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Could There Be More (WAY More) to the Pussy Riot Situation Than What’s Being Reported?

While most of the world outside of Russia seems to have sided with Pussy Riot in their battle with Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, could there be more to what’s being reported?

Specifically, is Pussy Riot being used/financed/encouraged by “foreign interests” as the prosecution alleged during the trial?

Maybe.  Or maybe this whole thing is dangerously close to universe of whacko conspiracy theorists.  Still, the situation is worth deconstructing.  

I had a chance to do a little reading over the long weekend and what I’ve found is thought-provoking–at least at some level.  Just sayin’, you know?

Item:  Western Hypocrisy  Western nations who profess support for Pussy Riot don’t always practice what they preach when it comes to protest and dissent.  Here’s an interesting point of view on how the West jails people for stunts similar (or milder than) what Pussy Riot did in Moscow.

Item: Is the US State Department Involved? Could it be that Pussy Riot is being used as a tool in proxy war against Putin?  The Cold War lives on.

Item: Is Pussy Riot Being Financed by Russian Interests Abroad?  On the No Agenda podcast (you can hear things for yourself starting at about 1 hour and 15 minutes into the podcast), an email from a listener (“an informant from Russia”) offered these tidbits:

 

  • The people who make up Pussy Riot are from an artists collective/movement who are known for holding interesting protests including having sex in a museum and the “Paint the Dick on a Bridge” initiative (for which they won an award from the Ministry of Culture).  
  • Some Russian columnists believe that Pussy Riot is being financed by Boris Berezsovsky, an oligarch who has fallen out of favour with Putin and is now hiding out in the UK.
  • It’s also possible financing is coming from Ukrainian Femen, another artist collective who have their own interesting agendas.
  • Previous Pussy Riot protests in places like Red Square resulted in tiny fines ($15).  Why the big hullabaloo now? Could this be a concerted effort to divide Russia over the influence of the Church?

 Is any of this true?  Hell, I don’t know.  But it’s interesting, no?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38011 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

2 thoughts on “Could There Be More (WAY More) to the Pussy Riot Situation Than What’s Being Reported?

  • I'm so behind on No Agenda, I'll have to catch up and listen soon. You need a PR shout out 😉

    Reply
  • Even if true, the sole useful response is "So? What of it?"

    If any of those things are crimes, then charge them with those crimes. Why charge them with something different? And if they're not crimes, why make an example of them by creative interpretation of the law books under the Russian government's thumb?

    Putin's cut off any way to get him out of office legally, so Russians are justified in acting outside the law to draw attention to that. I mean, consider Nelson Mandela. He was responsible for *bombings* in South Africa and justified himself (correctly, I believe) by saying that there was no legal way for him to influence the government, and so he'd been involved in years of non-violent protest to no effect.and increasing repression, and so revolution was all that was left. Putin's lucky he's only reached the second step of that ladder, but if he keeps upping the ante he's not going to stay lucky forever.

    And more power to the Russian people in getting rid of him.

    Reply

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