Pussy Riot

by **JoshyBoy** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:41 am

Seriously though, what does everyone make of this?

by **2dimes** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:52 am

There is a lot of progress if you consider in the past they likely would have just been killed the first time they attempted their protests there.

I think they actually may have got what they wanted in the video, though in the moment it was probably pretty unpleasant.

by **JoshyBoy** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:59 am

Agreed.

by **thegreekdog** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:07 am

Is this real? Normally/usually, police on camera would attempt to actually make an arrest if they started beating the alleged criminals. They don't even seem to try to arrest these women. It was more like "Hey, you can't do that here, let's beat you until you leave."

by **2dimes** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:15 am

The group has been arrested in the past and the police may have intentionally changed their approach since detention was not a deterrent. Public flogging might deter copy cat groups quite effectively. They could lose a few members from the original group as well.

by **JoshyBoy** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:17 am

thegreekdog wrote:Is this real? Normally/usually, police on camera would attempt to actually make an arrest if they started beating the alleged criminals. They don't even seem to try to arrest these women. It was more like "Hey, you can't do that here, let's beat you until you leave."

Are you suggesting it was staged? PR stunt? That's a bold suggestion. Interesting.

by **thegreekdog** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:23 am

JoshyBoy wrote:
thegreekdog wrote:Is this real? Normally/usually, police on camera would attempt to actually make an arrest if they started beating the alleged criminals. They don't even seem to try to arrest these women. It was more like "Hey, you can't do that here, let's beat you until you leave."

Are you suggesting it was staged? PR stunt? That's a bold suggestion. Interesting.

I don't know that the police staged it. Obviously Pussy Riot staged it. I'm not sure how they would otherwise remain relevant.

Also, I believe those police are actually the Cossacks "guarding" Sochi, not the actual police (but what do I know). So maybe that has something to do with it. I wonder what hurts more: those whips or batons. I've been maced before and that is not a fun experience.

by **2dimes** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:29 am

It's pretty chaotic. One person with a camera got some beats, yet there was no shortage of footage. Was that particular person known or just too close/in the wrong spot?

The guitar player seemed to have a facial injury that occurred off camera. Or I just missed it.

The guitar itself seemed to escape destruction, I'm surprised it was not obliterated.

by **Dukasaur** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:53 am

thegreekdog wrote:Is this real? Normally/usually, police on camera would attempt to actually make an arrest if they started beating the alleged criminals. They don't even seem to try to arrest these women. It was more like "Hey, you can't do that here, let's beat you until you leave."

I don't believe they consider it beating if it's not potentially lethal. I think that's the whole point of the whips.

by **DoomYoshi** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:15 am

I'm not even sure I understand why they are being beaten in this video. Is wearing ugly dresses illegal in Sochi?

by **Dukasaur** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:28 am

DoomYoshi wrote:I'm not even sure I understand why they are being beaten in this video. Is wearing ugly dresses illegal in Sochi?

They were suspected of supporting the Norwegian curling team.

by **saxitoxin** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:31 am

The U.S. is working overtime to try to embarrass Russia but is just bumbling at every turn. First the frantic warnings of toothpaste bombs, and so-called "credible information" that Sochi is going to be turned into a sea of blood or other nonsense, which doesn't happen. Then they send the U.S. Navy to "help" Russia, even though no one asked; but said Navy immediately runs into the shore and has to be towed to port for repairs. Now the Hilary Clinton All-Stars try to stage a provocation but get shut-down within 30 seconds.

Can someone actually name a Pussy Riot song? Have they ever performed a concert in a place where tickets are sold? I almost think the Cossacks should have held back for 5 minutes so everyone could see they don't actually know how to play the instruments they're lugging around.

by **MudPuppy** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:42 am

They didn't get whipped as bad as the Russian hockey team:

by **mrswdk** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 12:42 pm

A bunch of other members of the 'Pussy Riot collective' have written an open letter expressing that the the women in OP's video are no longer members of Pussy Riot. Whatever their reasons for doing so, this means that the above video is not a video of 'Pussy Riot'. It is just two women deliberately creating a stink and getting roughed up by security goons as a result, which is exactly what they wanted anyway and so is hard to feel too much outrage about.

by **AndyDufresne** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:11 pm

saxitoxin wrote:Can someone actually name a Pussy Riot song? Have they ever performed a concert in a place where tickets are sold? I almost think the Cossacks should have held back for 5 minutes so everyone could see they don't actually know how to play the instruments they're lugging around.

They don't consider themselves a real band, or at least, they've mentioned on multiple occasions they see themselves as political activists first, using music and the accouterments of a band for their activities.

