Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 3 members of Pussy Riot, the feminist punk band, will be held in prison until at least March 2013 whilst awaiting trial for performing an anti-Putin punk song in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Pussy Riot have been protesting for many months now against Putin’s crack down on freedom of expression in Russia – for example see my news blog item Pussy Riot Song Protest in Red Square. Their Cathedral protest performance has been condemned by the Orthodox Church, which is urging the government to take strong action against the women.

Eight members of an anarchic punk band have been arrested in Moscow and charged with public order offences as a result an impromptu performance of an anti-Putin song, prefaced by a chant of “Riot in Russia”. The radical feminist group, Pussy Riot, usually performing in balaclavas, has gained both influence and notoriety following a number of performances over the past few months in a range of venues, including city squares, the Moscow metro and on a bus. One of the group’s members, Garadzha, stated

We are against Putin, against the regime. We wanted to show that this can happen in Russia, that there are girls who are active, who can do things like this.