Pussy Riot Members Masha and Nadya Finally Released. (Russia)

I wrote a blog post about a month and a half ago about Russian punk movement, "Pussy Riot", having watched the documentary 'Pussy Riot; A Punk Prayer'. The documentary had a significant effect on me and I continued to follow developments in their imprisonment for the following month and a bit.I woke up on Monday morning and checked my twitter account to discover that Masha had been released and was giving various interviews whilst Nadya was due to be released within the next half an hour.

Having gone on hunger strike in a protest against conditions in her prison, Nadya Tolokonnikova was 'transferred' to a different prison, however, she never made it to the next prison and disappeared in transit for around two weeks. There was much speculation that she was in a Siberian Gulag, the IK 50 prison in Nizhny Ingash, however, having travelled 3000 miles to find her, her husband discovered she was not there. What was scariest about her disappearance was that it felt so possible to me that she could have been dead- killed by the Russian government- in a bid to silence her protest and prevent a further uprising. Would they have done such a thing?

Well evidently not, as Putin has issued their release just two months before the end of the girls' two year sentence. Masha, nevertheless, denounced her release by a Kremlin-backed amnesty as a mere "publicity stunt". Putin is also looking to release many members of the Arctic 30, Greenpeace activists imprisoned for 'piracy', and Masha believes Putin is attempting to improve his country's image with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia so close around the corner.

Whilst the release of these Pussy Riot members is a great victory, there is a bitter undertone which demonstrates the unimproved state of their country despite their two years imprisonment. On her release, Tolokonnikova stated: "I am calling for a boycott [of the Olympics] for honesty. I'm calling [European countries] not to give in for fear of disrupting oil and gas deliveries from Russia[...] I don't consider this time spent in prison wasted. I have acquired a unique experience and it will be much easier for me to engage in human rights activities than before. I have matured and learned about the state from within. I have seen this small totalitarian machine as it is from the inside."

Pussy Riot; A Punk Prayer (Russia)

Having heard so much about the anonymous Russian feminist group "Pussy Riot" and their continuing protests again Putin and his authoritarian regime, I watched the BBC documentary Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. The movement is a non-violence, punk, political protest group comprising of around 11 young women, who perform in public places in brightly coloured balaclavas. At the beginning of 2012, three members of the Pussy Riot movement were arrested on charges of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" for performing a protest piece in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Maria 'Masha' Alekhina, Nadezhda 'Nadya' Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina 'Katya' Samutsevich all then faced the possibility of facing three years inprisonment; a sentence which caused a great deal of controversy. In October Katya was found not guilty of the charges after an appeal, due to the fact that she was seized before she was able to pick up her guitar and join the performance.

What struck me the most as I watched the documentary, was the incongruous expression of calm on the faces of all three women throughout their prosecution. They were faced with the hard truth that their country's justice system was clearly attempting to make an example of their rebelliousness and prove that such opposition will not be tolerated; yet they were collected and composed throughout the entirety of their trial. They held their heads high, often with a slight smile on their faces as they were individually pulled through a sea of camera lenses. This solidarity, combined with Nadya's enigmatic air, is so absolutely intriguing to a Western woman of similar age such as myself. I can relate to these women and yet their lives are so unlike my own; I have never lived in a dictatorship, I have never held such a hatred of my country's leader and, although I have felt oppression of women, I have not felt it as they have. If Great Britain was under leadership of a ruler like Putin, would I too have risen up to make a stand? 

They care so fervently for the beliefs of their movement that they have sacrificed two years of raising their children (both Masha and Nadya have 5-year-old children). The brutal and excessive nature of their punishment serves only to support the accusations Pussy Riot are making as regards to the Russian government and about Putin being a dictator. It seems all too reminiscent of Hitler's totalitarian rule, and his treatment of those who opposed him. This, combined with strict legislation against the LGBT community of Russia instigated by Putin, as well as the aforementioned Arctic 30 detainment, demonstrates the concerning state of political and judicial Russia and is, perhaps, also an indication of the troubling state of things to come...

You can watch the full documentary Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, here and get more further information and specific updates from the Free Pussy Riot website.