M.N.: This is the true face and the true image of Russia, not for show "Olympic" image of Russia: the country of crazy barbarians attacking and beating their daughters with whips.
And what will you say to this, Mr. Putin? Your whole Olympic show was negated and turned on its head with this image.
Shame on you, Mr. Putin and shame on you, animal barbaric Russian "Olympic" security forces! This image will become a symbol of Putin's Russia for years!
» Video shows Pussy Riot members 'beaten by Cossacks'
19/02/14 20:56 from CNN.com - World
A video released Wednesday shows members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot being beaten by security officials in Sochi as they tried to film a music video at the port of the city that is hosting the Winter Olympics.
» The Lede: Russian Riot Girls Beaten but Not Arrested in Sochi
19/02/14 19:08 from NYT > International
There were signs of confusion in the official response to a new performance by the Russian protest band Pussy Riot on Wednesday in Sochi.
» Russian security forces attack Pussy Riot members with whips
19/02/14 10:18 from - Europe RSS Feed
Russian security forces attacked members of the Pussy Riot punk group with horsewhips on Wednesday as the group tried to perform in Sochi, the Olympic host city.
» Pussy Riot attacked with whips by Cossack militia at Sochi Olympics
19/02/14 09:58 from World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk
Punk group run out of restaurant in host Olympic city as Cossack police guards remove members' ski masks during short scuffle Cossack militia have attacked the Pussy Riot punk group with whips and removed members' trademark ski masks in ...
20/02/14 05:55 from World news: World news + Video | guardian.co.uk
Russian agit-punk band's new music video, released to coincide with the Winter Olympics in Sochi
Video shows Pussy Riot members beaten by Cossacks
updated 12:27 PM EST, Wed February 19, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Video shows men in Cossack uniforms beating, pepper spraying band members
- NEW: Attackers hit the women with batons, tore off their ski masks, the video shows
- Police and Cossacks attacked them in Sochi, the group says
- CNN is trying to get comment from Russian authorities
Sochi, Russia (CNN) -- A video released Wednesday shows members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot being beaten by security officials in Sochi as they tried to film a music video at the port of the city that is hosting the Winter Olympics.
The apparent attack happened just a day after band members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, as well as journalists and Russian human rights activists, were detained for several hours at a police station located just a few miles from the Olympic Park.
A YouTube video of the new incident shows band members arriving at the port, surrounded by photographers. The women don ski masks in front of a Sochi 2014 sign and, as they began to perform, one band member is immediately pepper sprayed at close range by a man wearing the traditional headgear of the Cossacks.
Some of the women are then struck with a baton before several Cossacks descend on them, shoving and violently removing their ski masks. One of the band members is thrown to the ground by the security men, who also beat a photographer. After the women were beaten and walked away from the port, the security men are seen on the video shoving and beating two other men.
The band said it was trying to perform a new song called "Putin teaches us to love our motherland" at the main port in Sochi.
'You sold yourselves to the Americans'
Uniformed Cossacks in traditional fur hats and uniforms have accompanied Russian police as a colorful addition to the massive security presence around the Winter Games.
Tolokonnikova said on her Twitter account that Cossacks beat the band with billy clubs and pepper spray.
Aisya Krugovikh, a member of the band's entourage, said that during the altercation, some Cossacks yelled that Pussy Riot members should "shut their mouths," adding "you sold yourselves to the Americans."
CNN has repeatedly tried to contact Russian city officials by telephone and e-mail for comment on the allegations.
Among those apparently wounded in Wednesday's clash was a Russian artist named Alexei Knyebnikovsky, who Krugovikh said was bleeding from the face.
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina published photos on their Twitter accounts of bruises on Tolokonnikova's chest and a man with blood on his face "after an attack by Cossacks."
Tolokonnikova also tweeted she was at a Sochi hospital taking care of her husband, who she wrote had "lost vision" due to pepper spray from Cossacks.
The previous day, band members were detained by police, who said they were investigating a theft at the hotel where the band was staying.
Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova, as well as the journalists and activists, were released without charges, but they said they were beaten while in custody.
On Wednesday, Tolokonnikova's husband, Petr Verzilov, told CNN the band had been detained and questioned by Russian security forces three times during a three-day visit to the Olympic city.
"Obviously they are trying to let us know that we're not welcome here," Verzilov said Tuesday in an interview with CNN. "But we treat Sochi as part of Russia and according to Russian law any Russian citizen can go anywhere."
In Sochi for protests
The band members were in Sochi to protest what they said was the lack of freedom of speech and to record the music video critical of Putin.
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina had been imprisoned for nearly two years after being convicted of "hooliganism" and inciting religious hatred for performing a punk song slamming Putin in a Moscow cathedral and then posting a video of it online.
Since their release, just before the Olympic Games began, they have spoken to journalists about their time behind bars, describing the conditions as squalid and their treatment by guards as demeaning and inhumane.
A third member of Pussy Riot, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released in 2012.
