Pussy Riot Members Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison Over Putin Anti-War Protests

Five members of Pussy Riot have been sentenced in absentia for a 2024 anti-war protest and their 2022 music video for “Mama, Don’t Watch TV.” As reported in Mediazona, the prison terms range from eight to 13 years for violating Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code, which criminalizes the spreading of “false information” about the armed forces.

The charges stem from an April 2024 protest at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne museum, where Pussy Riot members Maria Alyokhina, Alina Petrova, and Anastasia “Taso” Pletner condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During their performance, the group called Vladimir Putin a war criminal, and Pletner urinated on a portrait of the Russian president.

Meanwhile, prosecutors claimed Alyokhina, Pletner, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot, and Alina Petrova spread “false information” about Russian soldiers killing Ukrainian civilians in their “Mama, Don’t Watch TV” video.

In making their case, prosecutors argued that Alyokhina “holds left-wing political views” and the group members as a whole “oppose the current government” in Russia.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court sentenced co-founder Maria Alyokhina to 13 years and 15 days in prison in absentia. Taso Pletner received 11 years, while Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot, and Alina Petrova each received eight-year sentences.

Alyokhina famously escaped from Russia in April 2022 by disguising herself as a food courier amid a government crackdown on anti-war protesters.

Earlier this year, a new Russian law was passed that made it a punishable offense to merely search for content deemed “extremist.” This included several Pussy Riot videos already on the justice ministry’s list.