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Het Woord Als Wapen (2014)

by Masha Gessen(Favorite Author)

3.85 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Ambo Amsterdam

review 1: I really enjoyed reading this book but it was heart breaking to read about how Russia is treating its citizens in the 21st century. It was especially horrible and upsetting to read about the conditions that women are subjected to in jail in Russia. I remember reading One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn when I was in my late teens or early twenties and I have never forgotten it. It seems that nothing has changed in Russian prisons, or work camps, between 90 and 100 years later. What an outrage and a terrible indictment of the current Russian Administration. Regarding the two main members of Pussy Riot, Maria and Nadezhda, I really like the way they are such a contrast to one another and I feel that their styles of dealing with their imprisonment... more compliment each other. I've been watching videoclips clips of interviews they've given since their release from prison and a speech they gave at an Amnesty International concert in New York in February this year after being introduced by Madonna. But controversy and criticism still follows them where ever they go and whatever they do as their appearance was poorly received by other members of Pussy Riot. (The ones who were not imprisoned as some members of the group have never been publicly identified and another member, Yekaterina, was later freed with a suspended sentence after a successful appeal and was not sent to a work camp.) The following is from an article published on The Sydney Morning Herald - World website on 6 February 2014. It includes excerpts from a letter other members of the group posted on their blog:Selling concert tickets "is highly contradictory to the principles of Pussy Riot," said the letter, which was signed with six nicknames."We're a female separatist collective," it said. "We never accept money for our performances," and "we only stage illegal performances in unexpected public places".The letter also took issue with posters for the concert that showed a male guitarist in a balaclava, a trademark of the feminist group.However, Maria and Nadezdha have stated since their release that they would focus on campaigning for the rights of prisoners and that's what they seem to have been doing. It's a great book and really interesting if you get a chance to read it.
review 2: This book was an interesting angle on the personalities and events around Pussy Riot's formation, actions, and court trial. I was already a fan of Pussy Riot - I should say, I was a fan of what Pussy Riot stood for or symbolized to me and others in the U.S.. They're attractive young women, and so became a media sensation. This probably saved their lives. Their songs do have a strong feminist bent; that message did not come across as clearly in the large amount of mainstream media I consumed about them, which showed pictures of them (beautiful, young, and defiant) and also talked about their being mothers. So in reading the book which details some song lyrics and philosophies - I guess I'd say they sound like anarchist, feminist punks - getting more of their intentions and expressions helped my understanding. Also, the personalities and histories of the three members who went to trial (Nadya, Maria, and Kat) was interesting. That side really underscored their vulnerability and their surprise at the harshness that they faced. Their courtroom statements and self-styling as political prisoners is impressive, although it sounds a little sophomoric at times; and the (to my eyes/and as Masha Gessen describes it) evident absurdity of the justice system they had to navigate through probably cemented that. I could imagine a different justice system taking their teeth out with incentives and a veneer of fairness and impartiality. So having the judges, witnesses and trials as "characters" in this history showed via a specific story what the process of being radicalized by a repressive institutional system looks like. less

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