Matt

As Feministing.com reported last summer, three members of the Russian punk rock collective Pussy Riot were convicted in August 2012 and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for “hooliganism motivated by religious-hatred” and “crudely [undermining] social order.”

Formed in 2011, Pussy Riot consists of a rotating cast of about ten anonymous members. The group is famous for its audaciously anti-government protest songs and flash mob-style performances in brightly colored dresses and balaclavas. The women who first formed Pussy Riot were longtime friends and political activists but had not been performers previously. They sought to use punk rock as a vehicle to reach wider audiences for espousing their political beliefs, particularly regarding government restrictions on legal abortions and other policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Before Pussy Riot made worldwide headlines and became an international cause championed by Madonna, Sting, Paul McCartney, and others, the Kremlin had already made efforts to suppress the female activists. In January 2012 eight Pussy Riot members were arrested for performing a song called “Putin Got Scared” in Moscow’s Red Square. The women were detained for a few hours and fined for holding an illegal protest. They immediately began planning more public performances in anticipation of the upcoming presidential election.

A February 2012 protest at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral, however, proved to be tipping point for Pussy Riot. Maria “Masha” Alyokhina, Nadezhda “Nadya” Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina “Katya” Samutsevich were arrested for playing an anti-Putin song at Russia’s main ...