The bodies of two murdered Russian women have been found under a message scrawled in blood, reports The Guardian, calling for the freedom of jailed Pussy Riot members who were sentenced two weeks ago.
The victims, a 38-year-old and 76-year old, were murdered in the Russian city of Kazan, last weekend. Russian tabloid Life News, who are thought to have sources within the Russian authority services, have published images of the writing, showing the words “Free Pussy Riot”, a slogan that has decorated many banners and t-shirts of supporters since their imprisonment. The graffiti, painted onto floral wallpaper, was found in the flat in which the bodies were found.
The news has caused conflicting opinions in Russia, with supporters of the band being quick to deny the murders as being the work of a Pussy Riot fan, claiming instead that it is an attempt to malign the band and their allies.
Pyotr Verzilov, husband of recently convicted member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, echoed these resentments, telling news site Gazeta.ru: “This is an attempt to strike at all supporters of the group.”
Pussy Riot lawyer Nikolai Polozov also defended the feminist punk band, tweeting: “What happened in Kazan is horrible. Pussy Riot was always for nonviolent protest. This incident is either a horrendous provocation or [the work of] a psychopath.”
Kremlin empathisers, on the other hand, have used the deaths to enforce their suggestion that the musicians were encouraging dangerous radicalism.
These events will no doubt add to already escalating tensions in Russia between Pussy Riot supporters and the Russian authorities. In the wake of the verdict on Friday 17th August, which sentenced members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich to two years in prison for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, protesters knocked over crosses outside Orthodox churches in Russia and Ukraine, provoking a rift between Pussy Riot supporters and the countries’ religious populations.
