Pussy Riot Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Hooliganism - Topless Protests Ensue - Video

The three members of the "punk activist collective" Pussy Riot, have all received two year prison sentences for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred." The charges stemmed from a stunt/protest in February, in which Pussy Riot took over the pulpit at Christ the Savior Cathedral and started chanting an anti-Putin song, while they danced and mixed in a few obscenities.

The three were arrested at the insistence of the Russian Orthodox church, who labeled the act "blasphemy."  Protests have already ensued, including one by Inna Shevchenko, of the women's rights activist group FEMEN, who can be seen in this video, chopping down an Orthodox cross while topless: (the naughty bits are blurred out)

This seems like a pretty sticky situation and more protests and arrests are bound to follow.  Kind of makes the American public's turning a fast food chain into a battle ground over "free speech" look all the more silly, no?

Here is a video of the original performance that sparked the arrests: (probably not safe for work if your boss speaks Russian)

From Buzzfeed:

 A Moscow judge has sentenced each of the three members of the punk activist collective to two years in prison. The official charges are “hooliganism” following a stunt in which the three members performed an anti-Putin song in a Russian Orthodox church.

Via: blogs.voanews.com

Image by ANATOLII STEPANOV / Reuters