Three young Russian female punk rock performers are on trial for singing an anti-Putin song on the altar of a church. They face a seven-year sentence if convicted. President Vladimir Putin signed two new laws recently in response to increased political protest, one strengthening the libel act and another allowing the government new powers to shut down Web sites with content considered harmful to children. -db
From The New York Times, July 30, 2012, by David M. Herszenhorn and Andrew Roth with reporting by Ellen Barry.