You may have ignored the news out of Russia that three
members of a female punk rock group called PUSSY RIOT were arrested and now
sentenced to two years in prison for “hooliganism, driven by religious hatred”
but I think this may actually be a very important story for the way these three
young women were treated by the authorities may in fact spark a people’s
revolution in Russia; why should the Middle East have all the fun.
I have been hearing from my Russian business colleagues that
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia ,
has maneuvered himself politically to become a virtual dictator in Russia while still insisting that Russia
is a democratic country.
As with any dictatorship, free speech is not something that
is tolerated especially when it is used in opposition to the dictator and his
dictatorship.
Three members of a female punk rock group demonstrated in
the Christ the Savior Cathedral by performing what they called a punk prayer to
the Virgin Mary to save Russia
from Putin.
Why hold your protest in a cathedral of all places? Well
there was a reason and it had to do with the support Putin is getting from the
Russian Orthodox Church and the church, according to reports, has a lot of
influence in Russia .
It is ironic that under Communism, Russia was
officially atheist and the church was suppressed. Now the pendulum is swinging
the other way, all the way back to Tsarist Russia where the church had enormous
political power.
Putin is a smart fellow and he knew full well that getting
the church’s support was fundamental to his rise in power and his imposition of
dictatorial rule. People in Russia
feel that if the church says Putin is OK, he must be OK and what he is doing
must be right and for the good of Russia .
I have to point out here why our Founding Fathers insisted
in having the principle of separation of church and state inserted into our
constitution. They knew the lessons of history where church and state united to
take power and here we see history repeating itself in modern Russia .
In Russia ,
the church and state are formally separated but because most Russians see
themselves as Orthodox Christians, the Russian Orthodox Church is for all
intents and purposes, an official national entity.
So it seems nothing has really changed in Russia from the
good ole’ Communist days; free speech apparently is still outlawed but in this
age of the internet and instant communications from and to anywhere in the
world, squashing free speech will not be an easy task and will not be tolerated
by people for too long.
Putin is being criticized by people and countries around the
world…let us see how he handles this issue and lets see how his people react to
his handling of the issue…interesting times…
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