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  • Pussy Riot Meets With US Senators On Capitol Hill

    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina of famed punk rock group Pussy Riot were in Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with US Senators regarding human rights violators in Russia. Specifically, they want the US to add 16 officials to the current list of Russians already facing sanctions for human rights violations. “We’d like to remind our government that they have obligations that they have signed that they have to honor and we would like them not to continue having such an anti-Russian policy as they do have right now,” said Tolokonnikova.

    The meeting, including Senators Ben Cardin, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy, Jeff Flake and Representative Steve Cohen, focused on Pussy Riot’s personal experiences of abuse at the hands of the Russian government. “We had a chance to talk with them about the conditions today in Russia, the experiences that they had, including the fact that they were arrested and sent to prison, how they had tried to help the citizens of Russia deal with the current deterioration of human rights in Russia,” said Cardin.

    Pussy Riot made global headlines when they were arrested in 2012 after protesting Russian president Vladimir Putin and spent two years in prison where they endured appalling conditions. According to the Russian government, “These citizens were taken in on suspicion of committing a crime, one involving a gross violation of public order, including inciting religious hatred as part of a planned conspiracy.” Pussy Riot made headlines again when they were filmed being whipped by Russian officers in Sochi at the Olympic Games.

    If Pussy Riot is successful, the officials brought to the attention of the Senate could face several penalties, including frozen assets and being banned from U.S. travel. The United States has thus far put 18 individuals under these sanctions. “The only way we’re going to get advancements on human rights is to put a spotlight on those who are violating human rights to stand up and make it clear that we will not accept these behaviors,” said Cardin.

    Image via YouTube

  • Pussy Riot Urges Congress to Crack Down on Russia

    Russian punk band Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were on Capitol Hill Tuesday lobbying for further sanctions against Russia, citing human rights violations they had witnessed first-hand under President Vladimir Putin’s administration.

    In a private meeting, the two activists requested that senators on the Foreign Relations Committee crack down even harder against Russia, and that Congress add 16 additional names to the list of Russian human rights violators who currently face sanctions, including the Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev.

    Speaking through a translator, Tolokonnikova commented, “These sanctions allow a huge number of people to talk about the human rights violations as a result.” Tolokonnikova added, “Putin is not leading Russia to stability, but to complete instability and chaos. Silence is the most dangerous thing for a political prisoner.”

    Alekhina and Tolokonnikova were found guilty of hooliganism with religious undertones of hatred after a live set at Moscow’s main cathedral in March, 2012, and were sentenced to two years in prison. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released on a suspended sentence just months after the hooliganism conviction.

    Here is a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:

    Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut was in attendance at the Tuesday meeting, and commented that further U.S. sanctions against Russia would foster an economic blow that would create a “domino effect,” which would in turn encourage Russians to stand up to human rights offenders. “People will start to care much more about the fact the they, like these two brave women standing next to us, have lost their ability to grieve their government,” Murphy said.

    Tolokonnikova and Alekhina were freed from prison due to an amnesty legislation which some watchdog groups viewed as a Kremlin public relations stunt in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. During an appearance on NBC’s Today Show, Matt Lauer asked the activists if they thought Vladimir Putin had ordered their release to display his “softer side” to the world.

    Tolokonnikova replied, “When we got released, we didn’t have any illusions at all that Putin’s regime became more liberal.”

    A wearisome looking Pussy Riot also attended a few parties associated with the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend:

    Image via YouTube

  • Pussy Riot Discusses Human Rights With U.S. Senators

    Two of the members of Russian protest group Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, visited Capitol Hill. The two were seeking help from the Congress to include 16 of Russia’s politicians to the list of human rights violators who must face sanctions in the States.

    Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova went into a private meeting with officials where they discussed the human rights violations that they had seen first-hand under the “dictatorship” of President Vladimir Putin. They are requesting the Foreign Relations Committee to lay down sanctions against the politicians.

