Pussy Riot, Da! Gay People, Nyet!
Two members of punk protest band Pussy Riot could be freed from prison and 30 people arrested in a Greenpeace protest could avoid jail under an amnesty proposed by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. Putin says plans the amnesty this month to mark the anniversary of the adoption of Russia’s post-Communist constitution in 1993. But of course it’s also a big P.R. move in advance of the Winter Olympics being held in Sochi, Russia. I’m thrilled if the Pussies — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina (pictured) — are freed, but would be even happier if Putin would move to improve his record on other human-rights issues, especially those involving things LGBT.
