Russia's "Pussy Riot" On Trial For Cathedral Protest -- Reuters
(Reuters) - Three women who protested against Vladimir Putin in a "punk prayer" on the altar of Russia's main cathedral went on trial on Monday in a case seen as a test of the longtime leader's treatment of dissent during a new presidential term.
The women from the band 'Pussy Riot' face up to seven years in prison for an unsanctioned performance in February in which they entered Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, ascended the altar and called on the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out!"
Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, were brought to Moscow's Khamovniki court for Russia's highest-profile trial since former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted in 2010, for a second time, in the same courtroom where the Pussy Riot trial began.
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My Comment: My religion is Russian Orthodox .... so yes .... I have gotten into a discussion or two with my relatives back in Russia on this case .... specifically with those who are pro-Putin and/or religious. From a Western perspective, their trial is an outrage .... the possibility of 7 years in jail a travesty. But a Russian diplomat that I know described this news story to me perfectly .... Russia is a very conservative society .... it will take at least a few more generations before they start to enjoy the freedoms that we in the West take for granted. Unfortunately .... along the way .... there are going to be some who will suffer and be persecuted for the positions that they take.
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