    In a news conference, Tolokonnikova said through a translator that they would “like to remind our government that they have obligations that they have signed that they have to honor.”

    Both Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were arrested in 2012 for staging a protest performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. They were charged with hooliganism and stayed in prison for nearly 2 years.

    U.S. lawmakers can legally ban Russians on the list from traveling to the U.S.  They also have the legal power to freeze violators’ assets. To date, there are 18 people on the list, and some are already facing penalties.

    Members of Congress showed appreciation to the two Pussy Riot members for speaking to them about Russia’s human rights abuse.

    Senator Benjamin Cardin said, “The only way we’re going to get advancements on human rights is to put a spotlight on those who are violating human rights to stand up and make it clear that we will not accept these behaviors.”

    Other politicians who were present in the private meeting include Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Cong. Steve Cohen, Sen. Chris Murphy, Sen. Jeff Flake, and others.

    Pussy Riot was founded in 2011 and the group consists of more or less 11 women who are opposed to the ways of President Vladimir Putin. Their protest performances typically touch on issues related to LGBT rights, womens rights, and feminism.

    Pussy Riot: ‘Putin Lights Up The Fires’

    Image via YouTube

  • Pussy Riot Meets Hillary Clinton

    Pussy Riot Meets Hillary Clinton

    While Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were attending the Women In The World Summit at the Lincoln Center in New York Friday, a Moscow court cleared the two of their inciting religious hatred charges stemming from one of their live rock shows.

    Alekhina and Tolokonnikova were found guilty of hooliganism with religious undertones of hatred after a live set at Moscow’s main cathedral in March, 2012, and were sentenced to two years in prison. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released on a suspended sentence just months after the hooliganism conviction.

    Here’s a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:

    Tolokonnikova and Alekhina were freed from prison due to an amnesty legislation which some watchdog groups viewed as a Kremlin public relations stunt in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Russian lawmakers had said that the new bill, which the State Duma voted 446-0 in favor of, would likely free roughly 2,000 prisoners. The new laws applied to those who were non-violent offenders, and were catered mostly toward first-time offenders, minors and women with small children. Both Tolokonnikova and Alekhina have young kids, and were both set free in December of last year. Though, the hooliganism charges still stand, which carry a sentence of up to seven years.

    The Russian courts then symbolically knocked off one month of each of Tolokonnikova and Alekhina’s sentences, as they are both technically free women. During an appearance on NBC’s Today Show Friday morning, Matt Lauer asked the activists if they thought the newly single Vladimir Putin had ordered their release to display his “softer side” to the world in time for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

    Tolokonnikova replied, “When we got released, we didn’t have any illusions at all that Putin’s regime became more liberal.”

    Pussy Riot ran into former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Lincoln Center, and the probable 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate described the duo as being “strong and brave young women, who refused to let their voices be silenced.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Pussy Riot Talks Political Freedom With Matt Lauer

    Political freedom through music, lyrics and videos. That is the drive that keeps Pussy Riot going, even if it costs them their livelihood, even if they have to suffer through beatings.

    Two members of the Russian punk rock band stopped by Today this morning for an interview with Matt Lauer. The Moscow-based feminist protest group is continuing to draw attention to their belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a dictator and that Russian people are not free.

    Three band members were arrested back in March 2012 and charged with “hooliganism” for staging a protest performance in a cathedral during Vladimir Putin’s presidential campaign. The girls were denied bail and kept in custody for four months. Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, were ultimately convicted and sentenced.

    Both Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova spent 22 months in jail. They were eventually released under general amnesty. Samutsevich received a suspended sentence.

    The band’s plight for freedom in Russia has drawn a lot of attention from the rest of the world. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina spoke with Lauer about their struggles for freedom. Tolokonnikova said through a translator, “I really sincerely wanted Russia that would be free, this idea we heard about free Russia it only became stronger in ourselves during [these] two years that we were in jail. If our government thought that they would just break us down by jailing us, I mean, it didn’t work out at all.”

