Russia’s ruling party has criticized pop superstar Madonna for her words of support for the Russian punk band Pussy Riot – currently detained under charges of “hooliganism” and “inciting religious hatred”.
Dmitry Rogozin is the Deputy Premier of Russia and former Russian representitive to NATO. He has a reputation for being outspoken and now he has slammed pop star Madonna who recently publicly supported the detained punk band Pussy Riot while on stage in Moscow by wearing a balaclava as seen in their video (bottom of the page) and a removing her t-shirt to reveal the words “pussy riot” printed on her back.
Rogozin tweeted “Every former ‘б’ tries to lecture everyone on morality as they get older. Especially on world tours,” referring to Madonna. In Russian, the letter ‘б’ (it is not a 6, it is the cyrillic equivalent of the letter B) is an abbreviation of the word “блядь”, which means whore or prostitute.
When someone who had seen Madonna in Moscow tweeted him claiming that she “spoke only of freedom”, Rogozin responded by saying “either take off the cross, or wear underwear”.
While on stage, Madonna told the crowd that she thinks the three members of Pussy Riot “have done something courageous”. She also said she “prays for their freedom” and received deafening applause when she asked: “Are you with me?”
Earlier this year Pussy Riot ran up on the altar in a Moscow church while helpers filmed them in what would eventually become the video for their song A Punk Prayer. The chorus has the lyrics: “St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin/Drive away! Drive away Putin!” and the rest of the song isn’t any more flattering to the newly “reelected” President.
After serving two terms in office, President Vladmir Putin gave up the Russian presidency to Dmitry Medvedev, as the Russian constitution forbids more than two consecutive terms in office. However in a predetermined deal Medvedev returned presidency to Putin, who third term in office began in May this year. Political protests in Russia are becoming more and more numerous, but in a country where the ruling party must give approval to any other party who wishes to run for office, there is a long way to come yet.
“There is nothing unusual about this,” Medvedev told Russian television in reference to his political partnership with Putin. “We have laid out a certain future, so you should relax. This is all for a very long time.”
With comments like this, punk rock seems inevitable. Much like The Saints weren’t just the beginning of the Queensland alternative music scene, they were the start of a necessary reaction to the oppressive government of the time; Pussy Riot are just the beginning of a necessary musical revolution in Russia. The nuclear-armed superpower obviously aren’t afraid of international intervention, but they’re clearly afraid of a little punk rock. Support Pussy Riot! Support your local punk rock band!
Madonna is scheduled to perform at Peterbergsky SKK tonight (August 9) in St. Petersberg. The US embassy in Moscow has issued a warning to American citizens in Russia who are planning on attending, saying they “have received information regarding a threat of physical violence against spectators and performers at the St. Petersburg concert on August 9”.
If you are planning on attending this show, please remain vigilant.
Follow the author Tim Cashmere on Twitter.
Check out Pussy Riot’s clip for A Punk Prayer below:
Footage of Madonna on stage in Moscow talking about Pussy Riot followed by Like A Virgin while wearing a balaclava:
