Russia: home of democracy

This story is so evil and so Russian. And so funny!

The first public screening in Russia of a documentary about the activist group Pussy Riot was canceled by the government at the last minute on Saturday, organizers said. 

You're laughing already, right? Russia cannot control its authoritarian impulses, even in these few, crucial weeks before the Sochi Olympics, when the world is watching their every move. They just can't help themselves. But wait, it gets better:

The film, “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer,” was to have been screened in Moscow on Sunday afternoon, less than a week after two members of Pussy Riot were released from prison...

But on Saturday, the directors of the Gogol Center, a state-financed theater, received a call from the authorities threatening their jobs if they screened the documentary, said Maxim Pozdorovkin, who directed the film with Mike Lerner. A letter from the Department of Culture in Moscow formally banning the screening followed. 

The letter, which was posted online by one of the center’s directors, accused the artists and filmmakers involved of being provocateurs, and said their brand of culture had no place in a government building.

The role of art, it said, “is to save the world, make it better, not to inflame the public with scandalous stories that have no cultural merit.” 

“Let’s hold tight to those principles,” it concluded, “and keep everybody safe.”

Always principled, these Russians. Seriously, isn't that the funniest thing you've read all week? Next stop: the Sochi Anti-Gay Bombing Olympics. It seems Russia is turning into a cartoon. (Okay, so it was always a cartoon. Still, this is world-class funny.)

Pussy Riot comes out swinging

I love these women. Seconds after their release, they condemned Putin. I mean, they didn't even take a deep breath first. They were ready.

Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, were released from jail Monday under an amnesty allowing their early release from two-year sentences for a protest in a church against President Vladimir Putin.

Tolokonnikova shouted "Russia without Putin" after she was freed from a facility in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Alyokhina was released from a different jail hours earlier and dismissed the amnesty move. "I do not think it is a humanitarian act," she said to Russian Internet and TV channel Dozhd. "I think it is a PR stunt."

Seriously, these two women are stellar human beings. May they live forever and bring positive change to the pig sty we refer to as "Russia".

Pussy Riot runs free

This is wonderful news, even if it's just a PR stunt by Putin (which is exactly what it is). He's trying to save his precious anti-gay Olympics. Whatever, they're out!

"Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova, 24, and Maria Alekhina, 25, were released from prison, three months before their scheduled release..."

You may cheer now. And now here's Putin's pathetic remark:

In a news conference, President Vladimir Putin expressed no regret for the Pussy Riot members. "I was not sorry that they ended up behind bars," he said. "I was sorry that they were engaged in such disgraceful behaviour, which in my view was degrading to the dignity of women."

Yeah, right. Stay classy, Vladdy, but it won't work. You joined forces with a filthy, authoritarian Christian sect and invented a "religious crime" to punish these women. But really, you punished them because they were protesting against you. Religion, my ass.

It's particularly disgusting that when talking about imprisoning these young women, one of whom has young children, you used the phrase "dignity of women". Puti, you lost the right to talk like that a long time ago. You're a lowlife pig who knows nothing of dignity.

Can't wait to see what you do at the Olympics. Dance, Vladdy. Amuse us. This is going to be fun.

Russia: going, going...gone?

There's a sad article in the New York Times about Russia's return to its authoritarian past. Putin is back in power, which means jackboots, truncheons and detentions for dissenters.

Here is a longish excerpt from the article:

  When testimony began in the trial of the activists from Pussy Riot, Mr. Terekhov served tea as his workers watched prosecutors request seven-year sentences for three women who had lip-synced a crude anti-Putin song at an Orthodox cathedral. The judge ultimately sentenced each to two years (one was released early).

  He described the atmosphere in the room as one of “black humor, like sarcasm. Laughter through tears.”

  ...“From the point of view of international PR, if earlier Russia was associated with balalaika-matryoshka-caviar-Gorbachev-perestroika, now of course we have to add Pussy Riot,” Mr. Terekhov said, his distaste apparent. “Balalaikas, bears — they were fun. They were something you could joke about. But this is some sort of marvel from the Middle Ages.”

Russia is slipping into a dictatorial nightmare. Observing this from elsewhere is painful -- I can't imagine what it's like to actually live through it. Without freedom, life is a sham. I wish the Russian people well. Their situation is a tough one.

Russian megalomania

I love this:

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Thursday ruled that the video of punk band Pussy Riot's performance in Russia's main cathedral is extremist and ordered it to be removed from the web. 

Well, that's that. It'll be off the web by 11 pm, I imagine. Made me laugh.

Freed Pussy Riot member speaks

There's an interesting interview with Yekaterina Samutsevich, the member of Pussy Riot who was let out of Russian prison recently. The interview is in Der Spiegel and she is so well-spoken. I was surprised and pleased. These band members are no simple, caterwauling yahoos. They know what they're talking about. I found her remarks uplifting. You may, too. Go read it now. (It's short.)

Great story on the Pussy Riot hackers

Today a group, perhaps a branch of Anonymous, took over the web site of the Moscow court that sentenced Pussy Riot. They wreaked havoc for a few hours in a playful way.

What they did to the site was funnier than the news reports would have you believe. US media never have fun with these stories. They're too uptight. Luckily, a blog post at the New York Times (somehow that doesn't work for me) delivers the juicy details. If you need a lift, go read it and do follow the links so you get the full flavor of what happened.

I can just see Putin's head exploding as they told him about this. I hope he watched Azis' video.

Worldwide Pussy Riot rallies

Previously, I wrote about Pussy Riot and the ridiculous way that Putin attacked them after one of their performances. This was essentially an attack on free speech in Russia, so it's important.

Happily, the story caught fire and now global activists have taken up the cause. Here's an excerpt from today's Times/AP story:

The global campaign to free Pussy Riot is gaining speed: Supporters of the punk provocateur band mobilize this week in at least a two dozen cities worldwide to hold simultaneous demonstrations an hour before a Russian court rules on whether its members will be sent to prison.

Go read the story. Free Pussy Riot!

The coming Russian theocracy

In America, there are powerful political forces hoping that a Christian theocracy will replace our democracy. If you don't follow these devious folks on a regular basis, you may think this sounds crazy -- but I assure you, it's not. All you need is an incurious, ignorant, religious population and a set of manipulative, soulless, authoritarian leaders who use Jesus as a banner to pull in the gullible (and empty their pockets). Unfortunately, that's a pretty accurate description of the United States at this very moment. And that means the theocrats could take over.

Apparently, this is what's happening in Putin's Russia. Punk Band Feels Wrath of a Sterner Kremlin is the headline of a NY Times story about a female punk-rock band in Russia. Group members have been jailed for over six months -- for a damn performance. They're being prosecuted for what could be described as in-your-face political protest. But this isn't just about politics; it's about religion. These young women made fun of all sorts of things and now they're facing an absurdly hard-line reaction from the government. You really must read the article to hear the frightening voices of the Russian Orthodox Taliban. They want to take over and they will -- unless the Russian people rebel.

Here's an excerpt:

“Most of the population now are not so much talking about what Pussy Riot did as much as their fear that these people who want to introduce some kind of Orthodox Taliban to Russia, that they will take power,” Mr. Guelman said. “So now I think the authorities are making a big mistake, taking revenge in this way. Society will not support this."

I hope Mr. Guelman is right. These people always want to take over and they must be fought at every turn. If they win, science and truth will be snuffed out and replaced by harsh religious laws. I send my best wishes to the Russian people. We are fighting our own, ignorant religious hordes here in the United States. Fight well, my friends. If you give religious authoritarians an inch, they will take a mile.

Image from the Pussy Riot web site. (It's in Russian. Translation doesn't seem to be available on-site.)