Monday, August 20, 2012

Pussy Riot: Punk Rock and Politics’ Heady Mix?


Given that punk rock is an inherently political genre of music, are Pussy Riot now serving as the barometer of one’s right to self-expression in Vladimir Putin’s Russia? 

By: Ringo Bones 

To everyone old enough to experience first hand the birth of punk rock back around 1976 and 1976, this genre of music is known to be inherently political and politically opinionated. Remember the harsh polemic of Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen on HRH Queen Elizabeth II during that period? And yet in the 21st Century, punk rock’s ability to not just settle back as injustice run’s amok in society is not lost on the Russian punk rock band named Pussy Riot. 

Pussy Riot gained global attention way before their harsh sentencing over doing an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in Moscow’s main cathedral back in March. They had always been critical of the Russian government failing to provide the semblance of social justice to the average working class Russian citizen. And given that in the West punk rock had always had a streak of Marxist-Leninist Socialist leaning view of social justice, its no wonder why Pussy Riot became a runaway success not just in their home soil but also to socialist idealist elsewhere in the world. 

The recent harsh sentencing of Pussy Riot by the Russian courts over their anti Vladimir Putin protest – as in sentenced to two-years in a labor camp – had attracted international condemnation by supporters hailing from Paris, London, Brussels and even ones as far as Washington, D.C. The question now is, will the “Pussy Riot show trial” eventually make the whole world doubt the rule of law in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia? 


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