Five members of Russian band Pussy Riot have received prison sentences in absentia, with terms ranging from eight to 13 years.
Per Rolling Stone, Maria Alyokhina, Diana Burkot, Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova, and Alina Petrova were handed the sentences at Basmanny District Court in Moscow on Monday.
The charges stemmed from two specific incidents that Russian authorities deemed criminal. The December 2022 music video “Mama, Don’t Watch TV” prompted allegations of spreading “false information” about the Russian military, whilst an April 2024 performance in Munich, Germany, drew further scrutiny when a member urinated on a portrait of Vladimir Putin during the show.
Mediazona, an outlet co-founded by Pussy Riot members, reported the court proceedings, where the defendants rejected all charges through their legal representatives, maintaining that both the trial and sentences represented politically motivated persecution.
Diana Burkot, who wrote the music for “Mama, Don’t Watch TV”, delivered a defiant statement defending the group’s anti-war stance. “The full-scale war against Ukraine has been going on for more than three years,” Burkot told Rolling Stone.
“And I continue to believe: Ukraine must win, and Putin must face trial in The Hague.”
Her statement expanded into broader criticism of Russian governance, describing it as “a textbook example of patriarchy — the worst kind of abuser: a tyrant, a narcissist, a gaslighter, a toxic manipulator who lives off the destruction of others’ will.”
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Burkot emphasised the importance of continued resistance, urging “every person in this world to use their voice” and describing activism as “needed like daily practice, because only together can we resist and overcome the crisis of democracy.”
The musician concluded her statement with characteristic boldness, acknowledging that whilst the Russian government has “no access to my physical body”, she maintained her position regardless. “Even if I were in Russia, I would say the same thing: go fuck yourself.”
In 2023, member Nadya Tolokonnikova was arrested in absentia and placed on Russia’s International Wanted list. Similarly, Petya Verzilov received an eight-year and four-month sentence in absentia in April 2024, before being added to the terrorists list in December 2024.
The group has maintained their activism despite legal pressures, including their June participation in “No Kings” Day demonstrations in Los Angeles. During that event, they displayed a red banner reading “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Russia”, demonstrating solidarity with American protesters whilst drawing parallels between political situations.
