When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
InterNations
Russia

Why The Pussy Riot Trial Is The Biggest Blow Of All To Russia's Reputation

On trial
On trial
Yelena Chernenko

MOSCOW - The three members of Pussy Riot, the Russian punk band accused of hooliganism for anunauthorized performance in a Moscow cathedral, had their last words in court on Wednesday after a weeklong trial. The verdict will be announced on August 17. For those outside Russia, this whole affair has been a litmus test for Russia’s democracy - and nobody seems to be happy with the test results thus far.

According to numbers from the Pew Research Center, in 2012 there was a significant change in the way that the rest of the world sees Russia - a change for the worse. In the U.S., people with a positive view of Russia went from 49% of the population in 2011 to 37% this year. There were similar changes around Europe: in Britain, people with a positive view of Russia dropped by 12 percentage points, to 38%; in Germany those numbers dropped by 14 percentage points to 33%; and down in France 17 percentage points to 36%. These are the lowest numbers in the past four years.

In a July meeting between the Russian President and the country’s diplomatic corps, Vladimir Putin lamented the fact that in his view, Russia’s reputation abroad is “distorted and doesn’t reflect the real situation.” In a closed-door meeting, the president said that improving Russia’s image should be one of the diplomats’ most important goals. But at the same time, many experts think that mission will turn out to be impossible, in light of the West’s reaction to recent events in Russia, notably the prosecution of the young women from Pussy Riot.

The wave a criticism directed at the Russian government has lifted up human rights’ defenders - Amnesty International has called the punk rock group members ‘prisoners of conscience.’ Several well-known western artists have joined the campaign to support Pussy Riot - from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Pet Shop Boys to Sting and Madonna. The affair has already been on the front pages of western newspapers for several weeks. Time Magazine wrote that in Russia “a kangaroo court goes on a witch hunt,” while the Economist baptized the Russian Orthodox Church “a force of conservatism and xenophobia,” in a “symbiotic embrace” with the Kremlin. The Guardian called the Pussy Riot trial a “theatre of the absurd.”

Finally, European and American politicians have joined the campaign. The U.S. State Department has called the affair “politically motivated.” Karel Shvartsenberg, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that he “admires” Pussy Riot. Denis MacShane, British MP and former Minister for Europe, has said that photographs of the courtroom remind him of the time of Gulags. Even the leader of the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, which is usually loyal to the Kremlin, has called the Russian government’s behavior “scandalous.”

All the politicians agree: they don’t support Pussy Riot’s actions, but consider that the government’s reaction disproportionate.

Estonian European MP Kristiina Ojuland told Kommersant that her colleagues are preparing a report on the situation in Russia, and that a large part of the report will be dedicated to the status of democracy and human rights. The European Parliament is also working on recommendations for the European Commission on the best policies for the European Union in relation to Russia. “The Pussy Riot affair will be in the report,” Ojuland said. “The European Commission is carefully following the trial, and in general, we tend to think that it is politically motivated.”

“The Pussy Riot prosecution, combined with the prosecution against (pro-democracy activist Alexsei) Navalniand the participants in the protests on May 6, has had an extremely negative, catastrophic effect on Russia’s image in the West,” said German expert on Russian affairs Hans-Henning Schroeder. “This is a sort of test for the Russian government: If the girls are given real prison time, even if it is not long, for many people in the West that will be confirmation of the opinion that Russia turning into a dictatorship.”

On the other hand, Arkady Moshes, expert on Russian-EU relations from the Finish Institute of International Affairs, doubts that a worse image will have serious consequences for Russia’s political and economic relationship with Western partners. “Russia’s image abroad is negative, there are even elements of disgust,” he told Kommersant. “But emotion is one thing, and politics is another.”



You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

For Seniors, Friendship May Be More Important Than Family

Even if the aging and elderly tend to wind up confined to family circles, Argentine academics Laura Belli and Danila Suárez explore the often untapped benefits of friendship in our later years.

Photograph of two elderly women and an elderly man walking arm in arm. Behind the, there are adverts for famous football players.

Two elderly women and a man walk arm in arm

Philippe Leone/Unsplash
Laura F. Belli and Danila Suárez Tomé

Updated Dec. 10, 2023 at 10:10 p.m.

BUENOS AIRES — What kind of friendship do people most talk about? Most often it is childhood or teenage friendships, while friendships between men and women are repeatedly analyzed. What about friendships among the elderly? How are they affected when friends disappear, at a stage when grieving is already more frequent?

Argentines Laura Belli and Danila Suárez Tomé, two friends with PhDs in philosophy, explore the challenges and benefits of friendship in their book Filosofía de la amistad (Friendship Philosophy).

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

They consider how friendships can emerge later in life, in profoundly altered circumstances from those of our youth, with people living through events like retirement, widowhood, reduced autonomy or to a greater or lesser degree, personal deterioration. All these can affect older people's ability to form and keep friendships, even if changes happen at any stage in life.

Filosofía de la amistadexplores the place of friendships amid daunting changes. These are not just the result of ageing itself but also of how one is perceived, nor will they affect everyone exactly the same way. Aging has firstly become a far more diverse experience, with increasing lifespans and better healthcare everywhere, and despite an inevitable restriction in life opportunities, a good many seniors enjoy far greater freedom and life choices than before.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest