Peace Be With You

An anti-Putin stunt by an all-female punk band in Russia’s national cathedral has created a virtually unprecedented rift between Russian believers, torn between a group of young performers now facing a multi-year sentence, and the top echelons of the Orthodox Church, perceived by many as hypocritical and allied rather too closely with the Kremlin.

On February 21, Pussy Riot, a radical group of female performers, sang and screamed what they called a “punk prayer” inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, with lyrics that said, among other things, “Virgin Mary, get rid of Putin!” Further, they accused the Patriarch of a lavish lifestyle and connections with the KGB.

While initially the group’s performance was mostly dismissed as silly and disrespectful, things became suddenly more serious when two of the alleged band members, both mothers and only 22 and 23 years old, were apprehended by several armed FSB officers and thrown into jail. A third alleged member was picked up several days later.

The crackdown on the group, known for their brightly colored balaclavas and tights, was unprecedented. The women were jailed for two months (at press-time, their initial arrest was to expire on April 24) and faced a charge of “premeditated hooliganism,” which carries a prison sentence of up to seven years in jail, although their performance did not inflict any physical damage on the church, which is a precondition for a charge under this section of the criminal code. Could it be that they were jailed because they used their right of free speech to attack Vladimir Putin and/or the Church?

Here are some of the vastly divergent opinions currently being thrown back and forth among practicing Orthodox believers, church officials, and non-religious Russians.

“Is this not insanity? Is this not blasphemy?”

Andrei Zubov, professor at the Russian Orthodox University, of the authorities’ push for
punishment harsher than in tsarist times, when there was no separation of church and state

“As an Orthodox man, I consider this performance a spit into my soul. Its cynicism is an insult to all society, and I consider the actions we took appropriate.”

Moscow police chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev

“It seems like the Patriarch, following Putin’s example, has decided to stop trying to influence the so-called ‘progressive’ part of society... This led to a conflict between the patriarchate and the non-religious part of society, but also, to a rift inside his parish itself.”

Boris Akunin, writer

“Society is mixing up the women’s private world with their public service, which they carried out as they would a prophecy, without understanding. Some would see a Western conspiracy here. But why are we afraid to consider that this event was God’s Will? A civic stance is expensive. The women found its true price.”

Father Pavel Adelheim, a priest in Pskov region

“What they did was service to the dark forces, and people with pure hearts and minds understand this, it is what the entire Church feels.”

Orthodox Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin

“We don’t have any future if we mock the sacred, and if some people see this mockery as some kind of honor, some correct expression of political protest, some appropriate action or harmless joke.”

Patriarch Kirill

“I still cannot sleep. Today I was threatened with solitary confinement for a poorly made bed. In prison, as in Europe, they don’t know what a pododeyalnik* is. But every official here knows that you are a criminal and here for
a “reason.”

Maria Alekhina, one of the arrested suspects, in a letter from prison published online

“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.”

Amnesty International, which proclaimed the arrested girls political prisoners

Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev stirred up a new wave of mockery after he explained on Twitter that his cat Dorofey was in fact not lost.

The president was reacting to a notice in a muckraking newspaper, Sobesednik, that said Dorofey had run away from the presidential residence, and that the entire police force of Odintsovo, a town in Moscow region, had dropped what they were doing to search for the pet. Russian Twitter went mad over the news, ranking Dorofey among top global trends.

@MedvedevRussia: About the kitty. It became known from sources close to Dorofey that he was not missing. Everyone thank you for your concerns.

@migel_dost1986: It turns out that Dorofey ran away because his owner only fed him with promises, like a true politician.

@yakimansky: Rumors have it that Dorofey is in London, where he is picking out real estate for himself and his owner

@mvdoc2010: A simple solution for Dorofey is a GLONASS-equipped satellite collar. Since it weighs five kilos, the cat won’t be able to go far.

@tgxctgx: The true Pussy Riot is Dorofey, who went against the system

* a sheet for under a blanket

Russian Constitution

Article 29

1. Everyone shall be guaranteed freedom of thought and speech.

2. Propaganda or agitation, which arouses social, racial, national or religious hatred and hostility shall be prohibited. Propaganda of social, racial, national, religious or linguistic supremacy shall also be prohibited.

3. Nobody shall be forced to express his thoughts and convictions or to deny them.

4. Everyone shall have the right freely to seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information by any legal means. The list of types of information, which constitute State secrets, shall be determined by federal law.

5. The freedom of the mass media shall be guaranteed. Censorship shall be prohibited.