In August 2012, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow sentenced three members of the punk group Pussy Riot to two years in prison. The girls were convicted for their action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where they held a punk prayer service on February 21, 2012. The court considered that their prayer with the words "Mother of God, drive Putin away" is hooliganism and incitement to religious hatred.
Throughout the so-called "Pussy Riot case", the general public, both Russian and world, spoke out in favor of ending the persecution of girls. More than a hundred prominent figures of Russian culture supported Tolokonnikova, Samutsevich and Alekhina, they signed an open letter in defense of the girls. Writer Boris Akunin and TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak were especially active in their support.
And the famous conductor Valery Gergiev even interrupted the concert at Covent Garden and announced that he was demanding an end to the process shaming Russia. He said that otherwise he would give up the leadership of the Mariinsky Theater and would not return to a country where freedom of speech was being violated.
Pop star Madonna at a concert in St. Petersburg called the trial of Pussy Riot an unfair parody and called for the girls to be released. The famous jazz musician from Finland and The Black Keys have canceled their tour in Russia due to the verdict on the members of the punk band.
The decision of the judiciary was condemned by Riccardo Muti, artistic director of the Italian La Scala theater, great tenor Placido Domingo, and Yuri Temirkanov, director of the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. The famous member of the Beatles Sir Paul McCartney, designer Philip Stark, popular American actor John Malkovich asked to release Pussy Riot.
Icelandic singer Bjork stated that she strongly disagrees with the accusations against the girls and called on the authorities to let them go to their children and families. And the widow of the idol of millions of John Lennon Yoko Ono turned to Vladimir Putin with a proposal "to leave a place in prisons for real serious criminals."
Pussy Riot was also supported by former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, US President Barack Obama … and many other world stars: Sting, Stephen Fry, Denny de Vito, Elijah Wood, Annie Lenox, Patti Smith and others.
In addition, ordinary people spoke up in defense of the members of the punk group. In Moscow, other cities of Russia and around the world, several dozen single pickets took place, activists staged actions near the buildings of the Khamovnichesky Court of the capital and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Church of St. Nicholas in Vienna. All Russian actions were dispersed by the authorities.
