In February 2012, an unprecedented event took place in the country's main cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Four masked girls, dressed in colorful bright clothes, burst into the temple, climbed the pulpit, took out musical instruments and sound-amplifying equipment and for a few seconds sang a song, strange for this holy place, called a punk prayer.
Three participants in this orgy were able to figure out and handcuff them in March 2012. The girls called themselves the Pussy Riot group, and their vulgar behavior in the temple was nothing more than a political action. They were provoked to this by a speech by Patriarch Kirill on the eve of the presidential elections, in which he urged his flock to vote for Putin.
The public reacted ambiguously both to the action itself and to the trial. Some considered the performance blasphemy, vandalism and just the highest measure of rudeness, others - a manifestation of patriotic feelings, freedom of speech, and foreign media have already dubbed the girls "prisoners of conscience." In essence, we can say that "this was not the place where it was worth holding any performances at all, much less singing blasphemous songs and arranging" demonic "dances." This is approximately how the people who filed lawsuits against the members of the sensational group expressed themselves.
In mid-July 2012, the trial of three Pussy Riot members began. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich were brought to trial under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The essence of the accusation was that it was an action aimed at inciting sectarian hatred, based on hatred towards a certain group of believers. For many observers, the whole process gave the impression of a grandiose farce. Moreover, it was a farce on both sides. The defense and the accused behaved in a show of arrogance and disrespect towards the victims and the judge, the victims spoke the same learned phrases, the judge constantly exchanged stinging remarks with the defense, and crowds of people gathered in two camps every day near the court.
Many famous artists spoke out in support of the young group. Before the verdict was pronounced, a lot of words were said about the fact that the crime committed was incorrectly qualified, that the girls should be punished with administrative punishment, but not criminal liability. Among the supporters of the punk group were Andrei Makarevich, Sting, Madonna and many others.
However, on August 17, 2012, when sentencing, the judge said that, given the wide public outcry and the public danger of the deed, the court could not re-qualify the case. And also taking into account extenuating circumstances (girls are involved for the first time, everyone has dependent children), the court sentenced them to two years in prison with serving in a general regime colony. The girls have already served part of their term, so in fact they still have a little more than a year and a half. At the sentencing, the now convicted Pussy Riot members smiled.
