Some European countries, like Germany, France and Austria,he argues, have laws that impose prison terms for antics offensive tobelievers. His job in this (and not only this) case, which has underminedRussia’s international prestige, is to find ways of justifying something thatcannot be justified.
Pussy Riot struck at the sorest spot in modern Russia “which is why the group deserves praise, and not condemnation. The blow fell onthe active merger of church and state into a single ideology, on the attemptsto create a model of “orthodox civilisation” in Russia. The merger is intendedto destroy the protest movement that has become a significant social phenomenonsince December 2011 by depicting it as anti-Russian, as something alien toRussia’s special way.
The rulers have every reason to fear the protest movement.Those who have participated in the huge rallies in Moscow and other majorcities are aware that the movement is split into evolutionary and revolutionarycomponents. The first calls for a reasonable dialogue with the authorities; thesecond, for putting Vladimir Putin on trial. The authorities refused to talkwith the reasonable protesters, who include the pro-European middle class, andso the revolutionary line now predominates.
In their final speeches to the court, the young women ofPussy Riot “ Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich“ displayed intelligence, erudition and competent political analysis. Ihonestly did not expect speeches so compelling from these radical artists. Thegist was that continuing to rule Russia the way the Kremlin is doing isdisastrous for the country’s future. Russian authorities “ above all thepresident “ must find the courage to rethink their political behavior.
But only a short-sighted politician would not see thatprivate freedom in the middle class would evolve into demands first for socialfreedoms, then political. It was the president himself who gave birth to theprotest movement; now he is trying to put out the fires.
I did not believe that the Moscow court would sentence thewomen to prison. Hundreds of the most popular cultural figures in Russia “including Putin supporters “ called for freeing them. They were joined byinternal musical stars led by Paul McCartney, Madonna and Sting, as well asmajor Western politicians. But the Kremlin spat at them all. For 40 seconds ofa punk rendition of “Mother of God, drive Putin out” before the altar of theMoscow cathedral, the young women will pay with prison terms.
That it was a political trial is clear. Had the girls sung“Mother of God, defend Putin,” they might have been nominated to the Duma. Inthe Russian Orthodox Church, a split has developed between enlightenedadvocates of a religion of love and forgiveness and tough legalists demandingpunishment for those who disobey the commandments. The legalists are dominantfor now. But it’s more than that. The leaders of the church want real powerover society, and society is instinctively beginning to defend itself. This isthe meaning of the open letters from the Russian intelligentsia demanding thatPussy Riot be set free. My brother Andrei Erofeyev, the curator of thecontroversial “Forbidden Art” exhibition in 2006, was subjected to similarpersecution for displaying paintings which were purportedly offensive toreligious values. He was also tried, and a relatively mild sentence “ a fine “was handed down from the very top. But this was before the protest movement.
The verdict in the Pussy Riot case reflects a crisis ofRussian rule. Instead of a dialogue with enlightened citizens, the Kremlinoffers fear. Russia refuses to be a modern civilised country. The verdictreflects a crisis of contemporary Russian Orthodoxy. In the Soviet era, thechurch was persecuted, and so supported by the intelligentsia. Now the churchitself has become persecutor. Only the blind can’t see that after this trial alarge number of youths will never cross the threshold of a church.
The verdict also reflects a crisis of the Russian mentality.Pro-European elements may support Pussy Riot, but a significant part of thepopulation is happy with the public flogging of the young women. We are stillan archaic country, incapable of creating a competitive, attractive Russia, sowe opt for the forces of religious-political repression. The verdict is a crisis of neophytism.
I have my personal prayer: “Mother of God, give Putinreason.” The country cannot rely on the past, on the absurdity and fears of itsrulers. We are part of the world community. We are a country of liberalwriters, from Pushkin to Chekhov, from Pasternak to the majority of contemporarywriters. We have traveled widely through Europe over the past 20 years andappreciate the Western standard of living. “Mother of God, give Putin reason.”
Victor Erofeyev is a Russian writer. Thisarticle was translated from the Russian by the IHT
