Actions - Pussy Riot

These actions are archived and translated from the original Pussy Riot blog (which existed at pussy-riot.info) from 2011-2014. The statement from the 2018 World Cup / Policeman enters the Game was archived from the collective’s official Facebook Channel. They are preserved here for archival and legacy purposes of the video, photos, and original official statements made by the collective. The videos are sourced from various official channels.

The original russian-language version can be accessed on the Wayback Machine here.

The logbook of feminist punk group Pussy Riot

2011

Nov 7

Free the Cobblestones

In November 2011, Pussy Riot publicly performed for the first time, singing “Release the Cobblestones” from atop a scaffold in the Moscow metro. Released on the anniversary of the 1917 Revolution, the song urges Russians to protest the upcoming State Duma elections.

2011

Dec 1

Kropotkin Vodka

The last action, “Free the Cobblestones” took place at the public transportation platforms of Moscow, where Pussy Riot campaigned for people to free the cobblestones. This time they decided to perform at places where there are the richest Putinists. The 2000s depoliticization and consumption of stupefying style created a phenomenon known as "Putin’s glamour", which has become an important factor in modern politics and is founded on passivity, conformism and non-interference.”

2011

Dec 14

Death to Prison, Freedom to Protest

Pussy Riot performed their next song titled “Death to Prison, Freedom to Protest,” only once, on December 14, 2011. Utilizing a step ladder they brought with them, three Pussy Riot members climbed onto the rooftop of the Moscow Special Detention & performed for inmates including Alexei Navalny, Ilya Yashin, and Peter Verzilov.

2012

Jan 20

Putin Has Pissed Himself

Performed on January 20, 2012, over a month after “Death to Prison, Freedom to Protest,” the one and only performance of “Putin’s Pissed Himself ” featured eight Pussy Riot members in total—the most for any of their performances—and was held on top of the famous Lobnoye Mesto on Red Square, Moscow. Both the rise in participants and the chosen location reveals the group’s increasingly bold and daring nature of their performances.

2012

Feb 21

Punk Prayer

In their most internationally famous act, Pussy Riot performed “Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Chase Putin Away” or “Punk Prayer” at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on February 21, 2012.The video footage that went viral online and was later used against Pussy Riot in court actually contained footage from two separate performances of the song: one at the Epiphany Cathedral at Yelokhovo on February 19, 2012 and the other at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

2013

Jul 16

Like a Red Prison

Pussy Riot launched a nationwide protest tour targeting oil facilities, performing their song 'Like a Red Prison' written by Nadya Tolokonnikova from prison. The action highlighted Russia's oil wealth distribution, criticizing Putin's control over 7 trillion rubles in oil revenue while activists faced imprisonment. The protest included symbolic takeovers of oil pumps and gas stations across Russia.

2013

Sep 23

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova Declares Hunger Strike

Nadya Tolokonnikova announces a hunger strike from September 23, 2013, protesting inhumane conditions at Mordovian penal colony IK-14. She details 16-hour workdays, slave labor conditions, and threats from prison officials. The protest follows failed attempts to address violations of prisoners' rights and threats to her life from the deputy head of the colony.

2014

Feb 20

Putin Will Teach You How to Love

Weeks after leaving prison, and directly into the fray again, Pussy Riot protested for political prisoner Evgeny Vitishko and against the olympics being held in Russia. They were beaten and whipped in the video.

2018

Jul 15

Policemen Enters the Game

During the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, Pussy Riot staged a protest performance 'Policeman Enters the Game', contrasting the idealized 'heavenly policeman' with Russia's repressive reality. The action demanded freedom for political prisoners, an end to arrests for social media activity, and political competition, while referencing poet Dmitriy Prigov's symbolic policeman imagery.