--Andy

by **warmonger1981** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:36 pm

George Soros conspiracy. JK But seriously NGO'S play a part. Brzezinski talks about Ukraine playing a major roll in US security in his book The Grand Chessboard in 1998
.

by **oVo** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:01 pm

Abuse of authority is no surprise, but this public display at the Olympics is. Whether it's an official action against unofficial Pussy Riot girls or not, beyond our discussion the event's images have gone global.

by **Dukasaur** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:26 pm

mrswdk wrote:A bunch of other members of the 'Pussy Riot collective' have written an open letter expressing that the the women in OP's video are no longer members of Pussy Riot. Whatever their reasons for doing so, this means that the above video is not a video of 'Pussy Riot'. It is just two women deliberately creating a stink and getting roughed up by security goons as a result, which is exactly what they wanted anyway and so is hard to feel too much outrage about.

First of all, it's hard to know which "two women" you are talking about, since the video shows at least FIVE women and at least two men.

There was an obvious schism in the movement, and as is typical with these situations, there are a lot of accusations flying about. Since the group is an informal collective and has no legal charter of any kind, nobody can be said to have any right to tell anyone else whether they are or are not a member of Pussy Riot. For that matter, I might be a member, and I hereby cast you out.

I'm not going to try to adjudicate who is right and who is wrong in the breakup of the movement (the wikipedia entry is quoted below; you can read it and make your own judgements) but at least two of the women arrested in Sochi are among the original founding members and I would think have just as much right as anyone else (or more) to decide who the group includes or does not include.

wikipedia wrote:Internal disputes

In a letter from prison after their sentences were upheld, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina disowned the actions of Tolokonnikova's husband, Verzilov, accusing him of having co-opted Pussy Riot by acting as its frontman without their consent: "His statements are lies, in the name of giving himself the status of the founder and legal representative of Pussy Riot, when in fact, he is not. Actually, Pyotr Verzilov has occupied Pussy Riot through this strange, quasi-fraudulent activity. As a representative of the group, I am outraged."[136][137] Samutsevich expressed surprise at the letter, while Verzilov declined to comment, saying "I do not understand it. We are going to find out what happened".[138] The previous week, Verzilov himself had released a statement to the Echo of Moscow radio station, stating that he was neither a member nor a representative of Pussy Riot.[139]

A trademark dispute arose in October and November 2012, when it was discovered that the group's defense attorney, Mark Feygin, had attempted to register "Pussy Riot" as a trademarked brand name in Russia. On April 6, 2012, Feygin applied to Rospatent without the knowledge of his clients, seeking to assign the brand to a company owned by his wife, Natalia Kharitanova-Feygin. This would give them exclusive rights to produce Pussy Riot-branded products.[140] Furthermore, Kharitanova-Feygin has already received an advance payment of 30,000 euros to produce a film about the Pussy Riot trial, with an additional 170,000 euros payable upon completion of the contract, and 40 percent of the profits of worldwide sales of videos. The trademark application was rejected by Rospatent,[141] leaving the ultimate fate of the Pussy Riot brand, estimated without promotion to be worth USD $1 million,[142] undecided.

On 19 November, Feygin and the two other original lawyers for Pussy Riot withdrew from the case prior to Tolokonnikova's appeal, stating that they felt the court would be more likely to grant the appeal if the three were no longer a part of the defense.[143] Samutsevich criticized the original legal team for allegedly using the trial for personal publicity rather than securing the release of the defendants.[144] On 21 November, Samutsevich's lawyer told the press that Samutsevich was considering requesting that Feygin and the other original lawyers be disbarred for failing to return her passport and other belongings.[145] Feygin responded via Twitter that Samutsevich was part of a "defamation campaign organized by the authorities", while another member of the legal team, Violeta Volkova, responded that the claims were "part of an agreement that allowed her to break free of the case".[145] On 21 January 2013, Feygin, Volkova, and Nicholas Polozov filed suit against Khrunova and Kommersant for defamation.[146]

In a letter dated February 1, 2013 and published by her father on the Echo of Moscow web site, Tolokonnikova distanced herself from Samutsevich, saying "Samutsevich hasn't written to me for two months. That's it, to me she is already dead. There will be no more talk of collaborating after this."[147]

by **Dukasaur** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:30 pm

saxitoxin wrote:The U.S. is working overtime to try to embarrass Russia but is just bumbling at every turn.

American efforts to manipulate world opinion are a joke, that much is true. However, Putin really doesn't need outside help to be seen as a corrupt and sadistic brute. He does that quite nicely on his own.

by **oVo** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:44 pm

Sergei Markov wrote:"If it were not for Putin’s gentle democratic rule, the Cossacks would have torn the Pussy Riot girls into little pieces. It’s only Putin’s sense of discipline that is saving their lives."

from Newsweek

by **Phatscotty** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 4:01 pm

Love the shallow spin on the issue by John Stewart.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/02/116436- ... se-russia/

by **mrswdk** on Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:25 pm

@Dukasaur It sounds like they're all fighting over it. I guess whether or not those women 'officially' represent Pussy Riot isn't important. It's not like we're trying to determine whether they were officially representing the US government. The point is that they are probably really pleased with being beaten up and having it recorded. I felt sorry for Syrian protestors who were attacked by their government, or Zimbabwean voters who are intimidated or swindled out of voting for Mugabe's opponents. I don't feel sorry for a group of women who get together with the intention of annoying their government and succeed.