Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot is a musical performance art collective based in Moscow, Russia. It forms in August 2011 and works through unauthorised, provocative guerrilla-style performances in public places, which are filmed as music videos and posted online.

Style and themes

The collective’s work centres on feminism and opposition to Vladimir Putin, whom it describes as a dictator. Its output sits within punk and punk rock, with an association to riot grrrl and female vocal performance.

Public attention and political controversy

Pussy Riot gains international attention in February 2012 after five members stage a performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Three members are convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and each receives a two-year prison sentence. The case draws major attention and criticism, particularly in Western countries, and human-rights organisations including Amnesty International designate the women prisoners of conscience. Public opinion in Russia is generally less sympathetic.

Later work

The group also releases Make America Great Again, a video that presents a dystopian world in which a President Trump enforces his values through beatings, shaming and branding by stormtroopers. The release is aimed at both western European and North American audiences as well as Russian audiences.