Femen, Ukrainian topless feminist activist group, chainsaws a memorial crucifix in protest of Pussy Riot’s conviction

The leader of the Ukrainian feminist activist group, called Femen, took a chainsaw to a memorial crucifix, and sawed it down in protest of Pussy Riot’s conviction.  For them, it was a show of solidarity.

Their action was not the first protest.  Such protests have sprung up around the world according to Russia Today and Huffington Post since three members of the group Pussy Riot received two years in prison as their sentence for protesting against Putin in an Orthodox church for hooliganism.  Supporters of Pussy Riot in London, New York, Brazil, Australia, and other countries rally in protest of the judge’s ruling and some even gather at Russian embassies to protest, according to Russia Today.

Forty people Marched from the Russian Consulate in Upper Manhattan and to Times Square in New York City as a solidarity protest.

Police arrested six people in New York for wearing a mask while marching in protest to the Russian Consulate in Manhattan.  In Sao Paulo, Brazil, police dragged three protesting women from the Russian Consulate.

Police in the Ukraine launched an investigation into the fallen crucifix, which once stood on Independence Hill above Kiev Square.

The feminist movement who recorded and took photos of the act of vandalism said it was a sign of solidarity for “the victims of a medieval witch hunt.”

“We want to show the authorities that no imbecile has the right to trample on freedom of speech and the rights of women and shut them [Pussy Riot] away in jail,” said a spokeswoman from the movement.

The symbolic felling of the cross has been dubbed as a “Trash Prayer,” inspired by Pussy Riot’s iconic “Punk Prayer.”

Femen said the “Trash Prayer” was a “warning” to President Putin and Patriarch Kirill that Femen would come after “the jerks responsible for their [Pussy Riot’s] suffering with a chainsaw.”

The far right, All-Ukrainian union vowed to rebuild the cross, which was a memorial of the victims of political oppression under Stalin’s rule.

"Today's act of vandalism against the memory of victims of political repression showed that nonhumans have crossed the line and set themselves against the whole Ukrainian community, as almost every Ukrainian family was repressed by the communist regime,"  the party’s deputy head Andrey Mohnik said.

The Crucifix was four meters high and Femen sawed it down as the judge sentenced the three members of Pussy Riot.  According to Huffington Post, “Inna Shevchenko, 22, told RBK News she tore down the symbol in support of the members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot.”  Two others used ropes to direct the cross’ fall to the ground.

"No business, not even one as successful as the church, has the right to attack women's rights," Shevchenko, 22, a veteran of several Femen protests, said after bringing down the cross.

Ukraine police opened a “hooligan case” in connection to the sawing down of the crucifix, according to Reuters. The maximum sentence is four years.

Before sawing down the tree, Shevchenko, with “Free Riot” written across her bare chest, crossed herself Orthodox-style.  Afterwards, she posed for a camera, with a bare chest and her arms spread wide.

Mriana

Mriana is a humanist and the author of "A Source of Misery". She has two grown sons and raises cats. She enjoys writing, reading, science, philosophy, psychology, and other subjects. Mriana is also an animal lover, who cares for their welfare as living beings, who are part of the earth. She is a huge Star Trek fan in a little body.

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