Pussy Riot trial: Putin expresses hope for 'correct decision'

The case has attracted growing international attention and levels of solidarity with Pussy Riot that can't look good from the Kremlin's point of view. Over recent days many global musical celebrities, including Sting, Pete Townshend, the Pet Shop Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand, and Faith No More have voiced their support for the group. British writer and actor Stephen Fry, who boasts 4.6 million followers on Twitter, called on them to do everything they can to "pressure Putin" on behalf of Pussy Riot.

Splitting Russian society

The trial has visibly split Russian society.

More than 43,000 people have signed an Internet petition calling for the women's release and more than 100 leading public intellectuals, artists, and cultural personalities recently endorsed an open letter arguing that "the criminal case against Pussy Riot compromises the Russian judicial system and undermines confidence in the government institutions on the whole."

This week, 26 conservative Russian writers and poets, including the famous novelist who extols traditional Russian values, Valentin Rasputin, signed an open letter that described Pussy Riot as an "extremist" group and demanded a tough prison sentence for the women.

"It's clear there are two groups of people in Russian society: those who hate Russia and another that loves it," says Alexander Dugin, head of the rightist Eurasian Movement.

"The Pussy Riot case has become a litmus test for these groups. People who love Russia, its traditions and symbols, took [the cathedral performance] as a dire insult. But those who hate Russia will celebrate any opportunity to spit in Russia's face. The majority are Russia-lovers, but they are passive, humiliated, speechless. This struggle may help them to awaken," Mr. Dugin says.

Although the vast majority of Russian society appears to have been scandalized by Pussy Riot's church performance, the trend of public opinion appears to be inexorably softening as the Pussy Riot women's ordeal continues.

A running opinion poll conducted by the independent Levada Center in Moscow shows that the number of Russians who think the projected punishment of two- to seven-years imprisonment is "adequate" declined from 46 percent in March to 33 percent in July; those who think it is "too harsh" grew from 35 percent to 43 percent, and those who do not believe the women should be criminally prosecuted at all rose from 9 percent to 15 percent.

"The focus of public concern has shifted away from the act they committed to the fact that they've been in jail for 5 months, that they've been deprived of food and sleep, that this trial is turning into a marathon," says Masha Lipman, editor of the Moscow Carnegie Center's Pro et Contra journal.

"In this context, Putin's apparent hopes for leniency are noteworthy. Though he formally said it's up to the court, he did express his opinion. You can hear a subtext in his remarks that say 'I am Russia's boss, and it's up to me.' No one has the slightest doubt that the verdict will be decided not in the courtroom, but somewhere else."

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