!["I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/07/8a/078a51f2444cdc791680df5914b9fe9c.jpg?itok=ErouNU_s ""I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."")
![Members of the all-girl punk band "Pussy Riot": (from left) Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova during their Oct. 2012 Russian trial.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/f0/ad/f0adcd9d6cb8a8f8553ffa89729eab44.JPG?itok=nQk9id_F "Members of the all-girl punk band "Pussy Riot": (from left) Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova during their Oct. 2012 Russian trial."){kind=small}
!["I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/95/c1/95c138af62f0a3cc2333aa820e6a1eb9.jpg?itok=I5J21exm ""I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."")
The newly crowned 18-year-old Miss Russia 2013, Elmira Abdrazakova, said today that the two year prison sentences handed down for the Pussy Riot bandmates was too “harsh a punishment,” NBC News reported on March 9.
Three of the ladies from the punk rock band Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were sentenced in Aug. 2012 after being found guilty of hooliganism in the Russian courts.
The sentencing followed their March 2012 performance in Moscow's main cathedral calling for the Virgin Mary to protect Russia against Russian president Vladimir Putin.
"I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier this month, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station.
"But still, their punishment is too harsh."
Although the Pussy Riot trial and sentencing captivated the world and inspired cries from many luminaries, politicians, and fans to “free Pussy Riot,” those supportive of Vladimir Putin also supported the Pussy Riot sentencings.
Miss Russia’s support for Pussy Riot has created some controversy in the Kremlin, especially with her parents who “suggested that working with the Pussy Riot women to change their view of the world would perhaps have been a better option.”
Also see:
- Pussy Riot band mates found guilty of hooliganism in Russian court (Video)
- One Pussy Riot band member freed from Russian prison (Video)
- Pussy Riot band member goes into solitary confinement at Russian prison camp (Video)
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!["I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/ba/ff/baff6453efc0cbe9b0a0abfd7c9aa192.jpg?itok=4OLYij3G ""I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."")
![Members of the all-girl punk band "Pussy Riot": (from left) Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova during their Oct. 2012 Russian trial.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/54/aa/54aaefbdc6a8c1cb90225c11e2af8f76.JPG?itok=Ez7sQqyp "Members of the all-girl punk band "Pussy Riot": (from left) Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova during their Oct. 2012 Russian trial.")
!["I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/c4/20/c4206fccc43ecdc8b27a13b8f3df3998.jpg?itok=SgcM2IfR ""I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."")
!["I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/c3/5f/c35fd4980ddde295dc5b085cb76c9021.jpg?itok=9aEslgFc ""I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."")
!["I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/01/53/01539565a2d6834caa8baec3fbd44cc5.jpg?itok=Pm_Rqetm ""I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."")
!["I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/ad/f9/adf9e63470ee74d9986d0d8c76ac52d2.jpg?itok=LBUTBh0d ""I've graduated from a Sunday school and a place of worship for me is something sacred," Elmira Abdrazakova, who was named Miss Russia 2013 earlier in March 2013, told the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio station. "But still, their punishment is too harsh."")
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