Robert Fryar
Prof. Santos
1stYearSem
March 24 2019
Pussy Riot
The topic of this week was punk music and pussy riot is exemplary of what punk means. Punk, as we learned can be somewhat subjective as it can be either a very left or right wing movement although more often a genre of liberalism. However pussy riot is known as a progressive band that is highly political. The Russian band often discusses themes in their songs that tie in their hatred for Vladimir Putin, feminism, general inequality, LGBTQ rights etc. Pussy Riot has only ever had female members since their inception in August 2011. This furthur ties in with the feminist themes of Pussy Riot.
The moment the band rose to prominence when they held a performance in an orthodox church in 2012 for the church’s allegiance to Vladimir Putin. Three of the group members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were arrested and charged with hooliganism and on a later date Yekaterina Samutsevich was apprehended as well as a result of the protest in the church. Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were imprisoned for two years while Samutsevich was released on probation. Pussy Riot pulled this stunt as they see Vladimir Putin as a vicious dictator who used the orthodox religion as a resource in order to get elected. The protest itself shows an incredible amount of dedication to their cause as they are risking their lives as the Russian public see them as an enemy. Pussy Riot is an interesting punk rock band that has seen a lot of praise and a lot of criticism but they are the epitome of punk.