The "West" can't even begin to understand their action. The Russian State,
> today just as it traditionally has been, rests on the unity of the Knout
> and the Crucifix. To use the Cathedral as setting for a prayer to the
> Virgin for the liberation of Russia from Putin illuminated and denounced
> that alliance in the most effective way possible!
>
"[I]lluminated" to whom? I'm no expert on Russian affairs, but don't think it's exactly a secret that the ROC is more popular there, and hence more politically influential, than, say, the Church of Denmark is in its country.
As for "the most effective way possible," I guess it all depends on the goal. If their purpose was to piss off the overwhelming majority of their society, while titillating a few liberals abroad, then mission accomplished.
http://www.levada.ru/31-07-2012/rossiyane-o-dele-pussy-riot
-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað."