As the members explain their actions...
Madonna has offered her support for jailed Russian feminist punks Pussy Riot.
Madonna knows a thing or two about stirring up trouble. Recently offending the French far right, the Queen of Pop remains able to stir up controversy with the flick of her wrist.
So when Madonna claims to sympathise with Pussy Riot, we can afford to take her seriously. The jailed Russian punk outfit have received widespread support, with British musicians recently handing a signed letter to Russian authorities to protest at their treatment.
Asked about their case, Madonna told AP: "I'm against censorship, so I hope that the judge is lenient with them and that they are freed soon."
Meanwhile, Pussy Riot member Nadia Tolokonikovoy has issued a statement explaining some of the band's actions. Focussing on the cathedral performance which drew the ire of authorities, the musician denied that the band intended to offend the Russian Orthodox Church.
An essay published on Free Pussy Riot opens: "Pussy Riot never means to show any disrespect to any viewers or witnesses of our punk concerts. The themes of our songs and performances are dictated by the present moment. We simply react to what is happening in our country, and our punk performances express the opinion of a sufficiently large number of people. In our song 'Hail Mary, Expel Putin' we reflected the reaction of many Russian citizens to the patriarch’s calls for vote for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin during the presidential election of 4 March 2012."
"We are not enemies of Christianity. We care about the opinion of Orthodox Christians. We want all of them to be on our side – on the side of anti-authoritarian civil society activists. That is why we came to the Cathedral."
Finishing, the musician wrote: "Our performance contained no aggression towards the audience, but only a desperate desire to change the political situation in Russia for the better".
Read the full essay HERE.
Madonna knows a thing or two about stirring up trouble. Recently offending the French far right, the Queen of Pop remains able to stir up controversy with the flick of her wrist.
So when Madonna claims to sympathise with Pussy Riot, we can afford to take her seriously. The jailed Russian punk outfit have received widespread support, with British musicians recently handing a signed letter to Russian authorities to protest at their treatment.
Asked about their case, Madonna told AP: "I'm against censorship, so I hope that the judge is lenient with them and that they are freed soon."
Meanwhile, Pussy Riot member Nadia Tolokonikovoy has issued a statement explaining some of the band's actions. Focussing on the cathedral performance which drew the ire of authorities, the musician denied that the band intended to offend the Russian Orthodox Church.
An essay published on Free Pussy Riot opens: "Pussy Riot never means to show any disrespect to any viewers or witnesses of our punk concerts. The themes of our songs and performances are dictated by the present moment. We simply react to what is happening in our country, and our punk performances express the opinion of a sufficiently large number of people. In our song 'Hail Mary, Expel Putin' we reflected the reaction of many Russian citizens to the patriarch’s calls for vote for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin during the presidential election of 4 March 2012."
"We are not enemies of Christianity. We care about the opinion of Orthodox Christians. We want all of them to be on our side – on the side of anti-authoritarian civil society activists. That is why we came to the Cathedral."
Finishing, the musician wrote: "Our performance contained no aggression towards the audience, but only a desperate desire to change the political situation in Russia for the better".
Read the full essay HERE.
