Riff Rant: Putin Busting Pussy Riot Out of Prison
It appears as if the odd imprisonment of Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina in Russia is briskly coming to an end, following the passing of an amnesty bill. Reports indicate that the bill (which you can learn more about here) could free as many as 25,000 prisoners in the country.
Although this amnesty will do Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina – both of whom have been behind prison walls since March 2012 after theatrically protesting against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior – a huge solid, the target of their angst remains unhappy with the rockers.
“I was not sorry that [the Pussy Riot members] ended up behind bars,” said Putin in his annual press conference. “I was sorry that they were engaged in such disgraceful behaviour, which in my view was degrading to the dignity of women. They went beyond all boundaries.”
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were scheduled for release in March 2014, roughly a year-and-half after fellow Pussy Rioter Yekaterina Samutsevich got out after a successful appeal.
Once this story began to spread across the land, the ladies had received a ton of vocal support from big-time music acts like Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Madonna. Subsequently, much of the Western world began to pay attention to the plight of Pussy Riot.
With Riffyou.com not being the place to drone on about another country’s politics for paragraphs on end, what can be said is that we really, really, really…really look forward to the future of Pussy Riot as a musical entity. Sure, before this protest-gone-wrong occurred, the group was largely a regional politically-charged performing arts collective that made a name for themselves through their outlandish actions.
Surely, the ladies at the centre of this controversy are going to have a hell of a lot more to say once back onto the street. The question is, will they say anything at all, or fade into the night out of fear that the authorities will more than likely be keeping a stupidly close eye on them?
My rock n’ roll ideals tell me that the once incarcerated members of Pussy Riot will hop upon whichever platforms are before them and let the fist-pumps and tales of political victimization fly. Those same ideals tell me that they’ll make an album and perhaps score a record contract, if they want one, and eventually come on over to the West where they can feel relatively safe singing and stomping about how Russia and Putin made too harsh of an example out of them.
It’s unclear when exactly Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina will get out, but one thing is for certain – the world will be watching. Now, will the Springsteens, McCartneys, and Madonnas of the planet continue to support these ladies once they get on out? Springsteen and McCartney, maybe – they genuinely seem interested in not abandoning causes once the PR angle is over. Madonna? Meh. Let’s just say it’s never easy to understand where she stands and why.
In all, let’s be thankful that Pussy Riot got out of this with their lives intact. They may never be the same after this whole ordeal, but perhaps that’s a good thing.
-Adam Grant
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