Russia has found its way back into the forefront of the news, but not in a positive light. It would seem that Russian President Vladimir Putin has dropped all pretenses and is letting his fureeek-flag-fly!!

He is now in the process of regaining territory. But this wanna-be-explorer doesn’t acquire unconquered lands the traditional way….Hell No!! Instead, he is taking what rightfully belongs to someone else. A valid independent country, in order to control land that once belonged to “Ole’ Mother Russia.”



Yep, not only has the Great Bear woken up from his long, nap; that bitch is on the hunt and hungry as Hell!!

Of course, it’s not like Putin has come out of the closet, shocking all of us by his actions. He’s been stepping out for quite some time, then running back in under the pretense of being Democratically Correct.

Most of the world, noticed the subtle signs in the beginning which have now become grossly obvious. It is one of these acts that we will address today. Not just to slam the Russian Leader for no reason at all, but to give some support to Sister Artists: Pussy Riot

Now if you don’t know the name, it’s certainly strange enough to send you running to GOOGLE to find out what it means. But most everyone’s heard of these 3 extraordinary women…..haven’t you?

This Punk Rock Band consisting of three brave women, were imprisoned because of their Art and political beliefs.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, nicknamed “Nadya” was born on, November 7, 1989 and is a Russian conceptual artist and political activist. She is a member of the anti-Putinist punk rock group: Pussy Riot, and has a history of political activism with the controversial street-art group Voina.

On August 17, 2012, she was convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after a performance in Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. On December 23, 2013, she was released early with another Pussy Riot member.
Maria Alyokhina, (Masha) is the second band-member of Pussy Riot. At the time of her arrest, she was a fourth-year student at the Institute of Journalism and Creative Writing in Moscow, where she participated in the literature courses of Dmitry Vedenyapin and Alexey Kubrik. Masha is a published poet and has been involved in environmental activism with Greenpeace Russia, opposing development projects in the Khimki Forest, and was a volunteer at the Children’s Psychiatric Hospital in Moscow. She is a vegan and reportedly collapsed from hunger during the trial, as no vegan meals were provided in detention.

Masha: “For me, this trial only has the status of a “so-called” trial. And I am not afraid of you. I am not afraid of lies and fiction, of the thinly disguised fraud in the sentence of this so-called court. Because you can only take away my so-called freedom. And that is the exact kind that exists now in Russia; “so-called-freedom”. But nobody can take away my inner freedom.”
Following her release, Masha and fellow Pussy Riot member Nadya announced their intention to campaign for prisoner’s rights in Russia.

On March 6, 2014, she and Nadya were assaulted and injured at a fast food outlet by local youths in Nizhny Novgorod.

Yekaterina Stanislavovna Samutsevich, (Katya) is the third member of the band arrested. She was released on suspended sentence by a Moscow appeals judge on October 10, 2012 following an argument from her lawyer that she had been stopped by cathedral guards before she could get her guitar out of its case.

So there you are, the three members of the Punk Rock Band Pussy Riot; although the two, Nadya and Masha seemed to have suffered the most physical attacks.
On the 19th of February footage surfaced showing Nadya and Masha being attacked with horsewhips by Cossacks who were patrolling Sochi during the Winter Olympics.


So, what is it about this group that seems to garner physical assaults, verbal attacks and draws constant scrutiny from an irritated Russian government?

Pussy Riot~ What do they stand for? Well, that depends on who you’re asking. To Putin, they are a thorn in his flesh that must be removed.

To the Orthodox Church, blasphemers who must be silenced!

To the Russian teenager, fellow Artists and disgruntled Russians; they are heroines who must be celebrated and supported!

To the rest of the world, they are passionate Artists who believe in the right to free speech, the abolition of Censorship of art and dreamers who believe that the Russia from their dreams, can truly exist.

Pussy Riot is a feministic group of around 10-21 (at start) who hold similar beliefs and stand as protesters against Russia’s mistreatment of women, art and it’s tyrannical hold on its people.

In particular, they are the voice of reason that sounds against who they perceive to be the detrimental downfall of Russia, President Vladimir Putin.

So, to the criminal offense that put these women in danger, separated them from their families and stripped them of their freedom placing them in the middle of Putin & God.

