What Pussy Riot’s ‘Punk Prayer’ Really Said
Providing the translated lyrics to the song, Jeffrey Tayler at The Atlantic examines the motivations behind the Pussy Riot’s “Punk Prayer” song, a cause of recent national controversy in Russia. Some view the song as an attack against Putin, while others believe it to be directed mainly towards the Russian Orthodox Church. Analyzing the lyrics, Tayler finds the latter to be more accurate, and goes on to look at the larger societal implications: “The punk prayer’s lyrics have done much to highlight, even exacerbate, deep-rooted divisions in Russian society over faith, the exercise of personal freedoms, and the concept of justice.”