After lead singer’s escape, Pussy Riot begin tour to support Ukraine
Russian feminist arts collective and punk rock band Pussy Riot took to the stage in Berlin with an anti-war message yesterday, performing for the first time in three years, after their lead singer escaped Russia by disguising herself as a food courier to evade police.
At the start of a planned 19-show European tour to raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine, Maria Alyokhina, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, described her decision to leave Russia as ‘‘spontaneous’’.
It came after Russian authorities announced that she would have to serve a 21-day sentence in a penal colony. Alyokhina has been arrested six times over the past year on charges related to her political activism.
Putin has expanded an already stifling crackdown on political dissent since his invasion of Ukraine. More than 4500 anti-war protesters were arrested during a single day in March, according to one rights group. Meanwhile, even describing the war as a war can be punishable with jail time. Thousands of liberal Russians have fled Putin’s crackdown.
‘‘We want to speak the truth,’’ Alyokhina said. ‘‘Those Russians who are aware are already doing all they can, and are being imprisoned.’’
Known for their provocative guerrilla performances, Pussy Riot gained notoriety in February 2012 with the performance of a ‘‘punk prayer’’ critical of Putin at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Alyokhina and another member of the collective were handed two-year prison sentences.
The group’s new show, which combines which combines music, theatre and video displays, incorporates the names of imprisoned and persecuted Russian dissidents.
Olga Borisova, another member of the collective, said she left the country when the war started. Fellow member Diana Burkot said she’d packed her bags two months ago, but that all members of the group wanted to return.
Asked what message they wanted to send Putin, Burkot said they didn’t want to send him a message at all. In their view, engaging with him was no longer possible. Borisova said they hoped Putin would be tried as a war criminal.
‘‘It’s become so absurd,’’ said Aloykhina of the Russian government’s effort to promote its invasion of Ukraine as a ‘‘special operation’’ and prevent citizens from understanding it as a war. She called for countries to stop selling Russia weapons and to stop buying its oil.