Pussy Riot were filming a new music video in Saint Petersburg when Russian police intervened. The band said police invoked the country’s “gay propaganda” law as justification for shutting down production.
Perennial anti-establishment figures Pussy Riot have been targeted by Russian authorities once again. The band was making a video for an unreleased song called ‘БЕСИТ / RAGE’ on Sunday February 9. But they’re now $15,000 poorer after Russia’s political police stormed the Lenfilm studios.
Watch: Pussy Riot – Make America Great Again
The band revealed the news on Instagram, inviting people to donate in order to get the video made anyway. It’s set to feature 150 activists, mostly female or queer.
“The Russian police broke into the location where Pussy Riot were filming a video for our next single ‘БЕСИТ / RAGE’,” says the band’s post. “We were accused of ‘gay propaganda’ and ‘extremism’.
“Russian political police commanded to the studio where we were shooting, ‘Lenfilm’, to cut off electricity in the whole building. Later we’ve been kicked out of the building – with no legal explanations.”
Watch: Russian police shut down ‘БЕСИТ / RAGE’ video shoot
Russia’s not exactly known for its human rights record. The gay propaganda law came into effect in 2013, but the European Court of Human Rights ruled it illegal in 2017. But despite this, Russian authorities continue to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
It’s this sort of state-ratified discrimination that motivates Pussy Riot. The band said the new single is “dedicated to a pain that we – feminists and the queer people – feel being the enemies of the state.”
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The group made headlines in 2018 after invading the pitch during the FIFA World Cup final in Moscow. The band later said it was a protest against political imprisonment, illegal arrests at public rallies and Putin’s dictatorship.
Four Pussy Riot affiliates were given 15 days in jail for the stunt, which had caused soccer fans to moan about the interruption to their precious tournament. Others called it the most interesting thing to ever happen during a soccer game.
