“The original trial of the punk band, who were sentenced to two years in a penal colony for performing a ‘punk prayer’ against Vladimir Putin in Russia’s main cathedral, was heavily politicised on both sides of the pro-Kremlin and anti-Kremlin divide. … It was a circus of grandiose proportions and with sinister overtones for the defendants and their families. When the appeal hearing came round, Samutsevich probably reasoned that it was time to switch tactics.”