Revolution has a new face and it’s wearing a balaclava. Since the three members of Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, were sentenced to two years each in a prison camp for their brief, anti-Putin performance in a Moscow cathedral, an unstoppable fight for Russian modernity has been launched.
The Kremlin’s diabolical decision-making has activated an acute awareness of Putin’s corrupt hold on Russian society. Colorful balaclavas have become the signature look of protests worldwide and better still, a slow-burning effect is underway too. Pussy Riot have become an iconic catalyst, not just for political change in Russia, but for the importance and accessibility of the protest. Pussy Riot aren’t hardened brand-beaters, questionnaire stalkers or a secret underground faction - they’re an articulate, all-female band. They’ve influenced a majority that might otherwise have felt alienated by the political causes - where a sense of belonging is an exclusive right - or simply have been unmotivated to stand up and speak out against daily, social injustices. Now, it's game on.
The revolutionary climate is pretty darn hot right now, and the notion of the protest has never been so fluid – it’s for everyone and anyone. As support for Pussy Riot exploded online it was clear that Social Media has officially evolved a new depth: no longer does it simply serve to deliver superficial output of sunrises, cats and what you're eating. It has proved a hugely successful platform for causes bigger than the documentation of your every waking moment. Social media rallies, unifies and explains faster than any other medium, and even better does it all on a personal level. Being spoken to so directly can be an obligation to get involved; objectivism is obsolete. Protests organised online surge forwards until they manifest outside, on the street, affecting policy-making in real-time.
The online world is tangible and now impossible to ignore - it spurred uprisings in Moldova and Iran in 2009 and the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt last year. The quickly motivated masses are making a difference, and Pussy Riot – or ‘uprising of the vagina’ as they’re known in Russia - has seen the same Internet wildfire. Social media facilitates viral public emotional outpouring and political indignation - you can engage with a cause and educate yourself about it afterwards - it’s intuitive and it's powerful. Pussy Riot’s bold actions have made a mark worldwide and new waves of activists – both in Russia and internationally will be the long-term result. Putin has been exposed, and now there'll be endless vagina uprisings to contend with. Pussy Riot Rule, so get out there and show your support. There's no excuse not to.
Show us your Pussy Riot, riots.
New York based, New Zealand photographer Adam Custins has put his Pussy Riot protest on film, and shared his awesome images with us:
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