The University of East Anglia’s Joshua Resoun writes for The National Student on the upcoming trial of members of the Russian band Pussy Riot, who protested against President Putin in February:
Activism in Russia has had a rather sorry and oppressed history. From the failed popular revolution of 1905 against Tsar Nicholas II, through to 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, activism in Russia has been crushed under the jackboot of brute force.
It has been swept under the rug, or more accurately, thrown in the Gulag, by an all-encompassing state who reviled any form of protest.
Yet surely that was all in the past. Russia today is a modern democracy, with numerous political parties, frequent competitive elections and a legal system which protects civil liberties. Sadly, this is far from the truth.
Rather, Russia today exists within fifty shades of grey (and I do not mean that scene where Vladimir Putin raises an eyebrow at his personal assistant, leading to a saucy scene of office romance).
Full article here.
Pussy Riot and President Putin: ‘a story about art versus power’
Activism in Russia has had a rather sorry and oppressed history. From the failed popular revolution of 1905 against Tsar Nicholas II, through to 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, activism in Russia has been crushed under the jackboot of brute force.
It has been swept under the rug, or more accurately, thrown in the Gulag, by an all-encompassing state who reviled any form of protest.
Yet surely that was all in the past. Russia today is a modern democracy, with numerous political parties, frequent competitive elections and a legal system which protects civil liberties. Sadly, this is far from the truth.
Rather, Russia today exists within fifty shades of grey (and I do not mean that scene where Vladimir Putin raises an eyebrow at his personal assistant, leading to a saucy scene of office romance).
Full article here.
Share this:
About the author
Deputy Editor. Beckie is a final-year Japanese student at the University of Leeds. She is Editor-in-Chief of Lippy: No Gloss and Features Editor of Leeds Student.