Because yesterday's scene with Pussy Riot was not bad enough P.R. for Sochi, the Russian authorities have decided to create another one, sticking to their decision not to allow Pussy Riot to get away with absolutely anything.
This afternoon, when the ladies tried to film video for their new song "Putin Will Teach You to Love the Motherland" by the Sochi marina, Cossacks whipped them. Literally. Whipped them. With whips.
The IOC, meanwhile, condemned the Pussy Riot stunt as "wholly inappropriate."
New Republic Senior Editor Julia Ioffe will be writing dispatches from Russia for the duration of the Olympics. For the entire collection of her pieces, click here.