In my opinion (Some thoughts on the case of the punk group Pussy Riot)

- So, the girls from Pussy Riot received a sentence: two years in prison.

The Russian Orthodox Church, represented by Patriarch Kirill, appealed to the state with a request to show mercy. The state - in the person of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin - may show mercy. And perhaps it won’t show up. This, from my point of view, is not significant for assessing what is happening now in Russia.

Let's figure it out: what is the offense of the Russian Riot group? The fact is that Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alekhina held a punk prayer service in the Church of Christ the Savior, in which they called for ridding Russia of V.V. Putin, thereby expressing political protest. The act, to put it bluntly, is disgraceful. Not in the sense of the action itself, but in the sense of the choice of place and method.

At the trial, the girls argued that they did not want to offend either the Russian Orthodox Church or believers. In my opinion, either brainless or dishonest people could say this: there is not the slightest doubt that their act was offensive to believers. I assert this, being an atheist and an opponent of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The judge, Ms Marina Syrova, claims that she did not notice the political context in the punk prayer. To do this, in my opinion, you also have to be either brainless or dishonest. In general, I advise everyone to remember this name: Marina Syrova. As they say, a country must know its heroes. Remember Mark Antony’s speech from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, in which he says “and Brutus is undoubtedly an honest man”?
Don't remember? Then re-read. In my opinion, it is quite possible to say with the same subtext: “And Judge Syrova is undoubtedly an honest person.”

However, all these are minor things. The main thing, in my opinion, is the heavy feeling of deja vu. Remember:
What was the crime of the brilliant poet, Nobel Prize winner Joseph Brodsky? And the fact that he wrote the “wrong” poems, for which he was accused of parasitism, convicted, sent where he should be and thrown out of the country. The entire democratic world protested. So what? Nothing. Moreover, the entire Soviet people condemned the anti-Soviet and henchman of the West, Brodsky, although no one read his poems. because they were not printed.

What was the crime of the outstanding Russian poet, Nobel Prize winner Boris Pasternak? And the fact that the novel “Doctor Zhivago” he wrote was published in Italy. For this he was expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers, anathematized, his publications stopped and he was not allowed to go to Stockholm to receive the prize. The entire democratic world protested. So what? Nothing. They wanted to give a damn about this democratic world, especially since the entire Soviet people, who, although they had not read the novel, unanimously condemned the anti-Soviet and servant of the West Pasternak.

What was the offense of an outstanding scientist, three times Hero of Socialist Labor, the father, one might say, of the hydrogen bomb Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov? And the fact that he publicly condemned the policies of the CPSU and the Soviet state. For which he was sent into exile in the city of Gorky. The entire democratic world protested against this. So what? Nothing. They sent me to Gorky and that was the end of it. Moreover, the entire Soviet people condemned the anti-Soviet and servant of the West, Sakharov.

What was the crime of the brilliant musician, outstanding cellist Mstislav Rostropovich? And the fact that he sheltered the disgraced writer, Nobel Prize winner Solzhenitsyn and sharply criticized the CPSU and the Soviet government for the persecution to which this writer was subjected. For this, Rostropovich was deprived of Soviet citizenship. And Solzhenitsyn, whose offense was that he wrote books about the Gulag and other delights of the Soviet system, was thrown out of the country. And the entire democratic world protested. So what? Nothing. Moreover, the entire Soviet people... well, and so on.

If someone thought that I was comparing the members of Pussy Riot with any of the above-mentioned geniuses, each of whom is the pride of Russia, then this is a serious misconception. In fact, I am comparing something completely different, namely the absolute, emphatically disregarding attitude of the Russian authorities towards foreign democratic public opinion. After all, the entire democratic world is protesting against what happened, happened and is happening to the members of Pussy Riot. And what? Nothing. Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation considers convincing the references to the fact that in the criminal codes of Germany and Austria there are articles under which for actions similar to the actions of Pussy Riot one can receive a prison term or be subject to a fine.

And the entire Soviet people... Sorry, there was a typo: the entire Russian people... sorry again, not all of them, but, according to published public opinion polls, the majority of Russians believe that the girls from Pussy Riot should be imprisoned.

When I was recently in London during the Olympic Games and attended the competitions, I was extremely unpleasant at how the audience loudly and sometimes passionately cheered against the Russian team. This was especially noticeable in team sports such as basketball and volleyball. Of course, this did not apply to specific athletes, this, in my opinion, applied to the country. Yes, today's Russia is not liked in the democratic world.

However, I don't care. Is it true?

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- * Today in Russia the situation is such that a person can be brought to court for expressing his own opinion. For example, when I said on the air of my program “POSNER” that Stalin was to blame for the massacre of more than 20 thousand Polish officers in Katyn, Stalin’s grandson sued me. The accusation was based on one thing: I had to say “as it seems to me,” or “I believe,” or “in my opinion.” And since I didn’t say this, then my words are slander, since I have no legal evidence. Mr. Dzhugashvili, however, lost the trial, but I am grateful to him for the science, based on which I titled what was written above exactly like this: everything that is said there is in my opinion.

Original