There is a rock garden at the Ryoan-ji temple near Kyoto, Japan. Its fame consists of the spacing of its 15 stones, which are arranged in a manner such that an observer can only ever see 14 of them from any horizontal vantage point. It represents a simple but profound idea: Only by contemplating an issue from many different angles can you discover the location of the 15th stone.

Yet all too frequently, as regards Russia in general and the case against Pussy Riot in particular, Western journalists have eschewed walking. Instead, they bring along a big telescope, zoom in on two or three stones, and declare it a done deal: Putin pursuing a vendetta against his detractors; sinister black-garbed Orthodox monks attempting to theocratise society; a patriarchal order swinging the baton down on the pussies that dared riot.

It is a lot more complex than that. I do not claim to have found the 15th stone, but I promise to put away the telescope and take you on a leisurely stroll instead.

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