Marcel Winatschek

Two Years for a Punk Prayer

Three women in colored balaclavas, a Moscow cathedral, thirty seconds of punk prayer, two years in a penal colony. The Pussy Riot verdict came down in August 2012 like a reminder of how nakedly power behaves when it gets embarrassed in public. Rookie—Tavi Gevinson’s year-old teenage culture magazine, already quietly radical—came out in solidarity, which felt right. The whole case was, at its core, about whether you’re allowed to say something uncomfortable in a space that calls itself sacred. Pussy Riot said yes. The Russian state said no, loudly and with handcuffs. Rookie said yes too.