On Friday, Judge Marina Syrova will deliver her verdict in the trial of three members of the female punk group Pussy Riot, who performed their profanity-laced anthem “Mother of God, Cast Putin Out” on the altar of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ Our Saviour in February.
Charged with hooliganism and incitement of religious hatred, Maria Alekhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova have been in detention since March.
During that time, these educated, middle-class women, all in their 20s, have been part of a Kafkaesque drama that provides evidence of how the Putin system can lose control when confronted by unexpected challenges.
A guilty verdict is an almost foregone conclusion since acquittals by Russian courts are virtually unheard of. In 92 per cent of the 178 cases overseen by Judge Syrova, the defendants have been found guilty. The question, therefore, is whether the women will receive a suspended sentence or a jail term. The prosecutor is calling for them to be jailed for three years.
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