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| ‘Pussy Riot’ Murder a Domestic Dispute | ‘Pussy Riot’ Murder a Domestic Dispute |
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| MOSCOW — Russian officials said Friday they had arrested a 38-year-old man who confessed to a grisly double murder in Kazan, in which two women were found brutally stabbed and with “Free! Pussy Riot” written in blood on a wall nearby. | |
| Officials said that the suspect, Igor Danilevsky, was romantically involved with one of the victims, and had admitted to writing the slogan in an effort to divert investigators by suggesting a religious or political motive in what turned out to be a domestic dispute. | Officials said that the suspect, Igor Danilevsky, was romantically involved with one of the victims, and had admitted to writing the slogan in an effort to divert investigators by suggesting a religious or political motive in what turned out to be a domestic dispute. |
| The gruesome case illustrated how electrically charged the debate remains in Russia over the two-year jail sentences handed down August 17 for three women in the punk band called Pussy Riot, who were convicted of hooliganism for an anti-Putin protest that they staged in Moscow’s main Russian Orthodox cathedral. | |
| The authorities in Kazan never suggested any connection between the double murder in Kazan, 500 miles east of Moscow, and the Pussy Riot case, which generated worldwide attention. But graphic photos of the bloody message, written in English and in capital letters, set off a frenzy of speculation by some Russian news organizations. | The authorities in Kazan never suggested any connection between the double murder in Kazan, 500 miles east of Moscow, and the Pussy Riot case, which generated worldwide attention. But graphic photos of the bloody message, written in English and in capital letters, set off a frenzy of speculation by some Russian news organizations. |
| Your Day, a Moscow-based tabloid with a circulation of about 350,000, ran a front-page headline on Friday saying “Dancing on Blood: Supporters of Pussy Riot Bludgeoned Two Women and Wrote a Demand to Free the Singers with Blood.” | |
| The Ural Information Bureau, a Yekaterinburg-based news agency, headlined its story about the killings: “Pussy Riot Supporters Resorted to Murders.” The article began, “They have hacked up a pensioner and her daughter with a knife.” | The Ural Information Bureau, a Yekaterinburg-based news agency, headlined its story about the killings: “Pussy Riot Supporters Resorted to Murders.” The article began, “They have hacked up a pensioner and her daughter with a knife.” |
| Young Guard, a publication of the youth wing of the governing United Russia Party, also published an article with the headline: “Two Women Were Sacrificed in the Name of Pussy Riot.” | Young Guard, a publication of the youth wing of the governing United Russia Party, also published an article with the headline: “Two Women Were Sacrificed in the Name of Pussy Riot.” |
| Even a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Dmitry Smimov, said the punk band and its supporters bore some responsibility. “This blood is now on the conscience of the community supporting Pussy Riot,” he told the Interfax news agency on Thursday. | |
| During the trial of the band members, lawyers for churchgoers who were designated as victims in the case had accused the Pussy Riot women of engaging in satanism and committing “moral harm.” They were repeatedly described as heretics with no respect for the Russian Orthodox Church, which is the predominant faith here. | During the trial of the band members, lawyers for churchgoers who were designated as victims in the case had accused the Pussy Riot women of engaging in satanism and committing “moral harm.” They were repeatedly described as heretics with no respect for the Russian Orthodox Church, which is the predominant faith here. |
| Supporters of Pussy Riot reacted to the photos of the murder scene just as swiftly but with a mixture of horror and dismay. | Supporters of Pussy Riot reacted to the photos of the murder scene just as swiftly but with a mixture of horror and dismay. |
| “What happened in Kazan is horrible,” Nikolai Polozov, a lawyer for the group, wrote in a Twitter post. “Pussy Riot have always stood for nonviolent protest. This case is a result of either monstrous provocation or psychosis.” | |
| Mr. Polozov suggested that if the murderer had written “United Russia” on the wall, no one would be blaming politicians. “His tracks would have led to the party?” he asked. | Mr. Polozov suggested that if the murderer had written “United Russia” on the wall, no one would be blaming politicians. “His tracks would have led to the party?” he asked. |
| In fact, the investigation led to Mr. Danilevsky, who was arrested by the police at his parents’ apartment in Kazan. | In fact, the investigation led to Mr. Danilevsky, who was arrested by the police at his parents’ apartment in Kazan. |
| Investigators said he had confessed to killing Lilya Zaripova, 38, and her mother, Farida Zaripova, 76, who lived together in a quiet neighborhood. | Investigators said he had confessed to killing Lilya Zaripova, 38, and her mother, Farida Zaripova, 76, who lived together in a quiet neighborhood. |
| In a statement, the federal Investigative Committee said Mr. Danilevsky was romantically linked to the younger Ms. Zaripova, and had stabbed her and her mother to death during an argument over money. Officials said he stole about $3,100 in cash and two cellphones before fleeing. | In a statement, the federal Investigative Committee said Mr. Danilevsky was romantically linked to the younger Ms. Zaripova, and had stabbed her and her mother to death during an argument over money. Officials said he stole about $3,100 in cash and two cellphones before fleeing. |
| Investigators said Mr. Danilevsky wrote on the wall “in order to deflect suspicion from himself and make it seem like a ritual killing.” | Investigators said Mr. Danilevsky wrote on the wall “in order to deflect suspicion from himself and make it seem like a ritual killing.” |
| Eduard Limonov, the writer and opposition political activist who heads a group called Other Russia, said the efforts to connect Pussy Riot and its supporters to the murders showed that all of Russia had been overcome by “collective psychosis.” | Eduard Limonov, the writer and opposition political activist who heads a group called Other Russia, said the efforts to connect Pussy Riot and its supporters to the murders showed that all of Russia had been overcome by “collective psychosis.” |