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The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
The fury of Pussy Riot's Riot Days is more vital than ever
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The world has changed since Pussy Riot first bombarded their way into Edinburgh in 2018 to win a Herald Angel award. Back then, key member of the anarchic balaclava-clad Russian art collective Maria Alyokhina transformed her experiences on the frontline into an incendiary piece of multi-media punk theatre. This followed a high-profile trial after Alyokhina and two other members of the collective were imprisoned after performing an anti-Putin action in a Russian Orthodox Church. The result, adapted from Alyokhina's memoir, Riot Days, and performed by Alyokhina with a well-drilled band of actor/musicians, was an urgent piece of in-yer-face agit-prop. The Herald has teamed up with to make the purchase of tickets for the festival so much easier. Seven years on, the fifty-minute compendium of autobiographical monologues, Brechtian captions, documentary film footage, primitive martial beats and industrial sturm und drang is brought bang up to date with a new band and fresh material. The former features vocal upstarts Olga Borisova and Taso Pletner, with the latter also playing flute. While Alyokhina remains at the show's centre, Borisova and Pletner flank her in a way that gives off a guerrilla girl group vibe. This is pulsed by the martial drums and electronic beats conjured up by Eric Breitenbach of Canadian band, New Age Doom. The show's narrative has developed to draw from Alyokhina's forthcoming second book, Political Girl: Life and Fate in Russia, and includes details of Pussy Riot's disruption of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games and Alyokhina's further arrests and imprisonment. It also honours the death of anti-corruption politician, Alexey Navalny, who was almost killed after being poisoned, and later died while in prison. There is a moving moment of silence too as film footage of Russian journalist Irina Slavina is shown of her setting herself on fire. The shadow of Russia's ongoing assault on Ukraine also hangs heavy throughout the piece. Read more: In what feels like a more disciplined if just as relentless production, overseen by producer Alexander Cheparukhin and with input from composer Alina Petrova, this new version of Riot Days is about evolution as much as revolution. While acknowledging the symbolism of yore, largely this is Pussy Riot unmasked in a blitz of a show that is part history lesson, part living newspaper. At its conclusion, Alyokhina highlights how what is currently happening in Russia could easily happen anywhere. Coming a few days after more than 400 peaceful protestors were arrested, not in the old Eastern Bloc, but in twenty-first century Britain, Riot Days remains a vital call to arms. Runs at Summerhall until 23 August.
Scotsman
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Pussy Riot on their raucous Fringe return: ‘In times of crisis, silence becomes complicity'
The world has become even more volatile since Pussy Riot first performed at the Fringe in 2018. But the Russian activist collective are still determined to make their protests heard with a raucous updated show. By Fiona Shepherd Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... At a time when the right to protest peacefully feels more crucial than ever and yet also increasingly imperilled, who you gonna call? Russian activist and artist collective Pussy Riot are the superheroes of the moment, a notorious, confrontational and inspirational outfit who testify to firsthand experience of life under totalitarian rule, some of whose members have been repeatedly charged and detained for their flagrant inability to put up and shut up about the reality of day-to-day living in Putin's Russia. They made worldwide headlines in 2011 with an audacious act of protest, performing their Punk Prayer in multi-coloured balaclavas on the altar of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Three members of the group were subsequently arrested and imprisoned, including Maria 'Masha' Vladimirovna Alyokhina, who used her spotlight during the Pussy Riot trial to deliver a defiant and universal defence of freedom of expression. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Pussy Riot, pictured on their US tour earlier this year | Contributed Since 2017, she and fellow Pussy Rioters have been touring their show Riot Days, a strident multi-media celebration of DIY music, striking visuals and uncomfortable truths based on her memoir of the same name, which shook up Summerhall during the 2018 Fringe. Much has changed for Masha, Russia and global geopolitics since then, developments which Pussy Riot intend to address on their return to the Fringe with a reworked and updated Riot Days based on her new book, Political Girl, which will recount her subsequent arrests and flight from Russia against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. For Alyokhina, 2025 is such a different world that she almost looks back on the early days of Pussy Riot with nostalgia. 