Feminist Punk Rockers "Pussy Riot" Jailed In Russia

As evidenced in the video montage of the events during the protest on February 21st, masked members of the band Pussy Riot performed the Punk Rock Prayer in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Three weeks later three alleged members of the group were arrested on charges of "hooliganism." Verzilov, a 26-year-old married to one of the arrested women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, spoke with CNN about why the group is protesting Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church:

Officially it's supposed to be separated by the constitution, but in recent months the Russian Orthodox Church has become like a supportive propaganda machine for the Kremlin. The patriarch, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, he is a man who enjoys the development of a very close political relationship with Putin. The text of the song was pointing out that Patriarchate doesn't believe in God but he believes in Putin.

In the months following the arrest, both the international human rights community and grassroots feminists organizations have responded to the jailing of these three women. Amnesty International released a statement on April 3rd criticizing the arrests:

Even if the action was calculated to shock and was known to be likely to cause offence, the activists left the Cathedral when requested to do so and caused no damage. The entire action lasted only a few minutes and caused only minimal disruption to those using the Cathedral for other, notably religious, purposes.

The broader political context surrounding the anti-Putin protests at the time – and the anti-clerical, anti-Putin content of the activists’ message (themselves unpunishable) – have clearly and unlawfully been taken into account in the charges that have been brought against them.

The website Free Pussy Riot argues the arrest of the women for political protest is in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW) and the Russian Constitution, with Amnesty International calling the women prisoners of conscience.

(choir)

Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away
Рut Putin away, put Putin away

(end chorus)
...
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners crawl to bow
The phantom of liberty is in heaven
Gay-pride sent to Siberia in chains

The head of the KGB, their chief saint,
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order not to offend His Holiness
Women must give birth and love

Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!

(Chorus)

Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist
Become a feminist, become a feminist

(end chorus)

The Church’s praise of rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
A teacher-preacher will meet you at school
Go to class - bring him money!

Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Bitch, better believe in God instead
The belt of the Virgin can’t replace mass-meetings
Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!