Photo: Alessandro Della Bella
Three members of the band Pussy Riot have been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. The punishment has been denounced across the world, but Putin has launched a witch-hunt to round up remaining members of the group.
The question now is what does this latest crackdown on the right to protest mean for Russian society and will it re-ignite the pro-democracy campaigns?
The trial and sentence were used to make an example to other activists who have been making public criticisms of Putin’s undemocratic and corrupt government. It also served to boost support among his conservative base.
But even some of Putin’s close supporters have called the verdict a mistake. The Russian Orthodox Church, which pushed for prosecution in the first place, called for ‘forgiveness’. Others might be waking up to the scale of the PR disaster facing the regime, already under fire for it’s support for Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad.
International protests have spread rapidly – helped by the media-friendly image of Pussy Riot protesters dressed in bright colours with balaclavas.
Although the support of celebrities can sometimes be welcome – the range of US stars defending freedom of speech in Russia are less keen to defend it in their own country. Bradley Manning, the soldier who leaked the Wikileaks cables has spent a year in solitary confinement.
Nevertheless, the strength of international support will no doubt boost the confidence of those within Russia struggling against the all-powerful oligarchy, protected by the power of the Russian state.
While some criticism of officialdom is permitted, Putin and his circle have cracked down on attacks aimed at him directly or over allegations of corruption and criminality among those close to him.
Journalists, too, have been threatened, dismissed from their jobs and sometimes killed. Many high-profile opposition figures are in prison on trumped-up charges. (Though they may also well be guilty of the same kind of fraud and corruption that Putin’s gang are).
Harsh as the sentence for Pussy Riot is, it’s certainly convenient for Putin. Pundits arguing that he has scored a massive own goal, are missing a bigger issue. The focus on Russia and Pussy Riot deflects attention from Syria, giving Putin much needed breathing room to arrange Russian interests there while the attention of the world’s media is distracted.
A serious escalation of the witch-hunt will start to antagonise the youth of Russia, who will feel collectively threatened by the punishment. We support the demonstrations in solidarity with Pussy Riot, and appeal to the radical youth of Russia to embarass Putin and his gang in the church and government at every possible chance.
Pussy Riot could be one escalation too many for Putin – but that all depends on whether the Russian pro-democracy movement can overcome it’s internal divisions and unite behind a credible strategy for overthrowing Putin and the powerful capitalists who are the real rulers of Russia in the 21st century.