'It was a different political climate, a different group,' she says via Zoom. 'Everything was different so there was a lot of hope and joy and brightness which we also bring to the protest. Now we have something that we didn't expect to witness ever at any age. We have the war going on for the fourth year, mass repressions, military censorship, news about bombings and deaths every day.' Criticising the war and the Russian army is a criminal offence in Russia. As Alyokhina notes, Pussy Riot do this on a daily basis so it is no longer possible for most of the core members to operate in their homeland. Following a number of arrests, she finally fled in spring 2022. 'I was a person who thought that I will never leave the country,' she says, choking up at the memory, 'but I decided to go to help Ukraine in this war because it's not just a Russian issue now. That was a heartbreaking hard decision.' She has since been offered citizenship by Iceland and there are no shortage of territories keen to host Riot Days. Maria 'Masha' Vladimirovna Alyokhina of Pussy Riot | Contributed Alyokhina may be the lightning rod but she is supported by a tight collective of fellow activists and performers, most of whom join her on the call from different locations. Producer Alexander Cheparukhin has been an advocate from the start. 'What happened to Pussy Riot shocked me because I had never encountered a situation where artists have been sent to prison for their artistic action,' he says. He visited them in prison as a representative of a human rights organisation and used his connections as a festival promoter to garner high-profile support from Paul McCartney and Peter Gabriel. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Vocalist Olga Borisova has been a member of Pussy Riot for the past decade. 'I think it's fair to say we lost our lives we had before to tell this story to other people,' she says. 'A year ago they opened a new criminal case against all of us and we cannot go back to Russia. We paid our price to tell this story. It gives you strength but that's all we've got.' Composer Alina Petrova won't even name her chief musical collaborator, the one member of the Riot Days company who remains in Moscow. Together, they worked up the soundtrack to complement the latest visuals. 'It's much more brutal,' she says, 'and we have some moments we show on the screen that are very uncomfortable for people to see but it's important to show. It doesn't mean that we should make slogans. Art doesn't need to shout to be political, art could whisper, it could ask questions or simply reveal what is often hidden.' Drummer Eric Breitenbach is new to the group, having previously collaborated with legendary dub artist Lee 'Scratch' Perry as a member of Vancouver metal band New Age Doom. 'The live performance is a call to action to the audience, urging them not to be indifferent and to pay attention to what is happening in the world,' he says. Borisova is even more blunt. 'In times of crisis, silence becomes complicity and art becomes one of the last places where complexity can still breathe,' she says. 'Political art is not just about protest, it's about attention and care and also about making meaning where meaning has been erased.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Make sure you keep up to date with Arts and Culture news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here. The group are interested to hear that for the duration of the Fringe and beyond, the Steve McQueen-curated Resistance exhibition at the National Gallery's Modern Two will be celebrating a century of protest in Britain as documented by its photojournalists. Everywhere Pussy Riot go, they tap into local concerns and movements, ignite conversations and strengthen cross-border bonds. Alyokhina has been particularly struck by the reaction to Trump's disruptive second term. 'The new wave of protest is still under formation,' she says. 'This term is more brutal than the first one and a lot of people decided to leave the country immediately. They have migration, brutal conditions and deportation prisons but they don't have war and pure censorship and they already started to run.' As for Edinburgh, alliances can be struck in an altogether safer environment. 'I think it's great that there is a place for political art in a festival known more for comedy,' says Borisova. 'I hope to see lots of people that just got lost and are having fun.'
