The cultural phenomenon of Pussy Riot merely existing is a sign of a (slowly but surely) changing Russia. The act of a group of women going into one of the most prominent and revered churches and singing about bringing down Putin is an act of dissident, following in the long history of Russian citizens protesting whatever the current regime was.
The title of the song Pussy Riot sang has a symbolic meaning. Called Mother of God, Drive Putin Away, the song circles back to the religious reverence that highlighted early in this class. The bringing back of religion, oppressed for so many years under Communism, is an interesting take. It seems especially powerful as a tool to fight against what Pussy Riot blatantly believes to be an oppressive regime under Putin. Pussy Riot invokes the name of the Virgin Mary in their claims that she would be a feminist and support them, urging Mary to get rid of Putin. They are simultaneously targeting the Church as a flawed institution, highlighting the worrying closeness of Church and state. This statement was particularly interesting, as only a few decades ago, the government was vehemently against the closeness of Church and state. Pussy Riot further drew on this relationship, comparing the KGB and the Church in the line “black robes, golden epaulettes.” This line is most striking, as the rise of the Church has encouraged many Russians to start going back to Russian Orthodox Christianity and caused many Russians to go up in arms about Pussy Riot. Although three of the five women from Pussy Riot who were involved in this song and the following Church performance were arrested, the protest goes to show that dissidence in Russia is just as apparent now as it was in the Communist period, under the Tzars, during the Mongol invasion, and even earlier.
I think your analysis leads into what we talked about in class today quite well, namely the protest culture that we have seen throughout the semester and throughout Russian history. Pussy Riot’s protest work was more explicit in their criticisms and calls for a new leader, but the underlying theme of resistance against oppression falls in line quite well with works of the past. What I find interesting is how far the band went, and how they managed to get arrested after the censors relaxed. Now, I’m not calling Russia a have of free expression, but it’s interesting that, in a time of relatively new artistic freedom, they pushed the envelope so far that they got arrested.
I find it interesting that you point out how religion is returning after being oppressed by communism for such a long period of time. I would agree that it seems to be surging back. Its almost as if the flood gates have been opened, and perhaps the return of religion into mainstream Russian culture is more violent than typical Russian Orthadoxy would suggest. The way religion is being use so explosively in Pussy Riot seems to be intense, even for Russia. I wonder if somehow religion’s power as an aesthetic tool is heightened due to its recently restored visibility.
Yes, religion returned to Russia in a big way following the collapse of the Soviet Union (and the trend was even occurring toward the end of perestroika). Churches that had been demolished or neglected were restored and rebuilt, church worship resumed, and the Russian Orthodox Church is now very much a powerful political institution that is in league with Pushkin’s government and with the kind of stringent social and political controls he has enacted during the 20 years of his rule. This is precisely why Pussy Riot directed their protest at–and through–the church. (If anyone wants to watch a really damning film that explores the corrupt partnership of the Russian Orthodox Church and Putin’s regime, I highly recommend Andrei Zviagintsev’s 2014 film “Leviathan”).