Pussy Riot Become Focus For Pro-Democracy Movement In Russia

Last year the Russian pro democracy punk band Pussy Riot were virtual unknowns, except to a small core group of Moscow fans. They have within 12 months gone from a loose collective of Artist/Musicians stemming from the street art group Voina (War) to becoming a global force in the fight for political and artistic freedom. The feminist rock group have only six songs to their name, no professional recording contract and have never played live to a paying audience. Yet now they are internationally recognised as symbols for change, in the same breath as the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei. This has all been made possible via YouTube and other Social Networking websites.

The Pussys have received support from public figures such as Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, Madonna and Jamie Reid the graphic designer who created the visuals for the original punk band, ‘The Sex Pistols’. Reid created a poster for Pussy Riot which has been reproduced internationally creating a visual focus to define their struggle. Last Autumn, the Russian authorities jailed two of the key members for performing an anti-Kremlin song in Moscow’s main cathedral, Christ the Saviour, on 21 February. They were convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” over the anti-Putin “punk prayer”. The judge stated that the women had “crudely undermined social order” and shown a “complete lack of respect”,during their action in February. The Members of the band have always professed that their “punk prayer” was a political act in protest, against Church leader’s support of President Vladimir Putin, not an act against the Church itself. Conditions in jail for the two women has been described as tough and draconian, at the work camps located in Perm and Mordovia, east of Moscow. Those areas were traditionally used for mass prison colonies in the Soviet era.

Social media and video-sharing, has led to the rise of people power in the Middle East, China and now Russia  films such as “Srok” (The Term) have been posted on YouTube and Vimeo. The project has led to its suspension and investigators raided the home of its director, filmmaker Pavel Kostomarov. Putin does not want another Pussy Riot on his hands! Like Assad in Syria he may be running scared.

Tags

, , ,