Pussy Riot: Riot Days

The Russian icons of protest.
Laetitia Laubscher
Published on February 15, 2019
Updated on February 15, 2019

Overview

Pussy Riot broke headlines in 2012 when three of its members, Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich were imprisoned for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" for one of their performances inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Human rights groups like Amnesty International called the women prisoners of conscience, arguing that their imprisonment was a breach of their freedom of expression.

The performers have since served their prison sentences and Maria Alyokhina has written a memoir called Riot Days, which talks about her experience. The tour is a fusion of a recital of said memoir, their punk performances and documentary footage. The Guardian called Riot Days "more than just a gig – it's somewhere between a gripping piece of Putin-skewering musical theatre, an urgent jazz-punk book recital and a film screening that unfurls like a nerve-shredding thriller."

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