Nadia 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 site DecryptNadia Tolokonnikova would be 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 in January entitled Putin’s Ashes — had been sentenced to two years in prison in 2011 along with Maria Alyokhina, another member of Pussy Riot. The two women had been found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by hatred or religious hostility” after a controversial performance inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The group nevertheless continued its actions against the Russian power, in particular by creating an NFT of the Ukrainian flag which had made it possible to collect 7 million dollars only two days after the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
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 their multimedia show for the first time on American soil Riot Days.