Pussy Riot Members Attacked in Sochi

The backdrop to the entire 2014 Winter Olympics has been shrouded in controversy since the location of the games was announced the better side of a decade ago, making the most recent news to come out of Putin's games even less surprising: members of the punk girl revolutionary group, Pussy Riot, were attacked by roving government Cossacks yesterday as they left a restaurant in the town donning their trademark neon baclavas and clothing. Before the demonstration could begin, the members were accosted by the men, a guitar was smashed, but no arrests were made. A very certain check step in the showdown between Putin and his leftist, civil rights-fighting female demonstrators. It is also being reported that Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina, recently released from prison and fresh on Russian soil after a turn through American late night television lately, were among the protestors put down by the resurgent Cossacks who have been tapped to help bring order and reinforce and agenda. According to a recent New York Times story by Ellen Barry, ""Cossacks have emerged as a kind of mascot [for Putin's ideology]... These days men in Cossack uniforms are making appearances all over Russia, carrying out blustery raids of art exhibits, museums, and theaters as standard-bearers for a resurgent church." They are also compared to cowboys, or Chinese samurai and have become a pawn in Putin's push to continue pushing Russia back to the Soviet days. It is interesting that Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were present at the protest, as they were hesitant to say they were still a part of Pussy Riot after their release in December.