CBC
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Pussy Riot brings their punk rock protest to Canada
Pussy Riot — to themselves, their fans and even academics — aren't just a music group. "They're, like, more than just a band," explained fan Matthew Lipke, waiting outside their recent show at Lee's Palace in Toronto. "They're like a movement." For others who headed to the collective's Riot Days tour, the sentiment was the same: The songs are good, but the Russian musicians represent a protest streak, with importance both in their home country and right here in Canada. "I think that Pussy Riot provides an incredible example of activist art that can actually become part of popular culture," added filmmaker, scholar and curator — and fellow fan waiting in line — Marusya Bociurkiw. "Which, I think, they sort of have." Message began with charges in Russia That message got its start in 2012, when the punk rockers were charged for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after filming a "punk prayer" protest video inside a cathedral. The target of their protest was both the Russian Orthodox church and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the former of whom they accused of corruption in supporting the latter. It was from that event their public image stuck — colourful balaclava-wearing activists speaking out for LGBTQ+ rights, and against what they saw as autocracy and anti-democratic actions. And shortly after that protest came the event that led to their biggest publicity: Founding members Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova and Maria (Masha) Alyokhina were arrested and imprisoned for two years. A third member — Yekaterina (Kat) Samutsevich — was similarly arrested, but released soon after. A Moscow judge convicted them later that year, saying they had "crudely undermined social order." 'High-water mark of Russian opposition activities' The backlash was widespread and nearly immediate. World governments decried the punishments as disproportionate, excessively harsh and a violation of fundamental rights and freedoms. "It was probably the high-water mark of Russian opposition activities," said Seva Gunitsky, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto. The group's liberal stance against Putin and attempt to present what they felt were civil rights violations inside the country to an international audience was an eye-opening cause célèbre — most notably outside of Russia. "It was one of the first times that the idea of a liberal Russian opposition entered Western consciousness," he said. "It showed to the West that, first of all, there is an opposition, and there's an active liberal opposition in Russia. But also that they're very much connected to the West and represent the same values." Thirteen years, numerous arrests and many new members later (dozens of people could be considered part of Pussy Riot, as the feminist art collective believes anyone can be a participant) that message continues. The tour is equal parts play and concert; its first leg was based on Alyokhina's book of the same name, detailing her experiences in the Russian criminal system. The current show is based on her second book, set to release in 2025, detailing her post-prison experiences, highlighting protests, oppression and the story of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died at age 47 in a prison in Siberia in 2024. Proceeds will go to support Ukrainian relief and Russian political prisoners. Their Canadian concert dates mark the group's first international performances since the show launched in Munich earlier this year. But as the show continues — its current leg has half of its shows in Canada — their presence inside their home country has diminished. Alyokhina fled Russia in 2022, disguised as a food courier. She was under house arrest at the time — as part of one of the numerous charges levied at the group's members as Putin's government cracked down on dissent. That came to a head following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched that same year. Since then, new laws meant spreading information that went against the government's narrative about the war could lead to sentences of up to 15 years in prison. WATCH | Russia's misinformation law dictates how journalists can refer to actions in Ukraine: Kremlin tightens grip on Russians' access to media with misinformation law 3 years ago Duration 1:54 President Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on media and information in Russia, signing into power a new law that could see journalists sentenced to 15 years in prison for straying from the country's approved narrative on what is happening in Ukraine. With that punishment hanging over their heads, the majority of Pussy Riot followed Alyokhina's lead in fleeing. At the same time, liberal opposition all but disappeared in the country, Gunitsky said. "Inside Russia, groups like Pussy Riot have very little cultural capital nowadays," he said. "Groups that used to do things like go to concerts by Pussy Riot have been very much marginalized, arrested or have simply left the country — along with millions of people who might have felt any affinity for liberal values." Similar theme in Canada They have instead found root in the West. That's true in Canada, as well, Gunitsky said, where the "punk rock aesthetic" of rebelling against what can be perceived as a bullying government — in this case, the United States — has found some degree of sympathy. Edmonton-born musician margø, who is opening for Pussy Riot, sees the collective's cause as being equally as important to activists in North America. As their specific anti-Putin message has blossomed into a more widespread support of marginalized groups all over the world, she said she hopes audience members are able to take that sentiment home. "I hope that they leave feeling inspired to make a positive change in the world," she said. "And hopefully everyone in the room leaves feeling that energy of 'Everyone belongs. Everyone should feel safe. And I want to carry that into my everyday life.'" And broadcasting that message from the Pussy Riot Stage, margø said, is one of the greatest honours of her 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," she said.
