Pussy Riot

This edition considers the infamous trail of the punk band Pussy Riot. The band members were on trial for their protest performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on 21 February 2012, which criticized the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state. Caroline von Gall assess the trial from a legal perspective, arguing that it showcased well-known defi­ciencies within the Russian criminal justice system: namely that it gives short shrift to the Russian Constitution, the Euro­pean Convention on Human Rights, and the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in the interpretation of relevant legal norms. Thomas Bremer analyses the reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church. He suggests that the Church’s call for strict punishment reflects its perception that Russian Orthodoxy —like Christianity in general—is being perse­cuted, and thus that the state should act to protect it. Bremer adds that this pre-modern conception of societal unity and diversity will hardly be viable over the longer term in its current form.