Blowout

This chapter refers to Russian female protest band Pussy Riot’s song “Putin Zassal,” or “Putin Has Pissed Himself.” After performing the song in Moscow’s Red Square, the band members were arrested, fined, and let go. However, after the band went into the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church and appealed to the Virgin Mary to save them from the evils of Putin, the women of the band were arrested and charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” (218). This arrest created a public-relations nightmare for Putin, just months before the opening day of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Sochi Olympics were a great opportunity for Putin, a way to tell the world that all was well in Russia. Reports, however, told the story of absurd and unjustified excesses, as “Putin’s record $12 billion Winter Games budget had ballooned to $50 billion” (220). This officially made the Sochi games the most expensive in history, winter or summer. European dignitaries, as well as the Obamas and the Bidens, decided to skip the games, a statement to Russia about the Kremlin’s apparent corruption and ruthlessness in squashing free speech. The games themselves were a relative success for Russia and for Putin’s public image, doping scandals and eventual medal-stripping notwithstanding.