Pussy Riot members Nadya (Nadezhda Tolokonnikova) and Masha (Maria Aloykhina) stand united in a Moscow district court . The Russian punk rock activists completed 22 months of a 2 year sentence, released early due to ridicule from around the globe threatening the turnout of the upcoming 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
While imprisoned, the acts of moral indecency towards the prisoners were so severe that it inspired both women to launch a movement in Russia, now focusing their activism on prisoners’ rights.
“You cannot frighten someone who has been to Russian prison,” Tolokonnikova says.
“The authorities have made a grave mistake by jailing us. We emerged from prison even stronger and more resolute”
The Pussy Riot members were charged with hooliganism after a 40-second performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow that was critical of President Vladimir Putin. See “A Punk Prayer”: http://bit.ly/1exEAlo
Putin released the members of Pussy Riot, as part of a still undefined Amnesty Decree from the Russian parliament in what’s considered to be a last-minute scramble to save the Winter Olympics.
“This selective amnesty was not an act of humanism. It was only aimed at reducing tensions in relations with the west,” Tolokonnikova said. “It happened because Putin is afraid that Olympic Games in Sochi will be boycotted.”
