page_title: Pussy Riot
section_title: International support
hierarchical_section_title: Pussy Riot / Trial aftermath / International support
caption_attribution_description: English: Czyste, Warsaw, Poland
context_page_description: Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest punk rock and performance art group based in Moscow. Founded in August 2011, it has had a variable membership of approximately 11 women ranging in age from about 20 to 33. The group staged unauthorized provocative guerrilla performances in public places, performances that were filmed as music videos and posted on the Internet. The collective's lyrical themes included feminism, LGBT rights, and opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the group considered to be a dictator, and his policies. These themes also encompassed Putin's links to the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
  The group gained global notoriety when five members of the group staged a performance inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on February 21, 2012. The group's actions were condemned as sacrilegious by the Orthodox clergy and eventually stopped by church security officials. The women said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leaders' support for Putin during his election campaign. On March 3, 2012, two of the group members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were arrested and charged with hooliganism.
context_section_description: During the trial, the three women became an international cause célèbre due to their treatment. Many international artists, politicians, and musicians voiced support for the release of Pussy Riot, or expressed concern about the fairness of their trial, including Madonna, who openly expressed her support at a Moscow concert, Björk, who dedicated her song "Declare Independence" to their cause and invited them to join her on stage to perform the song with her, Paul McCartney, and Aung San Suu Kyi.
  While acknowledging the support, members of Pussy Riot distanced themselves from Western artists and reiterated their opposition to the capitalist model of art as commodity: One of them, identified as Orange, said:
  We're flattered, of course, that Madonna and Björk have offered to perform with us. But the only performances we'll participate in are illegal ones. We refuse to perform as part of the capitalist system, at concerts where they sell tickets.
  French singer Mireille Mathieu, who frequently performed in Russia, was one of the few western entertainers to speak out against Pussy Riot, saying they had committed a sacrilege. Nevertheless, she asked for "indulgence" (lenience or pardon) for the three women.
  From 2012 to 2014, The Voice Project coordinated donations through an international legal defense and support fund for Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina of during their imprisonment, which supported the women's legal expenses, supplied them with provisions while in the prison camps and child care, in addition to safety monitoring by local Russian lawyers. The Voice Project also conducted a number of viral campaigns in advocacy for the women during their imprisonment, such as the "Where is Nadya?" campaign, during Tolokonnikova's 26-day disappearance following her hunger strike, during which she was transferred to a Krasnoyarsk prison hospital. During Tolokonnikova's imprisonment, The Voice Project also made an urgent appeal to United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Méndez, requesting that the UN pressure the Russian Federation to enforce international laws on human rights and torture in regards to minimum standards set by UN protocols and the European Convention on Human Rights.
  A letter of support from 120 members of the German parliament, the Bundestag, was sent to the Russian Ambassador to Germany, Vladimir Grinin. It described proceedings against the women as disproportionate and draconian. On August 9, 2012, 200 Pussy Riot supporters in Berlin marched, wearing colored balaclavas, in a show of support for the group. Attending the trial, British MP and Shadow Foreign Office Minister for Human Rights, Kerry McCarthy, also backed the group, describing proceedings as "surreal". Lech Wałęsa criticised the church performance as "tasteless", but nevertheless wrote to Putin urging him to pardon the women.
  Amnesty International called the conviction "a bitter blow for freedom of expression". Hugh Williamson, of Human Rights Watch, stated that the "charges and verdict … distort both the facts and the law.... These women should never have been charged with a hate crime and should be released immediately." ARTICLE 19, Freedom House, and the International Federation for Human Rights also issued statements condemning the sentence. On September 21, 2012, the Feminist Press published an e-book entitled Pussy Riot! A Punk Prayer for Freedom to raise funds for the legal defense team.
  On September 22, Yoko Ono awarded the band the biennial LennonOno Grant for Peace, stating that she intended to work for the group's immediate release. In October 2012, Pussy Riot was announced as a finalist for the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov. The prize ultimately went to Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi. The city of Wittenberg, where Martin Luther nailed his Ninety Five Theses to the church door, nominated Pussy Riot for its annual Martin Luther "Fearless Speech" prize. The nomination provoked opposition from many theology experts, includ
caption: Graffiti in Warsaw, Poland
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