At the risk of upsetting Russia's President Putin, there's much we can learn about effective communication from his country's protesting feminist punk band, Pussy Riot.
Three members of the band have just been jailed for two years for so-called "hooliganism" - after they stormed into Moscow's main cathedral in February and performed their raucous "punk prayer" at the alter.
The band members, in their distinctive colourful balaclavas to hide their identities, called on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Mr Putin at the time he was poised for a less-than-perfectly-democratic return to the presidency.
The band members insisted their aim wasn't to offend believers (though this they surely did).
They said their intention was to highlight the uncomfortably close ties between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Now if you're prepared to be sufficiently outrageous, it's not that hard to get loads of free publicity in the western world - or even in contemporary, still-restrictive Russia.
But what impresses about Pussy Riot is how carefully planned their antics have been.
Whether you support them or abhor them, here are three things that have been perfectly pitched to cunningly get their message across - by thinking through their communications strategy in advance.
LESSON ONE: In marketing terms Pussy Riot has created an attention-grabbing name and an instantly identifiable look.
Their brightly coloured attire is now being copied by supporters around the world -such as this group, pictured below, of London Amnesty International activists protesting against the Russian authorities.
Pussy Riot captivates attention by wearing feminine dresses which deliberately jar with their characteristically unfeminine dance moves and actions.
Band members have staged their protests at strategically selected locations designed to steal Russian and world attention - Red Square, outside a jail, the Moscow underground and then, in a deliberately calculated step too far, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
LESSON TWO: Pussy Riot's timing is impeccable. This was exemplified minutes after the verdict, when publicity around the world was at its peak, they released their new single "Putin Lights Up the Fires".
For a group that is yet to bring out its first album, its members know how to light the fires of free publicity.
LESSON THREE: Pussy Riot's grace under pressure has been inspirational. When the verdict was announced they looked like winners.
They smiled, they giggled, they were admirably defiant.
In their self-sacrificing protest they had proved their point about Russian governmental repression.
Without arrogance, the Pussy Riot prisoners projected an impression that they will come to be recognized as heroines who've done more to assist the cause of free speech and genuine democracy in Russia than any protest march so far.
In fact, Pussy Riot has so captured a chunk of Russian sympathy that even President Putin - perhaps sensing he wasn't winning on this one - expressed the view just before the verdict that their punishment shouldn't be too harsh.
If you can get your enemy to feel as though he has to edge in your direction, you're doing something right.
If the Pussy Riot appeal fails and they do spend two years in jail, it's a heavy price to pay.
However they've positioned themselves to be potentially seen as the Mandela's of modern day Russia.
Their "music", by the way, is pretty terrible - in my humble opinion.
But that further underlines how brilliant their strategic communications must be.
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