For those of you who don't know, Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk rock protest group. They staged provocative guerrilla performances in public locations, which were then edited into music videos and posted on le inter-web. They performed about themes like feminism, LGBT rights and opposition to the policies of the Russian President Vladimir Putin who they say is a dictator (and let's be honest, he really is!) and links between Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Plus, lets be honest, they wear pretty cool balaclavas! What's not to like?
Anyways, the whole reason they got thrust into the spotlight in recent years is because of what happened to the women of the group. In March 2012, three of Pussy Riot's members were arrested, those being Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, who were denied bail and convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" and sentenced to 2 years in prison. Two other members of the group, who escaped arrest after protests, reportedly left Russia fearing being arrested themselves!
Their trials therefore generated loads of support form many countries, with many suggesting the opinion (that I 100% agree with) that they were only arrested in the first place as they're feminists! Which is obviously unacceptable. However, Putin blatantly doesn't feel the same way, saying they "got what they asked for". Hmmm, yeh right!
Fortunately all the women were released as of December 2013, but are unfortunately still subject to abuse from people's ignorance. They were even attacked at the Winter Olympics in Sochi!!
Anyways, the whole point to this blog post isn't to pressure my opinions on to you, rather I see it as an obligation to help educate those who don't know about Pussy Riot, as in an age where feminism is being criticized more than ever, it's imperative to show our support to those campaigning for equal rights for women!
I know this isn't much like any of my other posts, so sorry if its not what you were expecting, thought I'd shake things up as this is a subject I'm truly passionate about!
All the best,
The Titian Mermaid :)