The crime…..Pussy Riot’s “Punk Prayer”

Punk Prayer, a song that incites the Sacred Mother Mary to toss the Russian leader out on his ass!
When Nadia’s husband was asked why, he stated passionately. “The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is a symbol of government corruption to many Russians.

The church has started to act as if it is the propaganda wing of the government. Before the election, Patriarch Kirill said that it was ‘un-Christian’ to demonstrate. And then he said that Putin had been placed at the head of the government ‘by God’”

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, called the punk prayer “blasphemous”.
Putin himself has called the punk prayer “disgusting”.

Members of Pussy Riot who remain at large told The Observer: “Putin is scared of us, can you imagine? Scared of girls.”

 

So Putin did what any man does when confronted by women of power.

 

And so these three girls we’re arrested for a song;

And after their arrest….a fire ignited that Putin never expected!

More than 100 famous Russian actors and cultural figures urged Putin to release the three while they we’re imprisoned – and more than 40,000 ordinary Russians signed the petition. Thousands of Orthodox Christians and Catholics called on Patriarch Kirill, pleading with him to change his position and support the release of Pussy Riot. But their support doesn’t stop at Russians. News of their arrests spread like brush-fire across the internet and opened the world’s eyes to how Russia was treating these ladies as well as the very act of punishment for “Freedom of speech;” Something that should be unthinkable in a country who has come such a very long way from the Cold-War. Right?
Amnesty has described Nadia, Masha and Katya as prisoners of conscience. While famous faces from all over lend support both financially as well as open statements of support.
Madonna travelled to Moscow for a concert but didn’t stop there. She turned her concert into a show of political support for the punk protestors. Madonna even stripped during the concert, taking off her shirt to reveal the words “Pussy Riot” written on her back.

“I am against censorship and throughout my whole career I’ve always promoted freedom of expression, freedom of speech. So obviously, I think that what happened to them is unfair,” Madonna told Reuters. “I think art should be political. Historically speaking, art always reflects what’s going on socially. So for me, it’s hard to separate the idea of being an artist and being political.”

How did Russia respond? The Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin hit the media with a statement : “Madonna is a whore!”

Sir Paul McCartney, Beatles member, has actually met Putin. He had tea at the Kremlin in 2003. McCartney might not be invited back though, after his public support of a group that seeks “to rid Russia of Vladimir Putin.

“McCartney wrote a letter in support of Pussy Riot: “Many people in the civilized world are allowed to voice their opinions and as long as they do not hurt anyone in doing so I believe this is the best way forward for all societies. I hope you can stay strong and believe that I and many others like me who believe in free speech will do everything in our power to support you and the idea of artistic freedom.”

Many stars joined forces to show support for their Russian Sister Artists. Names such as Bono of U-2, Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz, Adele, Jim Carey, Claire Danes, Ellen Degeneres and the list goes on and on.

Michael “Flea” Balzary, the band’s bassist, wrote to Pussy Riot: “Nadya, Katya and Masha, we love you and we support you. We are here to help you. I think about you all the time. I applaud your courage, I pray for your release, I will try to inform as many people as possible about what is going [on] with you.”

Peter Gabriel, the former member of the 1970s British rock band Genesis, expressed his support of Pussy Riot in a letter: “Nadya, Katya, Masha. You have the right to make your own prayers — from the heart. I hope you will be released very, very soon. We are all watching.”

Sting has joined Amnesty International in a statement condemning Russia’s treatment of the punk-rockers:

“It’s appalling that the musicians from Pussy Riot could face prison sentences of up to seven years in jail. Dissent is a legitimate and essential right in any democracy and modern politicians must accept this fact with tolerance. A sense of proportion — and a sense of humour — is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. Surely the Russian authorities will completely drop these spurious charges and allow the women, these artists, to get back to their lives and to their children.”
Here’s a look at Sting performing in Moscow this summer:


Danny DeVito wrote to Putin, too, but used Twitter to do it: “Mr Putin… Pussy Riot…set ’em free…” Short and sweet, DeVito got the message across in well under the 140 characters.

So there you have it…the truth behind Pussy Riot!! No worries the girls are out of jail and the incident is long over. But one has to wonder, what will Putin do next?