In Russia, it was supposed to be a show trial for the punk band Pussy Riot, but it has turned into a big mess. The whole world can tell by now that there was no hooliganism — nothing was broken, no one was so much as pushed — so the original charges against the three defendants were obviously fabricated. The obvious reason for charges against the punk musicians is that they were colorful and witty in their political commentary. After keeping three women in jail for months, the regime in Moscow can scarcely afford a not guilty verdict. Yet a guilty verdict will not serve either — it would be obviously false, and would show that Russia has abandoned most of its pretense of freedom, democracy, and a functioning society.
A show trial of innocent performing artists adds to other recent events that cast doubt on Russia’s future. The government’s support for Syria in its brutal repression that borders on genocide earned it a rebuke from the United Nations General Assembly and sets it apart from the point of the view of the more successful parts of the world. At the same time, there are problems with endemic corruption in Moscow and an economy that seems to be returning to a Soviet-era pattern of decay. The Putin government, then, is seen as ushering Russia into an era of long-term decline and withdrawal from the world.
So it falls to a group of punk musicians to stand for progress and civilized sensibilities. It is not just the irony of punk musicians so firmly occupying the moral high ground that we see in the Pussy Riot trial. The punk band also stands for culture, eloquence, and political sensibilities. This is easy to see in the closing statement of Yekaterina Samutsevich, which has been read by millions of people worldwide. It reviews the corrupt relationship between the Kremlin and the Orthodox Church and the political motivations for the show trial, then closes:
On the other hand, we have won. The whole world now sees that the criminal case against us has been fabricated. The system cannot conceal the repressive nature of this trial. Once again, the world sees Russia differently from the way Putin tries to present it at his daily international meetings. Clearly, none of the steps Putin promised to take toward instituting the rule of law have been taken. And his statement that this court will be objective and hand down a fair verdict is yet another deception of the entire country and the international community. That is all. Thank you.
It is a risk to put people from show business into a show trial. Musicians understand better than most political prisoners how to talk to an audience and, more importantly, how to know who the real audience is. The government thought it could contain this risk by keeping the defendants in a cage in the courtroom, but it did not work. Putin is obviously not prepared to debate this particular punk band and does not seem to understand what is at stake. To appreciate the significance of the moment, consider this question: who is more likely to die in a jail cell, Pussy Riot, or Putin? Before you answer, consider that it is a question that the Russian people may ultimately get to decide.
