Nadya Tolokonnikova, founder of the collective Pussy Riot, finds herself on the list of the most wanted criminals in Russia.
According to several sources cited by Mediazona, an independent legal news site set up by Pussy Riot to counter the attack on freedom of the press in Russia, the name of the 33-year-old musician and activist is found in the database. of the Russian Interior Ministry with others facing charges for unspecified crimes. According to a press release published by the group on Wednesday and taken up by the Decrypt site, Nadya Tolokonnikova is allegedly blamed for the creation in 2021 of an NFT depicting the Virgin Mary and which “would harm the religious feeling” of the Russian population.
Tolokonnikova, who openly criticizes Russian President Vladimir Putin – her group notably unveiled a short film called Putin’s Ashes in January – was sentenced to two years in prison in 2011 along with Maria Alyokhina, another member of Pussy Riot. The two women had been convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility” after a controversial performance inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The group nonetheless continued its actions against Russian power, including creating a Ukrainian flag NFT that raised $7 million just two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Additionally, members of Pussy Riot will receive the Woody Guthrie Award on May 6 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which exemplifies “the spirit and work of Guthrie by speaking on behalf of those less fortunate through music, film, literature, dance or other art forms and by demonstrating strength for social change”. The group, most of whose members have fled Russia, will present its multimedia show Riot Days for the first time on American soil.
