MOSCOW, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Three women from the Pussy Riot
punk protest group who performed an anti-Kremlin "prayer" at
Moscow's main Russian Orthodox cathedral in February were
convicted on Friday of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred
and jailed for two years.
Below are brief biographical details:
"THE PHILOSOPHER"
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22. With her dark bobbed hair, big
eyes and full lips, her photogenic appearance has made her the
face of Pussy Riot in the Western media.
Her antics as part of high-profile street-art collective
Voina (War) have made her a focus of attention in the Russian
media. Many have featured pictures of her having public sex with
her husband Pyotr Verzilov while she was pregnant in 2008. The
event, staged with other couples at Moscow's Zoological Museum,
was intended as a provocative protest against the election to
the presidency of Putin's protege Dmitry Medvedev.
Tolokonnikova was in her final year of philosophy studies at
the prestigious Moscow State University when she was arrested.
Her daughter is now aged four.
Court officials have tried to portray her as a bad influence
on the other women, asking witnesses how the others' behaviour
had changed after they met Tolokonnikova.
"THE ARTIST"
Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, who studied art and is an avid
reader of philosophy, kept a low profile throughout the court
proceedings, breaking her silence only to give long, thoughtful
responses to the judge's questions.
She graduated top of her class at Moscow's well-regarded
Rodchenko School of Photography and Multimedia. It was during
her time as a student that she met Nadezhda Tolokonnikova.
Before she was arrested and jailed in March, Samutsevich
lived with her father, Stanislav, who has appeared repeatedly at
the courtroom proceedings. He has told lawyers that he brought
her up in accordance with Russian traditions.
Samutsevich has given some of the clearest accounts as to
why the Church was chosen as a target in their protest, saying:
"Christ the Saviour Cathedral had become a significant symbol in
the political strategy of the authorities."
She has spent time in prison reading works by Slovenian
philosopher Slavoj Zizek and French thinker Michel Foucault.
"THE WRITER"
Maria Alyokhina, 24, a fourth-year student at the Institute
of Journalism and Creative Writing in Moscow, has a background
in humanitarian volunteering and environmental activism with
Greenpeace Russia. Her five-year-old son has been looked after
by relatives during her time in pre-trial detention.
Alyokhina was often vocal during the women's trial, at times
arguing with the judge and cross-examining witnesses.
She has said she considers herself a Christian, but has
criticised the Orthodox Church for its harsh response to the
protest in the cathedral: "I thought the Church loved all its
children," she said. "But it seems the Church loves only those
children who believe in Putin."
Her mother has been quoted saying she brings Alyokhina, a
vegetarian, fruit and nuts to keep her going in jail.
(Writing By Thomas Grove; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)