Pussy Riot's Plight Spotlighted on 60 Minutes ::Pussy Riot News ::antiMusic.com

Pussy Riot's Plight Spotlighted on 60 Minutes

03/26/2013
. (Radio.com) It's been over a year since members of Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot were detained for speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, but don't think the band is feeling remorse for its actions.

"I'm here to say you shouldn't give up," said the band's drummer, referred to only as "Kot," in Pussy Riot's interview Sunday night (March 24) with CBS's 60 Minutes. "What happened to us is unacceptable."

"Kot" was not one of the three members of Pussy Riot arrested in March 2012 following the band's February protest, and thus, hid her identity with one of the balaclavas the group is known for wearing.

However, Yekaterina Samutsevich, one of members arrested (and now freed), was also interviewed during the 60 Minutes segment. She maintained Pussy Riot's innocence from the charges they faced (hooliganism motivated by religious hatred) and stressed that they "want the government to leave power, because we consider it illegitimate. But we're advocating for a peaceful overthrow."

The protest was conducted at the Moscow cathedral, an imposing structure located next to the Kremlin, on February 21, 2012, to bring attention to the repressive Russian government led by Putin. By that night, the collective had taken footage shot during the protest and made it into a music video titled "Punk Prayer � Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!". Samutsevich, along with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were arrested in the protest's wake. Though all three were convicted in an August trial, Samutsevich was freed on probation in October after an appeal, but her two bandmates remain imprisoned until March 2014. more on this story

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