Nadya Tolokonnikova, co-founder of Russian art collective and feminist protest group Pussy Riot, was been indicted by the country’s Investigative Committee this week. It’s far from the first time she or the rest of the group have been under the ire of the Russian government – just recently, Pussy Riot was officially labeled an extremist organization – but it’s still shocking escalation in the tense tale of conflict between the music group and government. As Billboard reports, Tolokonnikova’s indictment comes as a result of her allegedly violating “foreign agent law,” which also had her added to the federal watch list according to representatives for Pussy Riot.
Tolokonnikova, who has previously faced arrest in the country, was accused of violating Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the national criminal code, which regards actions and offenses on “foreign agents” such as failing to properly register or label posts on social media. Punishments for these violations can rack up to 2 years of prison time. Tolokonnikova was designated as a “foreign agent” in December of 2021, and she was found guilty by the Krasnoyarsk Krai Court twice in 2024 for violating regulations and later failing to label social messages as being produced by a foreign agent.
Just recently, on March 27th, Pussy Riot staged a protest at the Manhattan offices of the tech company Ubiquinti, protesting over claims that the company’s Wi-Fi equipment is being used by Russian troops in the Ukraine War. Tolokonnikova even shared a statement in a video released alongside these protests. The future for Tolokonnikova and the collective is uncertain following the indictment, but given their track record and staunch stances against injustices of the Russian government and other groups, it’s a safe bet to assume that Pussy Riot won’t take this revelation lying down.
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