23 Feb 2012 | Russia
Pussy Riot is a feminist punk collective from Moscow. They hide their faces under coloured balaclavas, use nicknames to remain anonymous and perform unsanctioned concerts in peculiar places. Since their emergence last autumn Pussy Riot have performed in underground stations, in shops and on trolleybuses and detention centres’ roofs.
Pussy Riot came to the attention of Russia’s anti-extremist police. In late January they performed an anti-Putin song in the Red Square right in front of Kremlin. The performers were arrested and had to spend several hours in a police cell.
But this week’s “concert” brought them real public attention after they performed what they called a punk prayer “Mother of God, send Putin away” in Moscow’s biggest Orthodox Cathedral. It is the Cathedral high-ranking officials usually attend on the biggest Orthodox holidays. The leader of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is a Putin supporter.
The band got into the cathedral just like regular parishioners, but then started dancing and shouting out anti-Putin words:
KGB head is the biggest saint, who leads protesters to pre-trial prisons … The Patriarch believes in Putin. He should rather believe in God … Mother of God, become a feminist… Send Putin away
The group managed to evade the cathedral’s security, and no one was arrested. Even if one of them did get arrested, she would be quickly replaced, the women explained to journalists. Pussy Riot has no leaders or permanent participants — they are just an anonymous group of punk feminists fighting authoritarianism.
22 Feb 2012 | Middle East and North Africa
A man in Belarus has been sentenced to 10 days in prison for placing children’s toys on the street. Former political prisoner Pavel Vinogradov put soft toys on a curb with tiny banners to protest against police brutality in the country known as Europe’s last dictatorship. He was arrested by the police who claimed he had organised an “unauthorised protest”. This bizarre case comes after the country’s dictator Alexander Lukashenko banned clapping in public last year to prevent silent protests against his hardline rule.
Lukashenko’s behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic. He paid for mercenaries to help Colonel Gadaffi in Libya, has praised Adolf Hitler — whose occupation of Belarus killed as many as one in three Belarusians during World War II — and on top of the 10 homes he already owns is building his own flying club, water sports centre and diving centre.
17 Feb 2012 | Russia
Authorities in the Siberian city of Barnaul have refused to sanction a dolls’ protest rally, claiming toys are not equal to people and so cannot participate.
Rights activists had planned to place 100 Kinder surprise toys, 100 Lego figures, 20 soldiers, 15 soft toys and 10 toy cars on the snow in Barnaul’s central square with tiny placards to protest against corruption, violations of election law and article 31 of the constitution which guarantees the freedom of assembly.
Organisers from the local GOLOS election watchdog department and Voters’ League rights activists called the authorities’ refusal absurd.
The activists have pledged to hold the protest action on 18 February anyway, but instead of a rally they plan to make it a series of single pickets, which, according to Russian law, do not have to be sanctioned.
Similar toy protests were held in Barnaul in January without any authorities’ sanctions and became successful among the public and foreign media [photos available here]. Their purpose was simple: authorities refused to sanction a traditional rally against allegedly fraudulent elections, and activists came up with a creative idea of toys protesting instead. Toys held placards saying “United Russia is united against Russia”, “I’m for clean elections”, “Send bears (the symbol of the Putin-led United Russia party – Index) to the North”. Barnaul Prosecutor’s office considered the toy rally “a public event which requires authorities’ sanction”.
Meanwhile protest activists in Moscow are trying to get human protest actions sanctioned. They planned a follow up to this month’s rallies against unfair elections on 26 February in the celebation Russian traditional holiday — Pancake week — with a slogan “Farewell to political winter”. It implies the burning of the winter effigy which is most likely to feature Putin’s face. Organisers are receiving controversial statements from Moscow city administration. They are going to hold the action anyway; if no sanction is given, it will take the form of a flashmob.
After protesters see off the political winter, they plan to gather in Moscow’s Garden Ring Road and create an unbroken circle around the city centre holding hands. Protesters estimate this will require not less than 34,000 people. The purpose of the “Big White Circle”, as protesters call it, is to remind the authorities none of their demands were fulfilled.
The only people who do not have any problems organising rallies now are Putin’s supporters. Their rally is to be held on 23 February, and it is expected that Putin himself will attend. The last rally in his support was held the same day tens of thousands people protested against his run in presidential campaign, and was marked with scandalous reports of how people were threatened or paid for supporting him.
16 Feb 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Journalists from French broadcaster France 24 and the Netherlands Press Association were attacked yesterday in Panhe, Zhejiang province, while investigating land grab protests in the area. France 24’s Baptiste Fallevoz and his Chinese fixer, Jack Zhang, said they were followed in their car and later surrounded by 20-30 thugs who pulled Zhang from the vehicle and smashed his camera before continuing to try to attack him. Remko Tanis of the Netherlands Press Association was also beaten up by attackers who confiscated his notebook, materials about the land disputes given to him by Panhe locals, and his camera memory card.
