Maria Alyokhina's new book, Riot Days, chronicles the story of Pussy Riot, from their infamous punk protest performances on Moscow's Red Square and in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, through to their arrest, trial and eventual imprisonment in Russia's penal colonies. What followed were countless news stories illustrated by photographs of the women wearing their signature rainbow-bright balaclavas, and debates about how a government could crack down on such a comparatively small, non-violent protest. Widely regarded as political prisoners, Maria and Pussy Riot used their time in prison to improve the lives of their fellow inmates, before their release 21 months later.
While the book is a fascinating and important look into what happened to the group leading up to 2012 – relayed through scribbled drawings and hard-to-read details of the conditions in the colonies – what's most striking is its universality. "It's for everyone who wants to take action," Maria explains. "It's not dissident literature. I wanted it to be for a 19-year-old girl in Argentina who doesn't know anything about Russia or Putin. It's for those who just want to be themselves and have a voice in their society."
While punk rock protests and face-covering balaclavas may not be relatable to most people, this year we've seen what ramifications are in store for those who speak out. Munroe Bergdorf not only lost her L'Oréal contract but received death threats for weeks after calling out institutional racism and white privilege. When NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt during the US national anthem at a game in 2016 to highlight the oppression of black people, American sports fans burnt their Kaepernick jerseys, and many argue that he's still being frozen out of a new team contract due to his politics. And after years of fear and silence, the women who have come forward to bring to light the vile actions of Harvey Weinstein have faced sexism, judgement and victim-blaming.
Scroll through the news and it's easy to see how protesting can impact your life. But as Maria points out, in the face of such hopelessness and uphill struggle, "It's necessary to unite and remind yourself what you are standing for." Reading her electric book will galvanise you to take a stand. Click through for her advice on staying true to your cause, no matter how small, from harnessing the power of social media to taking responsibility for your actions.
Riot Days, published by Allen Lane, is available now.
"Pussy Riot is mostly about satire, humour, and making you laugh. I think humour is one of our strongest weapons. Not violence, not attacks, but making fun of leaders with serious faces. Like Putin."
"MediaZona [the alternative media outlet founded by Maria and fellow Pussy Riot member Nadezhda] was started when we were released from prison. It’s based on our worst experiences in the inner colonies: our battles with prison guards and the possibility of will in these battles. In 2014, a crisis took place and almost all of the independent Russian media crashed because a lot of people refused to write about the Ukraine as Russian territory. A lot of journalists were fired and that’s how MediaZona started, with a small group of journalists with whom we collaborated from the very beginning.
"Nobody believed that it would work. Nobody would read about prison or police violence, because it’s boring, it’s a Russian reality. But after two years, it became one of the main, most-quoted media on the Russian internet. Every other outlet has a big budget and lots of people working there, but we have only 13 journalists. But because of the growing number of political cases in Russia, and hundreds of people who have criminal cases because of their political activism, I think the information which MediaZona provides is really changing the discourse of the Russian internet."
"If you don’t agree with some media politics, you should have your say as loud as possible. You can express your opinion via social media; it’s a big power. In Russia, you can be jailed for a Facebook post. The truth is the most important thing ever, because stories change the world and words really have power to change things."
"There are questions of principle, and it’s important to be yourself and not just follow the rules which somebody created for you. You are responsible for each of your decisions. There is no hierarchy of protest – each decision is important. If you are a student and don’t agree with your teacher and you stand up in class, you are doing the same as us. We were just doing what we felt we needed to do."
"Full of hope or full of sadness, you can have lots of feelings every day. That’s not the main thing. The main thing is the decision you make and the actions you take. It’s important to do things. And you will find the truth – just don’t stop. Because history is being created every day, and it doesn’t care who felt what. It's made up of facts. We are the ones creating the facts. If there is a small number of people who continue writing, making art and protesting, when we all die, this work will be alive. It’s important."
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