals. What a relief, it's 2012, not 1982... You'd think it's all right today, in the 21st century? But no. Abandon every hope at the door of the Christ the Savior!
The Russian Orthodox church is taking all this very seriously. This is an outright attack against the church order! Patriarch Kirill (who's Putin's close ally and is never shy from campaigning on his behalf - for which he is rebuked in the song as well, part of the text saying he prays to Putin rather than God), echoed by other high clergy in white robes, long shaggy beards and shiny golden hats, are calling for a SEVERE punishment for the perpetrators. Their charges: BLASPHEMY! The police raid is short to follow, three of the four criminals are arrested - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich. Charges are pressed for hooliganism and infringement upon the sensitive religous feelings of the Church and its peaceful flock. The possible sentence is 7 years in prison. You called it upon yourself, girls! That'll teach you some decency! Or not...
The trial begins on July 30. Pussy Riot apologize publicly for their behavior, but the genie is out of the bottle already. The backlash to their criminal act has been shockingly severe. The case has caused controversy throughout the pious folk of Mother Russia. There are those few timid voices calling for forgiveness, in the spirit of the Christian tradition. And others who insist for the severest of punishments. The closeness of the Church to the rulers has turned the case into yet another clash over the issue of freedom of speech in Saint Putin's Russia. There's no lack of those who are seeing America's long hand in the whole thing, as well. But of course. Does that surprise you??
There's some history to all that. Firstly, the "punk prayer" took place in Christ the Savior, the cathedral that was knocked down by the commies in 1931, and only reconstructed in 2000. Pussy Riot has some history too. This is far from their first political act since they took to the stage at the peak of the anti-government protests after the parliamentary election last December. The ladies instantly attracted attention with their colorful hoodies, their burning lyrics slamming the politicians, and the places they chose for their improvized gigs - busy market streets around Moscow, the roof of a prison building, and the Red Square itself. The members of the band are almost a dozen, and they dub themselves "leftist anti-authoritarians" and "modern feminists". Their brightest texts are directed at Putin, who they consider "a symbol of the patriarchal mores and sexist bigotry that has plagued our society", and the system he has created.
All that said, the arguments of the prosecutor in this particular case can't help but raise a few brows. The motives for the arrest are citing decisions taken on prior Church summits dating back to the 6th-7th century, related to the canons of conduct inside the temples. The main charge is hooliganism, but during the punk prayer, Pussy Riot didn't smash or break any churchy stuff inside Christ the Savior. Their only transgression could've been of ritual character, because at some point they climbed the podium in front of the altar. But AFAIK, even this isn't strictly a violation of church canon according to the Orthodox rules of conduct (at least not here in Bulgaria); and moreover the trial against Pussy Riot is being conducted by a secular court (?!) That's why the prosecutor has found a nice way to merge the two charges - citing the article about hooliganism, plus invoking the "religious hatred" motive. Combined, the two are supposed to bring a 7 year sentence for the girls. For now, they're held in a glass cage. Because they're so dangerous!
During the trial, the young ladies admitted that they are guilty of insulting the religious feelings of the Christians, but refused to admit heir guilt in hooliganism. They emphasized several times that their act was of a purely political nature, and their sole mistake was that they had chosen a church for their latest spectacle. "It hurts that there are still a good number of sincere, decent Orthodox people who believe we did something awful with our prayer in the temple. There are such people even amongst those who are firmly opposed to our arrest. Although we have been explaining for five months what this was about, it is painful that there are smart, decent people who see something in what we did that is not there and could not have been there", Nadya Tolokonnikova wrote in an online letter to Colta.ru.
Some curious trivia now. Two of the Pussy Riot members have quite an interesting history. Tolokonnikova was part of the "War" art group which used to organize "artistic conceptual street protests". During one such protest in 2008, Nadya (who was a 20 y.o. student at the time, and pregnant in her 9th month), participated in a group orgy in the Museum of Biology, entitled "Let's have sex for the heir to the small bear" (albeit using much spicier terms as seen in the pics). The act was done just before the presidential election (predictably won by Dmitry Medvedev). In another act, the "War" group painted a huge dick on the Liteiny bridge, just opposite the Federal Security Agency in St. Petersburg (Putin's birthplace). Because the bridges in St. Petersburg are regularly raised at dusk for the ocean ships to sail inside the huge Neva river (quite a spectacular sight actually), whenever raised, the Liteiny bridge would now erect said dick just in the face of the Agency. Pure awesomeness!
After the act in Christ the Savior, the Russian Patriarch Kirill organized a mass counter-prayer, calling for the Orthodox folk to come "and defend the faith". The space around the cathedral was crammed with tens of thousands of people. At the regular Saturday speech, the Patriarch called the girls "no less but messengers of Satan" and declared any attempts to free them from guilt, "outright sacrilege".
