Daily Journal:

It was impossible to hope for an acquittal in such a case. The sentence could not be “too lenient” either. The case carries too much political weight for the judge to allow the accused to walk out of the courtroom. It’s good that the authorities decided not to imprison “the maximum.” Putin said that the punishment should not be too severe - and the prosecutor demanded three years, knowing that the court usually gives less than what was requested. One can even assume that in cassation, even if the sentence is reduced, it will not be so much that the accused will immediately be released.

Patriarch Kirill or one of his representatives missed the opportunity to say anything in the category of mercy before the verdict was pronounced. But they still have a chance - before cassation. Perhaps now, having “won” a guilty verdict, they will do so: after all, the excessive intransigence of Church officials in this matter is too clearly harming it.

On the merits of the accusation and the case itself, everything has already been said so many times that there is no point in repeating it. I'll just say one thing. The other day, many laughed at the Altai prosecutor’s office, which saw extremism in the opposition of “children of the sun” and “children of the moon.” What's so funny about that? If the prosecutor's office in Moscow can base its position on religious rather than legal arguments, then in Altai it is also possible to introduce an element of free self-expression into the probably boring legal activity.

The judge, by the way, also did not lag behind in the Moscow trial. For example, the explanation of the key point of the verdict that Pussy Riot was motivated by religious hatred begins with the fact that they are feminists, and this movement opposes itself to the values ​​of the main religions of Russia.

Even before Pussy Riot, we had sentences for harsh criticism of the Church and its leadership, which were also unlawful, of course. But somehow they were not noticed or quickly forgotten. And this verdict, precisely because of its “promotion”, makes a serious contribution to the destruction of Russian law.