Why Putin Should Fear Pussy Riot

In a Russia open to global pop culture, it's getting harder to recognize who is serious and who isn't. Three punk rockers, members of a band known more for its desire to cause outrage than to make music, surely didn't look like much of a challenge to the Kremlin. But when one accounts for the vast potential for copycats—the same radical Ukrainian women's group has recently protested not only in Kiev but also in Minsk and Davos, while others have protested in Marseille and New York—as well as the inevitable eye-catching photos, not just on news pages but also in the entertainment sections, one can see how this story could run and run. The simple fact is that Madonna and her ilk are more likely to defend stylish fellow musicians than serious journalists or activists—and far more likely to attract widespread attention for doing so.