Masha Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova were recently mentioned in an open letter by anonymous members of Pussy Riot and are now speaking out about it.

The open letter, sent out on February 5 just before the Amnesty International Human Rights Concert where Nadya and Masha appeared, said a lot about the group as a whole and the two women at the concert. The letter stated that the writers “are very pleased with Masha’s and Nadya’s release,” as well as their determination to continue standing up against struggle. However, the Pussy Riot members who wrote the open letter do not think that Nadya and Masha are headed in the direction they should be and are therefore no longer members of the group.

Brooklyn Vegan posted the original open letter and the response from Masha and Nadya. The response indicates that both of the women do not believe the letter matches up with the beliefs and values of Pussy Riot as a whole and they are unsure of who wrote it.

Pussy Riot has been in headlines for quite a while due to their imprisonment in Siberia, but since the release of Nadya and Masha they have been in the news separately – including an appearance on The Colbert Report.