He has stated he isn't interested in entertaining any more dissent in Russia, but, in reality that is a choice he can make. He has nurtured a more open society engaging politics in a way that brings in the people to participate. It may have been insulting and embarrassing, but, transparency may be the next challenge to the Russian leadership. I thought Former President and Current Prime Minister Medvedev had a more engaging relationship with Russia.
Pussy Riot is a punk rock band. I can't believe they actually pulled off an appearance inside a church. That is like, major cool.
Pussy Riot has an amazing resemblance to the Brits favorite sound and the bands of the Northwest USA. It is Russia evolving. I find this harmless. I think the resistance to hear the voice of Russian youth is more dangerous than the leadership realizes.
..."Essentially, (click here) it is not three singers from Pussy Riot who are on trial here. It is the entire state system of the Russian Federation which is on trial," Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, one the three defendants, said in her closing statement last week.
Tolokonnikova, 22, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Maria Alyokhina, 24, face up to three years in jail for bursting into Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral in balaclavas, short skirts and bright tights and belting out a "punk prayer" protesting against Putin's close ties with the Orthodox Church.
Judge Marina Syrova is scheduled to start reading the verdict at 3 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Friday and could hand down a sentence by the evening on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred....
I am sure the Russian courts can find a fair charge for the three ladies and not alienate more people than are already worried about their own freedoms in Russia. Three years in jail for being outrageous and bold at the end of a guitar is not exactly an act against the state.
It is a dangerous time for the world, Europe is a prime example of how bad decisions cause civil unrest. But to seek retribution against SINGERS and GUITAR PLAYS is not going to promote peace within the country of Russia. The lack of singers and guitar players making outrageous alligations against the state is more likely to send any dissent underground and dangerous. None of us want that for the people of Russia.The voice of the youth President Putin is seeking isn't gone, it simply is growing up. It might be different than the Russian people are used to, but, it is not unhealthy. I am sure there are many other youth voices in Russia that would be center stage for President Putin and he has spotlighted them, even though he could not bend a fry pan.
President Putin needs to chalk "Pussy Riot" up to the generation gap and nothing more; making them the stars of the dissent is not prudent.
See that, Pussy Riot is wrong. I still think have concert is a church is wild, don't you? Next time, with permission, maybe.
* Pussy Riot trial fuels debate on Church role
By Gabriela Baczynska
MOSCOW, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has called President Vladimir Putin's rule a "miracle of God", defended its close ties with the state on Friday against criticism fuelled by the trial of three members of the Pussy Riot punk band.
In remarks published a day before a court issues its verdict in the trial over the band's protest against the Church's political role on a cathedral altar, Patriarch Kirill said the Church and state were merely bound by a "common agenda"....
