Girls by the Church: Construction of a Pussy Riot Event in Finland as a Threat to Russian Gender Roles and Sexual Norms

Abstract

In August 2012, pro-Kremlin media in Russia reported widely about an alleged attempt to replay the Pussy Riot stunt at an Orthodox cathedral in Finland. According to the reports, also reproduced by the Russian Foreign Ministry, a Finnish professor was facing several years’ prison sentence in Finnish courts for having attacked the cathedral, carried urine containers, spread homosexual propaganda and committed various acts of blasphemy. Even if the Finnish media, eyewitnesses and state authorities repeatedly denied the claims, the story became a useful way for pro-Kremlin forces to normalise the Pussy Riot trial in Russia. The episode was an example of the recent politicisation of religion, gender and sexuality in the Russian public sphere.