    Despite the band’s run of success in the music world and their growing fame, they lead difficult lives. Lauer asked about how life has been since their release from prison. Tolokonnika responded, “If we go to the people getting jailed and we want to get in, the people of the government, they attack us and they spray us so we have head concussions and burning of the eyes. That’s what we suffer.”

    Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are both set to appear at Tina Brown’s fifth annual Women in the World Summit. The group will take part in a panel discussion which will be moderated by Charlie Rose. Brown chose the band members because, “They paid a heavy price for their resistance to Putin and I think that what they’ve shown is exactly what is happening now: Putin is a thug, Putin is a bully. They were brave enough to stand up, they paid a price and they went in as students and they came out as world famous activists.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Pussy Riot Members Released After Being Questioned

    Two members of Pussy Riot, a Russian punk band, were briefly detained today in Sochi. The group members were being questioned after a theft occurred at the hotel they were staying at.

    Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were having a meeting with journalists at the time the police took them into custody, according to Petr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova’s husband.

    “They were put to the floor and beaten and physical force was used to them when they refused to be questioned without the presence of their lawyer, who was on his way to the police department,” Verzilov revealed.

    The police proceeded to question the girls, and other guests at the hotel, at the Adler police station near the Winter Olympics. “A survey in connection with the theft at the Hotel Adler is completed, there is no claim against those questioned,” the police said in a statement.

    Tolokonnikova took to her personal Twitter page to voice her outrage. “Unbelievable lawlessness, even we are amazed,” tweeted Tolokonnikova. “Beat on the floor of the department, in the Olympic capital!” She then added, “They dragged me on the floor in the hall of the department, hands tied behind back and thrown to the floor. Putin will teach you to love the motherland!” Tolokonnikova also revealed, via Twitter, that she was forced to testify without a lawyer present.

    Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were previously imprisoned for nearly two years after they were convicted of “hooliganism” when they performed a song slamming Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral. They were released shortly before the start of the Winter Olympics.

    Image via Twitter

  • Pussy Riot Arrested In Sochi In Advance Of New Song

    Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist punk band who made headlines in 2012 when they were arrested for performing an anti-Putin song at a cathedral, are back in Russia this week and were reportedly arrested in Sochi on Tuesday after word got out that they were working on a new song.

    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, the two most famous members of the band, have been in the U.S. in recent weeks, spreading the word about their cause and supporting a benefit concert in collaboration with Amnesty International, which was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

    “A month ago we were freed from Russian prison camps. We will never forget what it’s like to be in prison after a political conviction. We have vowed to continue helping those who remain behind bars,” they said in a statement.

    After the concert, however, several members of Pussy Riot penned an open letter to Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina, saying they wanted them out of the band because they were setting up staged performances, something the group is strictly against.

    “Our performances are always ‘illegal,’” the letter stated, “staged only in unpredictable locations and public places not designed for traditional entertainment…the world has acquired two brave, interesting, controversial human rights defenders. Unfortunately, we cannot congratulate them with this in person, because they refuse to have any contact with us.”

    Russian leaders say that the group was detained on Tuesday because of their apparent connection with a theft in the hotel they were staying at, but Tolokonnikova’s husband says the arrests were made during an investigation of the new song the group is working on, titled “Putin Will Teach You to Love the Motherland.”

    “The song takes several days to make,” Pyotr Verzilov said. “If the police had some questions about the song, then they should have officially said that. Instead, they are trying to charge Nadya, Masha and eight other members of the group with some sort of association with a theft at the hotel.”

    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova says there wasn’t a staged protest happening at the time of the arrests, and that she and Maria Alyokhina were simply walking in the city. The duo has been critical of Putin’s plans for the Olympic games in Sochi, saying he was using the event to clean up his image.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Pussy Riot & the NYC Mayor: The New SuperGroup?

