The Pussy Riot case – a few words

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.  And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’[*]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[~]”

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. – Mark. 11.15-18.

[Also see Matt.21:12-17, Luke 19:45-48 and John 2:13-16]

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How many years in a Russian ‘penal colony’ would Jesus have been sentenced to had he pulled the above stunt in Russia’s main Orthodox Cathedral? Given that Pussy Riot, who merely performed a protest song, aimed squarely at Putin and the corrupt upper echelons of the Orthodox establishment received 2 years, Jesus would likely be looking at considerably longer.

It goes without saying that last Friday’s verdict is a gross attack on free speech and freedom in general in Russia. The labelling of the band ‘extremists’, ‘instigators of religious hatred’ is utter nonsense – the only haters here are the establishment and the church. While playing a protest song in a church is a little risque, for the Orthodox Church to come out in such a vitriolic fashion against the protesters is horrific and shows their true allegiance – not to their faith, but to the Kremlin. It is just another sad example of how Russia is slipping back to the dark old days of authoritarianism and repression. It seems to be a recurring pattern – revolution followed by repression. First the Bolsheviks, now United Russia. Dissent is crushed, media silenced. The church seems to have learnt the perils of opposition to such a repressive force – it suffered under the Soviet regime, and now it is working to remain in cahoots with the Kremlin, desperate not to cede power and influence once more. After all, with power comes wealth…

Jesus would be truly appalled by the situation – he would have turned the other cheek at the protests, forgiven, and then laid into the establishment with vigour. He would not recognise the Orthodox Church, much as he would not recognise the vast majority of churches who operate in his name to this day.

Metal will continue in Russia; protest will continue. This will not silence dissent – nothing can. The people will continue to rage against their oppressors until, finally, the walls come tumbling down and lasting change comes to Russia. The reaction from the metal community and from the civilised world as a whole shows plainly that the voice of freedom is resilient and universal – repression will pass as the generations who adhere to such old-fashioned, immoral, unholy views pass away.

Putin and Patriarch Kirill can crawl back to their gold-plated ivory towers for now, but with time, their time of reckoning will come. Meanwhile, Pussy Riot lives on in the hearts and minds of the metal family, and, to quote V, ideas are bulletproof.

For further commentary, see Mutantskirt’s post on his own blog, and a commentary that he linked to by Rev. Rachel Mann, ‘the metal vicar‘, who between them cover the subject in a wiser and more theologically astute manner than I ever could hope to do.

To finish,  it turns out Jesus liked a good mosh pit as well…

-Valentin De Boulogne, 1618. Also see El Greco and Giotto, amongst others.

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* Isaiah 56:7

~Jeremiah 7:11