There is more to this story than what CNN is revealing here...
There is a group of protesters in Russia who have been engaging in “performance art” in public as a form of protest. That is, these women are protesters, more than they are a “band” of any kind. And at least one of them was involved with a protest group that did outrageous things like having sex in public as a form of protest. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voina
For this final protest, the three women donned hoods, entered an Orthodox church along with members of that church, crossed themselves at the altar, and then proceeded to sing a PROFANITY-laced song asking the Virgin Mary to become a feminist and help put Putin out of power, among other things. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot#Church_protest
They are Leftists, and ironically they’ve been charged with a hate crime - it’s been fun reading the reaction from celebrities defending them, saying what these women did was free speech not “hate speech.”
Yes, two years seems a bit much. But they were facing seven years in prison. Putin himself urged for leniency. The prosecutor asked for three years. In the end, they were sentenced to two.
These chicks would have cheered when Stalin blew up the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
So they did a less violent, more polite version of what Christ did at the Jewish temple? Granted these girls are obviously leftists and sexual anarchists, but they did a righteous thing by pointing out corruption at a house of worship.