music · 21 February 2012 · 12 years ago
Five members of the Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior where their actions were stopped by church security officials. By that evening, they had turned the performance into a music video entitled "Punk Prayer - Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!" The women said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leader's support for Putin during his election campaign. The following month, three of the group members were arrested and charged with hooliganism and were were held in custody until their trial began in late July when the three members were convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred", and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
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