Pussy Riot: Russia's Extremist Label 💔🔥

World News

Pussy Riot Declared an Extremist Group
According to state news agency TASS, a Moscow district court has ruled that the Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot is an extremist organization. Leonid Solovyov, the group’s lawyer, told TASS that the ruling, issued Monday, was a response to a case brought by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and that Pussy Riot intends to appeal. The case was heard in a closed session at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The court upheld the prosecution’s arguments, declaring “the punk band Pussy Riot as an extremist organization and ban its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

A Defiant Response to Government Crackdown
The band’s official social media account responded defiantly, stating that its members, who have lived in exile for years, are “freer than those who try to silence us.” The statement continued, asserting that “We can say what I think about putin — that he is an aging sociopath spreading his venom around the world like cancer,” and that “In today’s Russia, telling the truth is extremism. So be it – we’re proud extremists, then.”

Increased Scrutiny of Supporters and Activities
The court’s designation will facilitate increased scrutiny of its supporters within Russia and those who have previously collaborated with them. “This court order is designed to erase the very existence of Pussy Riot from the minds of Russians,” the band claimed. “Owning a balaclava, having our song on your computer, or liking one of our posts could lead to prison.”

Years of Political Prosecution and Imprisonment
The band’s members, including Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, have previously served sentences for the 2012 protest at the cathedral in Moscow, where they performed what they described as a “punk prayer,” chanting “Mother of God, Cast Putin Out!” Following their release in 2013 as part of an amnesty that encompassed approximately 26,000 individuals prosecuted by Russian authorities – including 30 Greenpeace crew members – the group, alongside Pussy Riot members Maria Alyokhina, Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot, and Alina Petrova, was found guilty of spreading “false information” about the Russian military, according to news outlet Mediazona. All have asserted that the charges against them were politically motivated.

Documenting Casualties in Ukraine
Mediazona, founded by Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova, continues to maintain a verified list of Russian military deaths in Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine. “We have confirmed 153,000 names, each supported by evidence, context, and documentation.”