Russian fans are hoping that U.S. pop diva Madonna will openly express her support of three jailed members of scandalous Pussy Riot punk band during her sole performance in Moscow on Tuesday.
Madonna’s concert at the Olimpiisky stadium is part of the current MDNA tour, which covers 26 cities around the world. In Russia, she will also travel to St. Petersburg to perform on August 9.
So far, the Queen of Pop has expressed sympathy toward Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich, who face up to seven years in prison if found guilty on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.
Pussy Riot’s supporters, however, would like to see her making a stronger statement against what they claim is a pure act of censorship and violation of human rights by Russian authorities.
Recent weeks have seen both a flood of support for Pussy Riot and criticism of the Russian authorities. It began with outcries from the homegrown opposition and Amnesty International’s classification of the three women as “prisoners of conscience.”
It culminated, though, with a string of musicians who, during their performances in Russia, surprised audiences by publicly backing the group. Now, the line-up of pro-Pussy Riot celebrities has grown to include such cultural heavyweights as Sting, film director Terry Gilliam, songwriter Peter Gabriel, and actor Danny DeVito.
Aside from political undercurrents, Madonna’s performance promises to be spectacular.
The stadium will be equipped with 18 moving multi-level stages, huge TV screens, spotlights and dimensional sound equipment.
The singer has brought over 100 musicians and dancers to take part in the gala performance.
“No one has ever done that on such a scale and or made it so technologically complicated,” organizer of Madonna’s show in Moscow Ildar Bakeyev has said. “Madonna will always be No. 1.”