    Pussy Riot & the NYC mayor. Sounds like the perfect name for an indie band, don’t you think? Although it’s probably safe to say that there probably won’t be any new songs coming from the two entities, Associated Press tells us that Mayor de Blasio met the Russian punk rock protest band at City Hall yesterday during their New York city visit.

    Pussy Riot is still not loving their president, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and have been spreading that sentiment throughout the streets of NY. Although they have been publicly denounced by six members of the Pussy Riot collective for “being so carried away with the problems in Russian prisons, that they completely forgot about the aspirations and ideals of (their) group,” they’ve been greeted with welcome arms, so far appearing on The Colbert Report and the Amnesty International Concert with Madonna.The two recently released Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of the twelve-odd members of Pussy Riot used a translator to speak to the supportive Brooklynites to thank supporters, compliment Amnesty International efforts and reassure us all that one day, “Russia will be free!”

    NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and wife Chirlane McCray met with Pussy Riot to talk politics, and the mayor commended the ladies for “their bravery and courage”– a bold statement from the politician– Madonna has already reported to have received death threats for supporting the activist group.

    While the Olympics go on in Russia, Pussy Riot has stayed noticeably absent from the country. They denounced their early release from prison as a “publicity stunt” performed just in time for the Sochi Olympics immediately after setting foot on free ground, and are currently telling Olympic watchers worldwide to “Don’t Believe The Hype.” The only appearance from Pussy Riot so far can possibly be attributed to Russian snowboarder Alexey Sobolev’s snowboard portraying a knife-wielding woman wearing the Pussy Riot signature ski mask.

    Image via Twitter

  • Pussy Riot Kicks Jailed Members Out Of Band

    Pussy Riot has become an internationally known name in the past couple of years, with millions of people urging President Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders to grant them amnesty after three members of the punk band were arrested for “hooliganism” following a concert they held at a cathedral in Moscow. Now, two of those women–Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova–have become the famous faces of the band, and the other members are none too happy. In fact, they have severed ties with both of them and have ousted them from their group.

    Six members of the group have written an open letter this week after Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova appeared at an Amnesty International concert at the Barclays Center, saying the women have strayed from their ideals.

    “Our performances are always ‘illegal,’” the letter stated, “staged only in unpredictable locations and public places not designed for traditional entertainment…the world has acquired two brave, interesting, controversial human rights defenders. Unfortunately, we cannot congratulate them with this in person, because they refuse to have any contact with us.”

    Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were sentenced to two years in prison for their impromptu concert at Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 2012, but were released in December. The third member who was arrested, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was freed in October of 2013. Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova have said that they fought to stay in prison for the duration of their sentence so that they could research the horrifying conditions the other women faced, but were not allowed to stay. Now, they have made it their mission to help other people who have been imprisoned for sharing their beliefs in a non-violent way.

    “A month ago we were freed from Russian prison camps. We will never forget what it’s like to be in prison after a political conviction. We have vowed to continue helping those who remain behind bars,” they said in a statement. “We are happy to support Amnesty International’s work on behalf of human rights and political prisoners. We, more than anyone, understand how important Amnesty’s work is in connecting activists to prisoners.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Pussy Riot Members To VIsit Brooklyn

    Pussy Riot Members To VIsit Brooklyn

    Two of the women who were recently freed from a Russian prison after being jailed for “acts of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” will visit Brooklyn on February 5 for a human rights benefit concert.

    Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were arrested in 2012 after performing an anti-Putin concert inside a cathedral in Moscow and subsequently started a world-wide conversation about the state of rights in Russia. Now, the women say they want to help the people who are still jailed after enduring the harsh conditions of the country’s prisons and even attempted to stay longer than their reduced sentence in order to research the conditions faced by inmates. The women have criticized their sudden release as a ploy by Russian officials to shine up Putin’s image right before the winter Olympics in Sochi.

