"An Inadvertent Sacrifice: Body Politics and Sovereign Power in the Pussy Riot Affair" Anya Bernstein, in Critical Inquiry On the crisp morning of February 21, 2012, five young women walked into the Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Situated in the heart of the Russian capital, the cathedral is the tallest Orthodox church in the world. Wearing a blaze of color in sleeveless dresses, neon tights, and their signature balaclava ski masks, they jumped on the altar, turned their backs to the lavish icon screen, took out their electric guitars, and began a song that was a mix of punk-rock riffs and traditional Orthodox chant. The lyrics criticized the close relations between the Russian Patriarch Kirill and President Putin, the Orthodox Church’s conservative anti-woman and anti-LGBT rhetoric, while the refrain—styled as a traditional Orthodox prayer chant— addressed the Mother of God directly, pleading her to “oust Putin” and “become a feminist.” The women were apprehended by security before they could finish—a key moment in the trial that would follow, when a judge determined that it mattered very much just which of their lyrics were leashed upon confused onlookers. Following their initial release from the church, they mixed a video of their performance with a more elaborately scored soundtrack and scenes recorded elsewhere days earlier, and released their work on YouTube. Less than two weeks later three members of the group were arrested, and a long trial commenced that would make this “punk prayer” world famous. The members of the all-female collective known as Pussy Riot were eventually found guilty on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” and received two-year prison sentences in distant, all-female Russian labor camps. criticalinquiry.uchicago.edu/an_inadvertent_sacrifice_body_politics_and_sovereign_power_in_the_pussy_rio/
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 06:08:22 +0000
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