PM Medvedev also took a stance on the matter. You'd think he'd try to soothe the tempers, but ha-ha! What a shock. The only thing he seems concerned about is how relatively lightly the girls had had it. He thinks if the punk prayer had happened in a Muslim country, the ladies would've been treated much worse. Nikita Mikhalkov, the world-famous film director (and unlike his brother, a devout worshipper of the Putin regime) also chimed in. He suggested that as punishment, the singers should "not be jailed but should be made to do the same inside a mosque in Mecca or at the Wailing Wall, and then they should be helped to take shelter inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior from pious Muslims or Orthodox Jews".
Btw, the Ukrainian activists from Femen (famous for their nude protests) have proven both Medvedev and Mikhalkov wrong. In March they went nude in the space between the Blue Mosque and the Agiya Sophia church in Istanbul. They were duly arrested, then quietly expelled from Turkey without any trial.
Sure, there are some Orthodox figures who are supporting Pussy Riot, kinda-sorta. One is the professor from the Moscow Seminary, and Orthodox blogger of renown, deacon Andrei Kuraev. In an interview for Novaya Gazeta, he laid out an interesting hypothesis. He believes the act was orchestrated by people from Putin's camp (even possibly Roman Abramovich), who wanted to get the vote of the Orthodox voters, who in general are too apolytical. Through this fake prayer act, they were aiming to forge a scandal that would stir the passions and send a clear message: "Look people, there is a threat against your faith, against your Patriarch. Those who insult your faith inside your very temple, are insulting candidate #5. So who will you vote for? Vote Putin! He will defend you!"
That's interesting. Those Russians are never short of curious conspiracy theories, are they? Well, Kuraev adds that in his opinion the girls are part of the big political game, where they are less than mere pawns. But the reaction of the Russian Patriarchy is way too harsh and out of control, the deacon argues. The Patriarch is now looking like an accomplice, or worse, a sore grudge-holding egomaniacal loser, and the public support for him is waning. "In no way should the Pussy Riot girls be ascribed the role of the Church's foe. This would mean that they are at least equal in stature to the Church, which would be a humiliation for all Orthodox Christians. It would look as if the Church was created to fight three women? This is folly!" Not to mention that it'd make them martyrs, which makes things rather weird...
And mind you, Kuraev's is considered a "moderate" position. For which he was duly rebuked by the Scientific Council of the Academy he works for, and hundreds of pious folks sent angry letters to Patriarch Kirill to banish the rogue deacon, or at least forbid him to conduct liturgy.
But whatever church arguments are tossed forward and backward, Pussy Riot would've probably already gotten away from this situation uscathed a long time ago, had the text of their punk prayer not been aimed at Putin, calling for his demise. There hasn't been a law against blasphemy in Russia since 1917 when the commies raped the Church pretty hard, and there are no legal grounds that would hold the ladies under arrest for more than 5 months. And that's the reason why the trial against them is raising such a hue and cry among the Russian public.
In most civilized countries (and in Russia for the last 2 decades or so), people do not go to jail for singing songs, I'm told. Those were things of the commie times, supposedly. Now this is a significant precedent that doesn't tell a very nice story. It's normal that the artist communities in the West would be supporting their colleagues. Including Madonna, where without her! She was among the first foreigners to support Pussy Riot. And received some official backlash for it too. Not the first time she's been in trouble with post-Soviet authorities.
But that aside, let's face it. Most people in Russia who support the likes of Pussy Riot and their cause are mostly concerned about their own safety, and are holding their tongues (for the most part). Because as it turns out, contrary to all official statements, no one in Russia is immune to being arrested for saying words, singing songs or reciting poems these days.
The rulers and the Church in Russia are undoubtedly very closely intertwined, ever since the Soviet regime planted its agents all throughout the ranks of the Church. The Patriarch himself is part of that system. But I woldn't say the trial against Pussy Riot was initiated by the Church. There are people in the Church who understand what a serious damage this incident would do to their reputation. And it's not the Americans either. Nah. Hillary is most probably texting someone right now, "What to do? -- Listen to Pussy Riot, BIACH!!!"
No. This trial and this arrest are more likely an initiative of the regime itself. I think Putin sincerely believes he is the Savior of the Nation, sent by God almighty to raise Mother Russia to new heights of greatness. Or something. And he's taking this punk prayer pretty seriously: "Mother Mary, please rid us of Putin!" And what happens if Mother Mary hears the prayer and really does it? Eh? Cats on dogs, and those huge locusts, and the sun rises in the west!!!11 (Which, I'm sure, would be yet another propaganda victory for America).
The Architect Messiah
Uncontrolled, limitless, absolute power not only corrupts absolutely. It also makes the ruler superstitious. And drunk with false conviction of a messianic mission. And anything that happens to stand in the path ot said holy Mission, should be swept away by either the mighty hand of God, or that of the regime (acting on behalf of said God of course). Or both. Because, when you think of it, the way they're presented, is there much of a difference between the two?