This month, other band members said Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were no longer part of the group. But Verzilov said Tuesday that wasn't true.
» Former Pussy Riot Members Briefly Detained
18/02/14 11:06 from WSJ.com: World News
Two former members of the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot were briefly detained in Sochi ahead of a planned demonstration at the Olympic Games.
» Two members of Pussy Riot detained in Sochi for four hours, complain of rough treatment
18/02/14 20:18 from Europe News: News and Headlines from Europe - The Washington Post
SOCHI, Russia – The two performance artists known as Pussy Riot, who served nearly two years in prison for singing a protest song on the altar of Moscow’s main cathedral, made a surprise visit here Tuesday and soon found themselves in fa...
» Former Pussy Riot Members Held in Sochi
18/02/14 07:58 from WSJ.com: World News
Two former members of the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot have been detained in Sochi as they planned a demonstration at the Olympic Games.
» Pussy Riot arrest in Sochi described by Russian photographer – video
18/02/14 12:14 from World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk
A Russian photographer detained by police with Pussy Riot band members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in Sochi describes their arrest
» 'Virtually Impossible' For Oppositionists To Be In Sochi, Says Tolokonnikova
18/02/14 09:51 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina say they were detained in Sochi on February 18. While in detention, Tolokonnikova spoke with RFE/RL's Russian Service.
» Pussy Riot Members Detained, Then Released, in Sochi
18/02/14 16:00 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
Former Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, whose imprisonment for an anti-Putin protest in 2012 brought them world fame, were detained in Sochi on Tuesday while walking down the street with a group of activists...
5/5 Фото пресс-службы Президента РоссииНа встрече с учёными-экономистами Российской академии наук. С Руководителем Администрации Президента Сергеем Ивановым (слева) и помощником Президента Андреем Белоусовым.19 февраля 2014 года
В.С.Высоцкий
Товарищ Сталин (сл и муз. Ю.Алешковского)
Товарищ Сталин - Вы большой ученый, Языкознаний познавший толк, А я простой совейский заключенный И мой товарищ - серый Брянский волк. А я простой совейский заключенный И мой товарищ - серый Брянский волк. За что сижу, по совести, не знаю, Но прокуроры, видимо, правы. И так сижу я в Туруханском крае, Где при царе бывали в ссылке Вы. И так сижу я в Туруханском крае, Где при царе бывали в ссылке Вы. И вот сижу я в Туруханском крае, Где конвоиры строги и грубы, Я это все, конечно, понимаю, Как обостренье классовой борьбы. Я это все, конечно, понимаю, Как обостренье классовой борьбы. То дождь, то снег, то мошкара над нами, А мы в тайге с утра и до утра, Вы здесь из искры раздували пламя, Спасибо Вам, я греюсь у костра. Вы здесь из искры раздували пламя, Спасибо Вам, я греюсь у костра. Я вижу Вас, как Вы в партийной кепке И в кителе идете на парад, Мы рубим лес, и Сталинские щепки, Как раньше, во все стороны летят. Мы рубим лес, и Сталинские щепки, Как раньше, во все стороны летят. Вчера мы хоронили двух марксистов, Мы их не накрывали кумачом. Один из них был правым уклонистом, Второй, как оказалось, ни при чем. Один из них был правым уклонистом, Второй, как оказалось, ни при чем. Живите ж тыщу лет, товарищ Сталин, И как бы трудно не было бы мне Я знаю будет много чугуна и стали На душу населения в стране. Я знаю будет много чугуна и стали На душу населения в стране.
Comrade Stalin ( words and music by Yu. Aleshkovskiy )
Comrade Stalin - you are the great scientist,
Linguistics you have learned a lot about,
And I'm just a prisoner soveysky (of Soviets)
And my friend is the gray wolf of Bryansk.
And I'm just a prisoner soveysky (of Soviets)
And my friend is the gray wolf of Bryansk.
Why I am in this prison, I do not know
But the prosecutors are apparently right.
And so I am in this labor camp in Turuhansky Region
Where you were in exile yourself at the times of the Tzar
And so I am in this labor camp in Turuhansky Region
Where you were in exile yourself at the times of the Tzar
And here I am in this Turuhansky Region
Where the guards are strict and rude,
Of course, I understand all of this correctly:
This is the "exacerbation of the class struggle".
Of course, I understand all of this correctly:
This is the "exacerbation of the class struggle" .
The rain, the snow, the gnats are all over us,
And we are in the taiga from the morning to morning.
You were fanning the sparks into the flames of Revolution
Thank you, I warm myself by this campfire.
You were fanning the sparks into the flames of Revolution
Thank you, I warm myself by this campfire.
I see as you, dressed in your party cap
And your military tunic are marching to the parade
And we chop the wood, and the Stalin's chips
Just as before, are flying in all directions.
And we chop the wood, and the Stalin's chips
Just as before, are flying in all directions.
