Why Pussy Riot matters.

In the middle of a summer rife with the insults of a Presidential campaign and punctuated by the excitement of a quadrennial international sports festival in London, the fate of three young women on trial in Moscow probably signals more about the future of Russia than who wins the U.S. Presidency or the Olympic medals count. In an act of inspired political satire, these three women, calling themselves Pussy Riot, gave an impromptu performance at a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in which they beseeched the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of President Putin. That their request included some obscenities further inflamed the government's argument that the performance amounted to religious hate speech.

Madonna, Sting and Bjork are among those who have protested the government's request that the members of Pussy Riot spend three years in jail for "hooliganism." The case demonstrates how Putin, a former KGB (secret police) official in the atheistic USSR, is able to use the Church to his advantage. Even more importantly, the case shows how activist women are reviled in Russia, and gender equality is not on the radar. The greatest risk from the trial is that it may encourage those committed to change to leave Russia and join the world's political refugees living in exile because of the persecution they face from oppressive governments at home. The verdict on Pussy Riot and Russia will be released on August 17.