Then I guess they will stop now and two years is, in fact, perfect.
As much as I may hate to give Pooty kudos for anything, this was the right call on the part of the courts and letting it stand was a good thing.
The press does not seem to want to give too much information about these three women. But, according to various reports:
(1) This “band” has never released a song or an album.
(2) The three women donned hoods, entered a major Orthodox church, crossed themselves at the altar, and then, in front of other people, sang a profanity-laced song asking the Virgin Mary to become a feminist and help put Putin out of power. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot#Church_protest
(3) Another freeper on another thread found out they are part of a larger group of protesters that engage in “performance art” - including sexual performances - in public as a form of protest. I don’t want to link to the thread because the website was so disgusting. But Wikipedia talks about that, too. (Maybe the courts wanted to send a message to their “performance artist” friends?)
(4) They are left-wing protestors, and, ironically, they’ve been charged with Russia’s version of a “hate crime” against religion - hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.
(5) They were facing seven years in prison. Putin himself urged for leniency. The prosecutor asked for three years. They were sentenced to two.
Two years may seem a bit much, but I’m having difficulty having any sympathy for them.
P.S. (Any word from all the celebrities about the Christians persecuted for praying for real in, oh, say, Kazakhstan?)