Pussy Riot, for themselves, their fans and even academics, are not just a musical group.
“They are, like, more than just a band,” said Matthew Lipke fan, waiting outside his recent program at the Lee Palace in Toronto. “They are like a movement.”
For others who went to the Riot Days tour of the collective, the feeling was the same: the songs are good, but the Russian musicians represent a protest streak, with importance both in their country of origin and in Canada.
“I think Pussy Riot provides an incredible example of activist art that can actually be part of popular culture,” added filmmaker, scholar and curator, and fellow fans waiting in line, Marusya Bociurkiw. “What, I think, have.”
The message began with positions in Russia
That message began in 2012, when the Punk Rockers were accused of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after filming a protest video of “punk prayer” inside a cathedral. The objective of his protest was both the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first of which they accused of corruption by supporting the latter.
It was from that event his stuck public image: colorful activists who use Balaclava that speak for LGBTQ+rights, and against what they saw as autocracy and antidemocratic actions.
And shortly after that protest came the event that led to its greatest advertising: the founding members Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova and Maria (Masha) Alyakhina were arrested and imprisoned for two years. A third member, Yekaterina (Kat) Samutsevich, was arrested similarly, but released shortly after. A Moscow judge condemned them later that year, saying that “they had” undercurred the social order. “
‘High water brand of Russian opposition activities’
The reaction was widespread and almost immediate. World governments denounced punishments as disproportionate, excessively hard and a violation of fundamental rights and freedoms.
“It was probably the high seas brand of Russian opposition activities,” said Seva Gunitsky, associate professor of Political Science at Toronto. The group’s liberal position against Putin and attempt to present what they thought were civil rights violations within the country to an international audience was an open Because Celèbre – The most notable outside of Russia.
“It was one of the first times that the idea of a Liberal Russian opposition entered Western consciousness,” he said. “He showed the west that, in the first place, there is an opposition, and there is an active liberal opposition in Russia. But also that they are very connected to the West and represent the same values.”
Thirteen years, numerous arrests and many new members later (dozen people could be considered part of Pussy Riot, since the feminist art collective believes that anyone can be a participant) that message continues.
The tour is equal and concert; His first stage was based on the book of the same name as Alokhina, detailing his experiences in the Russian criminal system. The current program is based on its second book, which will be launched in 2025, detailing its experiences after the prison, highlighting the protests, the oppression and history of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died at 47 years in a prison in Siberia in 2024.
The income will be used to support Ukrainian relief and Russian political prisoners. Its Canadian concert dates mark the first international performances of the group since it was launched in Munich earlier this year.
But as the show continues, its current leg has half of its shows in Canada, its presence within its country of origin has decreased.
Alyokhina fled from Russia in 2022, disguised as food messaging. He was under house arrest at that time, as part of one of the numerous positions raised to the group members while the Putin government took energetic measures against dissent.
That reached a critical point after the large -scale invasion of Russia of Ukraine launched that same year. Since then, the new laws meant that disseminating information that was against the government’s narrative could lead to sentences of up to 15 years in prison.
President Vladimir Putin is hardening his control over the media and information in Russia, signing in power a new law that could see journalists sentenced to 15 years in prison for deviating from the country’s approved narrative about what is happening in Ukraine.
With that punishment hanging on his heads, most Pussy Riot follows Alyokhina’s leadership in fleeing. At the same time, the liberal opposition disappeared in the country, Gunitsky said.
“Within Russia, groups like Pussy Riot have very little cultural capital today,” he said. “The groups that used to do things like going to Pussy Riot concerts have been very marginalized, arrested or simply abandoned the country, along with millions of people who could have felt affinity for liberal values.”
Similar theme in Canada
Instead, they have found root in the west. That is true in Canada, also, Gunitsky said, where “punk rock aesthetics” of rebelling against what can be perceived as an intimidating government, in this case, the United States, has found a certain degree of sympathy.
The musician born in Edmonton Margø, who is opening for Pussy Riot, considers that the cause of the group is equally important for activists in North America. As his specific anti-Putin message has become a more widespread support of marginalized groups worldwide, he said he hopes that audience members can take that feeling home.
“I hope they are inspired to make a positive change in the world,” he said. “And I hope everyone in the room lets ‘everyone’s energy belong. Everyone should feel safe. And I want to take that to my daily life’.”
And transmitting that message from Pussy Riot’s stage, said Margø, is one of the greatest honors of his career.
“It is very inspiring to remember that, you know, there is so much power in our words. There is so much power in art,” he said.
“[It’s important for] People with a platform like Pussy Riot, or like me, to be able to stand at that stage and remember people who … there is a lot to fight for, and there is a long way to go. “
