This week, members of the Russian punk performance collective Pussy Riot were beaten and whipped by Russian Cossacks while protesting in Sochi. You may remember Pussy Riot as the punk band that went to jail for nearly two years because they tried to film a video in a church. They were released early in what members straight up said was a PR stunt by Putin leading up to the Sochi games.

Pussy Riot’s protest and subsequent beat down has shined an even bigger light on the troubling state of human rights and freedoms in Russia but this latest incident, which was well photographed, has raised even more questions. Questions like –



What the fuck is a “Cossack”?
I’ve heard it before and it sounds like something from Czar times over there. The dictionary term doesn’t help me at all –

It should say “bellhops in fezes that walk around with whips” judging by the picture.



Also, what the fuck is with the whips?
Seriously? Whips? Are these guys cops? Do they give cops whips over there? Did they sell all their guns and batons to the Syrian government and only have whips left? Who uses whips? That’s some Indiana Jones shit.



Has nobody else seriously made the “pussy whipped” joke?
When I typed the title for today’s blog I thought “Nah, there’s got to be, like, a million jokes about that right now” but I googled it and found nothing. I figured it would be a picture meme at this point. There’s gotta be something. I can’t be the first. That fruit is hanging way too low.



Though there are a lot of questions, it’s quite clear that it’s insane the Olympics are being held in Sochi. Fuck Putin.