What constitutes "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred?" Singing a "punk prayer" called "Holy Shit" on the altar of Moscow's main cathedral. Pussy Riot (the actual name of the group, in English and not a translation from Russian) recorded their crime and conveniently posted it on the Internet for Moscow prosecutors:
The translation:
Mother of God, Virgin, deliver us from Putin
Deliver us from Putin, deliver us from Putin
Black robes, golden epaulets
All the parishioners are crawling to worship
The ghost of freedom in the heavens
Gay pride is sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB, their chief saint
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order to avoid offending the Most Holy.
Women need to give birth and love
Shit, shit, Holy Shit
Shit, shit, Holy Shit
Mother of God, Virgin, become a feminist
Become a feminist, become a feminist
The church praises corrupt leaders
The procession of black limousines
The preacher comes to your school
Go to class -- bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyayev [the head of the Orthodox Church in Russia] believes in Putin
It would be better if he believed in God, bitch
The cincture of the Virgin is no substitute for protest
The Ever-Virgin Mary will be with us!
Mother of God, Virgin, deliver us from Putin
Deliver us from Putin, deliver us from Putin
Yeah, it ain't Bob Dylan. But does it deserve seven years hard time?
At a concert in Moscow Madonna showed her support for Pussy Riot by stripping to her bra and showing the group's name written on her back. Yoko Ono, Peter Townshend and other artists have also voiced their support for the women.
That this is all happening in front of the world, all over the Internet, shows how much Russia has changed since the days of the Soviet Union. That the Orthodox Church is letting an autocrat use them to oppress the dissent of three women shows how little organized religion has changed since the days of the tsars.
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