Russian to Judgment: A Wrist-slap for ‘Riot’
Considering whom they were disrespecting, the three ladies of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot received a very lenient sentence indeed (“Vladimir’s Revenge,” Editorial, Aug. 18).
In Vladimir Putin’s Russia, critics of the regime usually die under odd circumstances, or, at the very least, receive far lengthier prison terms than the two years meted out to these protesters.
They are either incredibly courageous or crazy. Mark Stuart Ellison Brooklyn
I applaud Russian authorities for convicting Pussy Riot — the very name suggesting sex and violence — of what many would consider a hate crime.
Everyone has a right to freedom of expression, including those who were attending that religious service. Their rights were violated by the guerrilla invasion.
I believe a twoyear jail sentence is rather harsh for such a crime. I would rather see the girls forced to faithfully attend Holy Mass each day, followed by an hour of Bible school, perhaps for a year. If the girls were encouraged to understand religion a little more, they might actu ally come to appreciate it. Then their raw, wicked energy could be converted into a more positive force for good in this world. R. Martin Staten Island
Your denunciation of Putin and his prosecution of the punk band missed the mark.
Why did they choose a Russian Orthodox Church for their blasphemous, socalled protest? One need only look at the defenders of these misguided young women to realize that they all probably share a common disdain for Christianity.
For our three young, female friends, it is going to be jail for the next two years. Save your tears for real victims of tyranny. Andrew J. MacDonald Fanwood, NJ