music
After fleeing Russia: Pussy Riot concert with an activist
Diana Burkot (lr), Anton Ponomarev, Maria Alyokhina and Olga Borisova at the concert of her Kremlin-critical and feminist band Pussy Riot at Funkhaus Berlin. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The punk band Pussy Riot, which is critical of the Kremlin, has started its European tour in Berlin. Munich, Zagreb and Madrid are also on the agenda. Also present: Maria Alyokhina, who recently fled Russia.
The Russian punk band Pussy Riot, which is critical of the government, started their European tour in Berlin with a loudly supported protest against the Russian leadership. The activist Maria Alyokhina was also there. The 33-year-old had previously fled Russia.
Based on the book “Riot Days” by Alyokhina, the “Pussy Riot Anti-War Tour” presented a performance project consisting of music, theater and video recordings. The proceeds from the concert were to go to underage refugees from the war and a hospital in Ukraine.
Pussy Riot suddenly became known around the world ten years ago with a concert in a Moscow church against the ruler Vladimir Putin. Alyokhina was sentenced to two years in a prison camp in 2012 with her bandmate Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. At the end of 2013 they were pardoned and released. However, Alyokhina was repeatedly targeted by the Russian law enforcement authorities, for example in connection with demonstrations for the imprisoned Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny. Most recently she was under house arrest.
19 performances have been announced for the tour, with the band appearing in Rostock, Kassel, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Zagreb, Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon, among others.