    “A month ago we were freed from Russian prison camps. We will never forget what it’s like to be in prison after a political conviction. We have vowed to continue helping those who remain behind bars,” they said in a statement.

    The benefit concert will be held at the Barclays Center in collaboration with Amnesty International and will feature performances by The Flaming Lips, Lauryn Hill, and Imagine Dragons, among others. The goal of the benefit is to raise awareness about political prisoners around the world who have chosen to share their beliefs in a non-violent way and have been punished for it.

    “We are happy to support Amnesty International’s work on behalf of human rights and political prisoners,” Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina said in a statement. “We, more than anyone, understand how important Amnesty’s work is in connecting activists to prisoners.”

    “Today, as we work to improve human rights conditions in the United States, we can’t abandon the fight for the rights of imperiled individuals around the world,” said Amnesty International Executive Director Steven W. Hawkins. “When we come together on February 5 in Brooklyn, our voices will be amplified by the presence of Pussy Riot, who continue to demonstrate the power we share when we take a stand against injustice. Join us next month and become a part of the next wave of the human rights movement.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Maria Alyokhina Unimpressed with Pussy Riot Amnesty

    Maria Alyokhina, 1/5 of the group that may hold The Most Edgiest Name of All Time, has wasted no time in speaking her mind after being released from jail this Monday.

    Alyokhina and fellow Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich all received two-year sentences for their profanity-riddled “punk prayer” at a Moscow cathedral in February 2012. Samutsevich was soon released, but the remaining two have just received their freedom papers earlier than scheduled by way of a recently adopted amnesty bill that frees non-violent offenders and mothers.

    This act by Pussy Riot’s longtime enemy, Russian president Vladimir Putin, does not impress Alyokhina at all– ITN London News tells us that she told Russian television stations that she would have turned down the offer of amnesty and served out the remainder of her sentence if she was given the choice.

    Maria Alyokhina is a 25-year-old mother who once attended the Institute of Journalism and Creative Writing. A committed vegetarian, the pleasant-faced, blonde rioter reportedly passed out from hunger during the trials instead of eating non-vegan jail fare. Imprisonment has now exposed her to the gritty experience of regular body examinations performed by Russian guards; during her interview she made sure to voice the need for prison authorities to be punished for exposing women to “endless humiliations” multiple times a week.

    With three members of the group now released and two others presumably free (authorities could never find them), it looks as if Pussy Riot’s anti-Putin movement will resume right where it was halted. Time will only tell if imprisonment has convinced them to attempt tactics that will get their point across without getting arrested.

    Image via Youtube

  • Russia Frees ‘Pussy Riot’ Members

    Russia Frees ‘Pussy Riot’ Members

    Two incarcerated members of the Russian protest-punk band ‘Pussy Riot’ were released from a Russian prison Monday, due to a new amnesty legislation which some watchdog groups view as a Kremlin public relations stunt in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

    Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were found guilty of hooliganism with religious undertones of hatred after a live set at Moscow’s main cathedral in March 2012, and were sentenced to two years in prison. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released on a suspended sentence just months after the hooliganism conviction.

    Russian lawmakers have said the new bill, which the State Duma voted 446-0 in favor of, will likely free roughly 2,000 prisoners. The new laws apply to those who are non-violent offenders, and are catered mostly toward first-time offenders, minors and women with small children. Both Tolokonnikova and Alekhina have young kids.

    Here’s a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:

    Alekhina, 25, was released from a prison outside the Volga river city of Nizhny Novgorod, and commented, “If I had a chance to turn it down (the amnesty), I would have done it, no doubt about that,” adding, “This is not an amnesty. This is a hoax and a PR move.”

    Tolokonnikova, 24, exited a prison in the eastern Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk earlier today, and commented, “How do you like our Siberian weather here?” The singer also said that she and Alekhina will form a human rights group to assist Russian prisoners, stating, “I saw this small totalitarian machine from the inside. Russia functions the same way the prison colony does.”

