Nadya Tolokonnikova – the artist, activist and co-founder of the politically charged group Pussy Riot – has been put on a wanted list by Russian authorities. The Associated Press reports, citing the Russian Interior Ministry’s database of wanted persons. The list was first discovered and reported by a Russian news agency media zone (founded by Pussy Riot). The entry confirms that Tolokonnikova faces criminal charges but does not provide details of the charges.
Earlier this month, Russian human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov specified that Tolokonnikova, as an independent news website, will be charged with “offending religious sentiment”. Medusa mention, that. The news comes just weeks after Tolokonnikova and the Pussy Riot collective released footage of their latest protest piece: “Putin’s Ashes.” The piece was created last summer when Pussy Riot burned a giant painting of the Russian president and then pierced the earth where his ashes fell.
According to translations of court documents shared with Pitchfork by the Pussy Riot team, Tolokonnikova is under investigation for images on her Instagram account that the Russian government deems offensive to Christianity. The translation also describes a Pussy Riot NFT (Virgin Mary, please become a feminist) and called it “an expression of apparent disrespect for the iconic image of the Virgin Mary, which is presented in an obscene form such that the image is externally perceived as resembling the anatomical details of the female external genitalia”.
The law that Tolokonnikova allegedly breaks (Part 1 of Article 148 of the Russian Criminal Code) was introduced in response to “Punk Prayer,” an anti-Putin performance by Pussy Riot that took place in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow in 2012 . The law that Tolokonnikova refers The Pussy Riot Article punishes people who violate the religious beliefs of others. (Tolokonnikova spent nearly two years in a labor camp for her involvement in Punk Prayer.)
Since her release from prison, Tolokonnikova has remained an avid critic of Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime, organizing numerous protests over the past decade and also being arrested on a number of occasions. In 2020 she wrote a comment The New York Times about her ongoing struggle against oppression and autocracy in her home country. In 2021, Tolokonnikova fled Russia after the government officially labeled her a foreign agent.
Pussy Riot are scheduled to receive the Woody Guthrie Prize on May 6th in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The award is presented annually to an artist who “best embodies Guthrie’s spirit and work, creating impact through music, film, literature, dance, or other art forms and serving as a positive force for social change.”
Source : pitchfork.com