Outside Pressure over Pussy Riot Trial Unlikely to Yield Results

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Despite growing international pressure from sources as varied as the United States government and British pop legend Sting, the Russian authorities seem unlikely to ease their position on jailed punk rockers Pussy Riot, experts say.

Despite growing international pressure from sources as varied as the United States government and British pop legend Sting, the Russian authorities seem unlikely to ease their position on jailed punk rockers Pussy Riot, experts say.

As artists, musicians and other pop culture luminaries have joined the call on President Vladimir Putin to free Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, held in pretrial detention since their arrest in March, analysts say it strikes at the heart of the Kremlin’s most sensitive nerve: outside interference in domestic affairs.

And now, more than ever, the authorities are looking to stay strong amid growing pressure from both home and abroad.

“Their preference is to never be seen bowing to opinion, particularly opinion coming from outside the country,” said political expert Sam Greene, of Moscow’s New Economic School.

Outside Voices Unwelcome

Russia has long worn its attitude toward outside powers, whether nations, NGOs or celebrities, on its sleeve. At home or abroad, the Kremlin has always hammered home its point that it will not be pushed into a corner.

Most recently, Moscow’s perceived intransigence over the Syrian conflict has angered Western powers looking to secure strongman Bashar al-Assad’s ouster. For nearly a year and a half, it has argued – on principle – that no foreign power holds the right to overthrow a regime.

And years before the Syrian crisis, there were the “color revolutions.” The flurry of regime change that swept across post-Soviet Eurasia between 2003 and 2005 played a key role in heightening the Kremlin’s sensitivity to foreign intervention and led to a greater crackdown on civil society and foreign NGOs.

According to Sergei Markov, vice president of the Plekhanov Russian Economic University and a Kremlin-connected analyst, the pressure over Pussy Riot is similar to the experiences of the past because it “touches the core political and public values” in Russia.

“It strengthens the belief that those people don’t just want to teach Russia what to do, but they want to destroy Russia,” he said. “And it’s not just unwelcomed professors – but the [Kremlin’s] enemies.”

The anxiety reaches far and wide. Officials in St. Petersburg have reportedly grown nervous over pop icon Madonna’s performance in the city next week, during which she may, the artist hinted on her Facebook page earlier this year, lash out against the city’s controversial ban on “homosexual propaganda.”

The prospect sent local officials into a frenzy for months, raising questions over whether the singer should even be granted a visa, and even prompting Vitaly Milonov, the author of the bill prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality, to threaten legal action against her.

Holding the Line

During his visit to London on Thursday, Putin blasted the group’s “punk prayer” that landed them in prison, but also hinted that they should face milder punishment. His visit coincided with an open letter, published in The Times, from a variety of British musicians calling on Putin to free the group.

“I do not think they should be judged that harshly for that,” he told reporters. “I hope they will make certain conclusions themselves. Nevertheless, it is up to the court to make the final ruling.”

But the Kremlin has proven astute at brushing aside the recent outburst of civil discontent, offering only cursory and largely ceremonial responses to the street protests – if any at all.

Greene, the political expert, says the chorus of support for Pussy Riot will likely fall on deaf ears. He also notes that the authorities will stand by their vision of the state-society model – one which has involved very little breathing room for public politics and expression.

“This pressure [from musicians] is probably not doing these ladies any favors,” he said. “If anything, it strengthens the resolve of the government to see through the course of action they’ve selected.”

He added that the authorities are unlikely to back away from their line “simply because some aging Western pop star wants them to.”

Vocal Support

Recent weeks have seen both a flood of support for Pussy Riot and criticism of the Russian authorities. It began with outcries from the homegrown opposition and Amnesty International’s classification of the three women as “prisoners of conscience.”

It culminated, however, with a string of musicians who, during their performances in Russia, surprised audiences by publicly backing the group. Now, the line-up of pro-Pussy Riot celebrities has grown to include such cultural heavyweights as Sting, film director Terry Gilliam, songwriter Peter Gabriel, and actor Danny DeVito.

Some observers say Russians’ love for Western pop culture creates a unique avenue for artists and musicians to make a greater impact than they would otherwise.

“When Sting comes out in defense of Pussy Riot, everyone is listening, because it’s not just opposition leaders and the advanced middle class who know him,” said blogger Alexander Morozov, head of the Moscow-based Center for Media Studies. “Even many of those investigating Pussy Riot grew up with him – he was part of their lives.”

Yet Morozov conceded that even if the authorities decide to either free the band or significantly ease their punishment, it would not be done in a way that casts the Kremlin as giving in to outside forces.

“For the past 12 years, Putin has shown that there are situations in which no amount of pressure can change things,” he said. “He can completely ignore public opinion, either at home or abroad.”

“For Putin, the sole fact of public support means nothing, and he functions according to the basis that public opinion is somehow influenced or provoked,” Morozov added. “He just doesn’t believe public opinion is a real, organic thing.”

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