Pussy Riot added to Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists
The authorities argued that members of the group had carried out “a number of actions posing a threat to state security”, including “dancing inside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and running onto the pitch during the 2018 FIFA World Cup final in Moscow”.
Pussy Riot is a feminist punk collective that rose to prominence during the 2011–2012 protests in Russia. Its most widely known action was the punk prayer performance “Mother of God, Drive Putin Away” inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Two members of the group — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina — were each sentenced to two years in a penal colony on hooliganism charges over the protest.
Since then, the group has staged numerous demonstrations against the policies of the Russian authorities, including protests against the war in Ukraine.
In September 2025, Moscow’s Basmanny Court sentenced five members of Pussy Riot in absentia to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years on charges of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army. Maria Alyokhina received a 13-year sentence, while Taso Pletner was sentenced to 11 years. Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot and Alina Petrova were each sentenced to eight years. All of the defendants stated that they did not recognise the charges against them.
The criminal case stemmed from the group’s 2022 anti-war music video “Mama, Don’t Watch Television” and from a protest staged on 18 April 2024 at Munich’s Museum Brandhorst, during which one of the group’s members urinated on a portrait of Vladimir Putin.
In early May, members of Pussy Riot joined activists from the Ukrainian feminist movement Femen in a protest against Russia’s participation in the Venice Biennale.
In December 2025, a court in Moscow declared the group an “extremist” organisation following a lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
