POL 1060 Summer A 2018

Russia Country-Focused Activity:

A Comparative Case Study of Pussy Riot and the Committee of the Soldiers’ Mothers

Only AFTER you’ve read chapter 4 in CPT will you be ready for this country-focused activity.

In this activity, you will examine two Russian civil society organizations, Pussy Riot and Committee of
Soldiers’ Mothers. These are two women’s organizations in which women organize to access the
political sphere to share their political opinions and enact political and social change. Both groups take a
“gendered” approach in which they emphasize their identities as women. We will examine how while
both groups’ approaches emphasize femininity, in fact Pussy Riot and the Committee of Soldiers’
Mothers radically differ from one another in their approaches and tactics. We will also look at how these
groups operate in the broader context of Russian civil society.

Directions: You will read some sections in your book, some introductory material laid out in this
worksheet, view two short YouTube Videos and finally, answer a few questions that relate to these
readings and videos.

DUE BY: Tuesday June 12th 11:59PM

Part I: Russian Civil Society and the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers

In CPT, read pp. 361-362 (starting with the heading “Interest Articulation: Statism, Corporatism and
Pluralism” and ending once you reach “The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs”) AND pp.
364-365 (starting with the heading “The Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers” and ending once you reach
“The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia”). This short section will introduce you to
Russian civil society and to a civil society group called the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers.
Part II: Pussy Riot

Read the following paragraphs that describe the group Pussy Riot.

Pussy Riot was a feminist punk rock group founded in 2011 in Moscow with the purpose of
engaging in political activism against rising authoritarianism in Russia. In 2012, Pussy Riot
performed their activism in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior where they called upon the
Mother of God to chase Putin out of office. They owe their look to the 1990s Riot Grrrl
movement and dress in loud colors, revealing clothes and often wear balaclavas to cover their
faces. For their action at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Pussy Riot members were charged
with "premeditated hooliganism performed by an organized group of people motivated by
religious hatred or hostility."
Putin said that Pussy Riot had "got what they asked for” when they were sentenced to prison.
On June 30, 2013, Vladimir Putin signed a bill imposing jail terms and fines for insulting people's
religious feelings, which some have seen as a response to the "punk prayer" performed by the
Pussy Riot in a Moscow cathedral.1
Pussy Riot has received substantial international support, especially from the West, but have
been vastly less popular at home in Russia.
Part III: View two videos

Watch the official trailer for a 2013 documentary about Pussy Riot, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. Now view
a minute or two of a clip of the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers during a demonstration, which comes
from the Associated Press Archives. Note: This is in Russian without English subtitles. You do not need to
understand what is being said. Instead, look for differences in the style and organizing tactics of the two
groups. What do the groups wear? How do they speak during their protests?

Part IV: Answer the following questions. Use complete sentences and proper spelling. Your responses
should be around 3-4 sentences each.

1
This section put together from The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Vulture.
1. What is civil society? What does civil society mean in an authoritarian or semi-authoritarian
context?

2. How would you characterize the approach of Pussy Riot? How would you characterize the
approach of the Committee of the Soldiers’ Mothers? How do you think much of Russian society
view each group? How might “the West” view each group?

3. Look at the two photos below (or based on what you recall from the two videos), identify some
of the props that each group uses. What stories do these props tell for each group?
Rubric

Points Highest (2.5) Middling (2) Poor (1) Inadequate (0)

Relevance Answer responses Answer responses Answer No answer
relates to the relate to the responses fail to provided
questions and questions but fails discuss much (or
responds to each to address the anything) that
point brought up entirety of the relates to the
in the questions questions questions
Writing style Full sentences and Full sentences but Failure to write No answer
proper grammar some grammar or in full sentences; provided
and spelling spelling mistakes several grammar
and spelling
mistakes
Length Meets length Only half as long Your answer is No answer
requirements (3-4 as the required only a few words provided
sentences per length of answer
question) responses (e.g.,
only 1-2 sentence
responses for your
answer)