    In related news, Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned former billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky at the end of his annual press conference on Thursday. Khodorkovsky was formerly the chief of Yukos Oil, and one of the richest people in the world. He was convicted of fraud and tax evasion in 2003, and ended up serving 10 years. Some have speculated that Khodorkovsky’s pardon was another attempt by the Kremlin to clean up the Russian image in time for the Sochi Games.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Russia May Free Pussy Riot Members

    As the Winter Olympics being held in Sochi in February draw near, Russia’s parliament passed a new amnesty bill on Wednesday, which is widely viewed as being a measure to calm international watchdog groups over the Kremlin’s human rights records.

    The bill would likely free the two imprisoned members of the Pussy Riot punk band, as well as a 30-member crew of a Greenpeace ship, who were taken into custody after an Arctic protest.

    Russian lawmakers have said the new bill, which the State Duma voted 446-0 in favor of, will likely free roughly 2,000 prisoners. The new laws apply to those who are non-violent offenders, and are catered mostly toward first-time offenders, minors and women with small children. Jailed Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina both have small children, though no names were actually listed on the new bill.

    Here’s a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:

    Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are both serving two-year sentences for their hooliganism charges, after “upping teh punx” at Moscow’s main cathedral.

    All sorts of punks just won’t leave Vladimir Putin alone:

    Regarding the potential release of the crew of a Greenpeace boat that was arrested, Greenpeace spokesman Aaron Gray-Block commented, “The Arctic 30 now hope they can spend Christmas at home. But it is too early to say.” The bill is expected to go into effect today, as soon as it hits the Russian media, though it may take six months for any prisoners who might benefit from it to be freed.

    The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise was boarded and seized by Russian security agents in international waters on September 19, and was subsequently towed to the port of Murmansk.

    The Arctic Sunrise’s captain, Peter Willcox, said in a statement, “I might soon be going home to my family, but I should never have been charged and jailed in the first place.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Pussy Riot Sentenced To Two Years In Prison

    Pussy Riot, otherwise known as three anti-Putin Russian women, were sentenced to two years in prison today for “hooliganism”. Their offense? Standing in Moscow’s Christ The Savior Cathedral and staging a performance of a “punk prayer” against the Prime Minister.

    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Maria Alyokhina held up the sheet of paper with their sentence on it today almost proudly, seemingly saying in a symbolic way that they aren’t scared. ‘Do to us what you will,’ their eyes say, ‘But don’t expect us to bow down to you.’

    It’s hard to say what the reaction would be if a similar stunt was pulled here in America, or what the punishment would consist of, because there are many factors involved here: political, religious, criminal. And while the women have many celebrities–as well as ordinary citizens–in their corner, some are wondering if perhaps the punishment fits the crime.

    While I definitely disagree with how this was handled and the penalties these women face is there any question that rushing into a church during services and performing an impromptu, vulgar, concert should result in some sort of criminal charges? In this country it would probably result in a fine, but reading reports of the incident it seems relatively clear that the band committed a number of minor crimes (trespass, public disturbance, ect), one commenter wrote on Gawker.

    One aspect of the case that has many upset is how the women have been treated since their arrest; adequate food and rest have reportedly been denied over the past seven months, for example. And now that the sentence has been handed down, it’s certain to cause an uproar among those who support the protesters.

    In a statement to the public, Tolokonnikova wrote:

    Katya, Masha and I are in jail but I don’t consider that we’ve been defeated. Just as the dissidents weren’t defeated. When they disappeared into psychiatric hospitals and prisons, they passed judgement on the country. The era’s art of creating an image knew no winners or losers…I would like you to think carefully about the following reflection by Montaigne from his Essays written in the 16th century. He wrote: “You are holding your opinions in too high a regard if you burn people alive for them.” Is it worth accusing people and putting them in jail on the basis of totally unfounded conjectures by the prosecution?

    Image credit: artist Molly Crabapple