Issue and Opponent: In January 2012, Medvedev announced that Putin would once again be named President of Russia in November. This event showed many in Russia that their country was quickly becoming a dictatorship rather than a democracy. This announcement sparked the fourth action of the women who make up the Pussy Riots, which brought them to the world’s attention.
Dilemma Action: Three women who were part of a feminist punk rock band held a concert in the Red Square that came at great personal risk. They took a film crew, supporters, and journalists and entered the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where they stood on the steps of the pulpit and sang the opening songs of a punk song. The main lyric performed during this 48-second event was “Virgin Mary, chase Putin away!” During the performance, the women knelt, genuflected, and jumped up and down before being intercepted by security guards. The video was posted to YouTube and caught the attention of the world.
Outcomes: After the video appeared on YouTube, Putin and his oligarchs became involved, listing it as a crime. A warrant was issued for “Hooliganism.” These women were arrested, imprisoned, denied bail, and faced up to seven years of jail. The Pussy Riots have shown that the oligarchs in Russia and Putin himself will go after anyone. Anti-Pussy Riot propaganda continued to circulate on all government-owed television channels throughout the country. However, Western media reclaimed the performance as the greatest piece of performance art in Russian history.