the word’s worth: The Pussy Riot Act

By Michele A. Berdy

Published: August 8, 2012 (Issue # 1721)

Áîãîõóëüñòâî: blasphemy

I have been reluctant to wade into the linguistic morass of the Pussy Riot case mostly because I’m not a specialist in religious or legal terminology. But I finally gave in to my curiosity and decided to read îáâèíèòåëüíîå çàêëþ÷åíèå (indictment).

Half a page into it, the legal language was pretty clear, but my desk was covered with reference books on church and religious terminology. If you’re trying to follow the case, it may be helpful to understand a few of the recurring terms.

First, where the action took place. In an Orthodox church, the raised platform in front of the iconostasis is ñîëåÿ (solea). The section of the solea in front of the royal doors is called àìâîí (ambon).

Then, the cast of witnesses: Êëþ÷àðü (sacristan, ecclesiarch) is the person in charge of caring for the church building and its property. Àëòàðíèê (altar server) is a layperson that helps at the altar during the services. Ñâå÷íèöà is a woman selling candles.

And now for the big accusations — the religious ones, I mean. Three words and their derivatives pop out throughout the text: Câÿòîòàòñòâî, áîãîõóëüñòâî and êîùóíñòâî, all of which are translated as sacrilege, blasphemy, profanity or desecration. After cross-checking church translations and dipping into pre-revolutionary law, I think I would translate ñâÿòîòàòñòâî as desecration, which involves some kind of violation of church property. It was the worst of the pre-revolutionary Russian religious crimes and carried the death penalty for centuries. I’d translate áîãîõóëüñòâî as blasphemy and êîùóíñòâî as sacrilege.

This is important to know as you read the legal documents because although the accusation is couched in legal terms, the supporting evidence is largely presented in religious terms.

The women are accused of committing an act of õóëèãàíñòâî, òî åñòü ãðóáîå íàðóøåíèå îáùåñòâåííîãî ïîðÿäêà, âûðàæàþùåå ÿâíîå íåóâàæåíèå ê îáùåñòâó, ñîâåðø¸ííîå ïî ìîòèâàì ðåëèãèîçíîé íåíàâèñòè èëè âðàæäû ëèáî ïî ìîòèâàì íåíàâèñòè â îòíîøåíèè êàêîé-ëèáî ñîöèàëüíîé ãðóïïû, ãðóïïîé ëèö ïî ïðåäâàðèòåëüíîìó ñãîâîðó (hooliganism, that is, a gross violation of public order expressing a clear disrespect for society, committed on the grounds of religious hatred or enmity or hate against a particular social group by a group of persons by prior agreement).

What did they do? According to witness testimony — which is exactly the same, word for word, page after page — their behavior was “íåïîäîáàþùåå, à ôàêòè÷åñêè íàðóøàëî âñå ìûñëèìûå è íåìûñëèìûå îáùåïðèíÿòûå ïðàâèëà ïîâåäåíèÿ â Õðàìå” (unbefitting, and in fact violated all imaginable and unimaginable, commonly accepted rules of behavior in a church). They put on clothing “ÿâíî è î÷åâèäíî ïðîòèâîðå÷àùóþ îáùèì öåðêîâíûì ïðàâèëàì” (that clearly and obviously contradicted church rules). Then they “íà÷àëè áåñîâñêè äðûãàòüñÿ, ïðûãàòü, ñêàêàòü, çàäèðàòü âûñîêî íîãè, ìîòàòü ãîëîâàìè è îäíîâðåìåííî ñ ýòèì âûêðèêèâàëè î÷åíü îñêîðáèòåëüíûå, áîãîõóëüíûå ñëîâà” (started to satanically jerk around, jump, run, kick their legs up, twirl their heads while they shouted very insulting, blasphemous words).

According to the indictment, this led to óíèæåíèå ÷óâñòâ è âåðîâàíèé ìíîãî÷èñëåííûõ ïðèâåðæåíöåâ ïðàâîñëàâíîãî õðèñòèàíñêîãî âåðîèñïîâåäàíèÿ è óìàëåíèå äóõîâíîé îñíîâû ãîñóäàðñòâà (a violation of the feelings and faith of many Orthodox Christians and a defilement of the spiritual basis of the state).

After reading the indictment and following the trial, I’ve come to the conclusion that the spiritual basis of the state may indeed have been defiled, but not by Pussy Riot.

Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of “The Russian Word’s Worth” (Glas), a collection of her columns.