Yesterday we buried two Marxists
We did not cover their bodies with banners:
One of them was the "Right deviationist",
And the other, as it turned out had nothing to do with anything at all
One of them was the "Right deviationist",
And the other, as it turned out had nothing to do with anything at all
Live for a thousand of years, Comrade Stalin,
And as difficult as it would be for me
I know that we will produce a lot of pig iron and steel
Per capita in our country.
I know that we will produce a lot of pig iron and steel
Per capita in our country.
(Google Translation with some light editing by M.N.)
2014 WINTER OLYMPICS
Pussy Riot Members Attacked by Cossacks
Group of Cossacks Attacks Group in Sochi as It Begins Anti-Kremlin Protests
Updated Feb. 20, 2014 12:33 a.m. ET
Members of the punk group Pussy Riot, including
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in the blue balaclava and
Maria Alekhina in the pink balaclava, are attacked
by Cossack militia in Sochi, Russia, on Wednesday,
Feb. 19, 2014. Associated Press
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in the blue balaclava and
Maria Alekhina in the pink balaclava, are attacked
by Cossack militia in Sochi, Russia, on Wednesday,
Feb. 19, 2014. Associated Press
MOSCOW—A group of uniformed Cossacks attacked members of the Russian punk group
Pussy Riot with horse whips in the center of Sochi on Wednesday as the group began
an anti-Kremlin protest near the Olympic Games.
Pussy Riot with horse whips in the center of Sochi on Wednesday as the group began
an anti-Kremlin protest near the Olympic Games.
Maria Alyokhina told The Wall Street Journal in a phone interview Wednesday that
she and other members of Pussy Riot and four others who were filming them were
beaten by a group of 15 to 20 Cossacks and 10 to 15 plainclothes policemen as the
group began to sing an anti-Kremlin protest song.
she and other members of Pussy Riot and four others who were filming them were
beaten by a group of 15 to 20 Cossacks and 10 to 15 plainclothes policemen as the
group began to sing an anti-Kremlin protest song.
Warning: Graphic footage. Pussy Riot was attacked during a performance in Sochi but kept rocking against Putin, and Ukraine violence shows the gulf between the U.S. and Russia. The Foreign Bureau follows the top world stories of the day. Photo: AP
Members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot were attacked by Cossacks in Sochi as they attempted to perform a protest song underneath a banner for the Winter Olympics. Via The Foreign Bureau, WSJ's global news update. Photo: AP
"A few seconds into the song they began
to beat us with batons and pepper spray us.
We didn't even get through the first verse
of the song," she said.
to beat us with batons and pepper spray us.
We didn't even get through the first verse
of the song," she said.
Ms. Alyokhina posted a picture of her badly
cut finger as well as picture of another activist
with a bloodied face on her Twitter account
following the encounter. Photographs taken
by journalists at the scene showed men
brandishing whips and yanking the masks
off the members of the group.
cut finger as well as picture of another activist
with a bloodied face on her Twitter account
following the encounter. Photographs taken
by journalists at the scene showed men
brandishing whips and yanking the masks
off the members of the group.
A local police spokesman said several Cossacks
—Russian traditionalists who often function
as auxiliary police—are in Sochi for the Games
but he wasn't aware of the alleged attack
on the band. He said the Cossacks are
usually accompanied by the local police
when on duty, but "they spend the rest
of their time as regular, ordinary citizens."
—Russian traditionalists who often function
as auxiliary police—are in Sochi for the Games
but he wasn't aware of the alleged attack
on the band. He said the Cossacks are
usually accompanied by the local police
when on duty, but "they spend the rest
of their time as regular, ordinary citizens."
The Cossacks couldn't be reached for comment.
Two members of Pussy Riot were detained
by police for several hours in Sochi on
Tuesday in what they called an attempt
to prevent them form carrying out their protest.
by police for several hours in Sochi on
Tuesday in what they called an attempt
to prevent them form carrying out their protest.
In the run-up to the Olympics in Sochi,
Russia came under heavy criticism
internationally for a recently passed
law limiting gay rights, as well as
alleged environmental abuses and
corruption, and officials had braced
for protests, although few have materialized.
Russia came under heavy criticism
internationally for a recently passed
law limiting gay rights, as well as
alleged environmental abuses and
corruption, and officials had braced
for protests, although few have materialized.
Pussy Riot gained international attention
in February 2012 when four members of
group—wearing colorful balaclava masks
and tube dresses—stormed into Moscow's
Christ the Saviour Cathedral and acted out
a performance critical of the Kremlin in front
of stunned parishioners, as a wave of protests
swept through the city. The two members who
organized a protest in Sochi were jailed for
nearly two years for the Moscow performance
but were released early in December as part
of an amnesty.
in February 2012 when four members of
group—wearing colorful balaclava masks
and tube dresses—stormed into Moscow's
Christ the Saviour Cathedral and acted out
a performance critical of the Kremlin in front
of stunned parishioners, as a wave of protests
swept through the city. The two members who
organized a protest in Sochi were jailed for
nearly two years for the Moscow performance
but were released early in December as part
of an amnesty.
