Putin Forever Linked With Pussy Riot

Harsh treatment of the protesting punks seen as indicative of his regime

Whatever verdict a Russian court passes on Friday on the women from punk band Pussy Riot who taunted the Kremlin from a church altar, President Vladimir Putin has signalled he is no more willing than before to brook dissent as he begins a third term.

The trial has caused an international outcry and crushed any Western and opposition hopes that the former KGB officer might choose to allow more political freedom and give courts more independence in the first months of his new presidency.