Publication

This edition of the RAD looks at the trial of the Russian punk band ‘Pussy Riot’. Caroline von Gall assesses the trial from a legal perspective and argues that it highlighted well-known deficiencies in the Russian criminal justice system. Thomas Bremer then analyses the reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church towards the trial. He sees the Church’s call for strict punishment of the three activists as illustrative of how it views its place within Russian society – i.e., as a persecuted institution that is under threat.