When the Russian authorities make decisions that give the country a bad image without appearing to provide any apparent benefit, it’s usually possible to trace motives that reflect the inner logic of the country’s Byzantine, clannish politics. Threatening to direct nuclear missiles at Western Europe looks absurd from the outside, but it makes President Vladimir Putin look tough at home.
But the decision by a Moscow court on Friday to refuse bail to three members of a female punk band called Pussy Riot and extend their pretrial detention until January strains the imagination.
The group captured the imagination of those Russians opposed to Putin last year for their energetic impromptu performances in various public places during which they wore brightly colored dresses and balaclavas. They became a symbol of opposition just as Putin was preparing to return for a third presidential term in an election marred by widespread accusations of fraud and rigging. In other words, a sensitive time for the authorities, who were caught off guard by a wave of protests last December.
The three arrested members — Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova — are accused of taking part in a several-minute-long, unsanctioned performance at Moscow’s largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in February, when they sang "Mother of God, Cast Putin Out!" They face up to seven years in prison. Charged with “hooliganism,” although they hurt no one and damaged nothing, they have been jailed since March. Full story...
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