Ana Matronic fears bloodshed over Russian punk rockers’ assault

Singer Ana Matronic fears there will be “bloodshed” and death on the streets of Russia following the shocking militia attack on members of Pussy Riot. The Scissor Sisters star was horrified by the incident at the site of the Winter Olympics in Sochi on Wednesday (19Feb14), when several members of the protest group and a photographer were beaten, whipped, and subdued with pepper spray.
Members of Russian’s Cossack militia had moved in as the mainly-female collective began to perform a protest song about the country’s President Vladimir Putin, and within minutes, film footage of the sickening attack went viral online.
Russian authorities are under increasing pressure to respond to the incident, and Matronic has now spoken out about the attack, telling the U.K.’s Channel 4 News, “I’m not exactly sure what should be done except for people to voice their outrage at this point. It’s hard to say what the appropriate tack is. My only hope is that Pussy Riot continues to do what they do and continues to fight, because I believe in what they are fighting for.
“I think they are trying to provoke but I don’t think they are asking to be beaten with whips… Nor do I think they should be beaten for voicing their beliefs, no matter what their beliefs are.”
Matronic also predicted the “militant” response to the band’s performance about oppression in the country could provoke a violent reaction from other protest groups and lead to severe unrest.
She adds, “And we are going to see bloodshed and we are going to see innocent lives lost in the crossfire and that is reprehensible to me.”
Representatives from the International Olympic Committee issued a statement describing the images of Pussy Riot members being whipped as “extremely disturbing”, but insisted any action should be left to Russian authorities.
Following the incident, the Pussy Riot stars vowed to continue with their human rights fight, saying, “We will shout the truth about Russia as loud as we can.”