All-girl band Pussy Riot receiving support from across the world

18 August, 2012

Pussy Riot, a feminist band that plays punk rock, came into the limelight when three of their seven band members were sentenced for 2 years imprisonment after they staged protest against Vladmir Putin.

STREET PROTESTS had been the other of the day in many European capitals, especially in Paris and Berlin, where crowds gathered to protests against the arrest of three women from the Russian band, Pussy Riot. These three women, namely Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Marina Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were sentenced for 2 years in jail, who were protesting against Vladmir Putin, the Russian President. They were well within their democratic right to protest. But, not everybody thinks on the same lines, as they were declared guilty of hooliganism.

The protesters gathered were very vocal in their support of the band members. One of the protesters said in the AFP video, “May be this is Putin's idea of a moderate sentence, but for me, any sentence is too much.” The people gathered in the protests made their feelings public not only through their words but also by wearing a neon coloured ski mask, which has become a symbol of their band. In other parts of the world, people bared their breasts, cross dressed, etc., as a matter of protest.

Another girl protester present in the street said, “I think the problem is that in Russia something very bad is developing. It is becoming more and more repressive. Pussy Riots is serving as an example so that people of Russia no longer protest Putin's regime”. There were also reports of a scuffle breaking out when the protests were taking place. This incident is definitely going to show President Putin in negative light.

Various international artists such as Sting, Paul Mc Cartney, and Madonna have also supported the three band members. So before it becomes too late, it is in the best interest of everyone that Putin pardons these band members. Even the US and the EU have asked the sentences to be reviewed.