Feminism in Russia less pay than men doing the same work. In 2003, 43 percent of local administrators in St. Petersburg were women. In 2012, the feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot performed publicity stunts to show their opposition to Vladimir Putin, and have faced criticism from the Russian Orthodox Church and the Putin administration. Three members of the group were arrested in March 2012 after performing a "punk-prayer" against Putin in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. During their trial for hooliganism, they talked about being feminists and stated that this was not incompatible with Russian Orthodoxy. However, Larisa Pavlova,
2000 Vladimir Putin presidential campaign instead focused on cultivating the electorate's positive perception of him. Putin, who enjoyed favorable coverage on two of the three major Russian television networks, was disparaging towards the notion of running traditional televised campaign adverts. On 12 January 2000, in Moscow "President-hotel" took place the meeting of the initiative group to nominate Vladimir Putin as a presidential candidate. It included about 200 people, in particular President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev, Sergey Mironov, head of tax police Viktor Zubkov, etc. On 13 January, Vladimir Putin visited St. Petersburg State University, where he received a mantle and a diploma of honorary doctor