Places of Protest in Putin’s Russia: Pussy Riot’s Punk Prayer and Show Trial

Ekaterina V. Haskins Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Abstract

ABSTRACT In spring 2012 the Russian feminist art collective Pussy Riot became world famous when five of its members were arrested for their “Punk Prayer for Freedom” in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in central Moscow. Western media swiftly embraced the group and celebrated it as an icon of youthful female rebellion against Putin’s authoritarian regime. Yet the Western reception largely obscured the “regional accent” of the group’s protest rhetoric. This article seeks to restore this regional accent by foregrounding the rhetorical significance of place in Pussy Riot’s acts of protest.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2015-07-03
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2015.1081531
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  1. Advances in the History of Rhetoric

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