When it comes to groups that can harness the power of art and culture to resist, there is one name that comes to mind: Pussy Riot.
This event is a rare chance to hear directly from the legendary Russian collective’s founder member Maria Alyokhina, who served time in a penal colony after performing the punk prayer Virgin Mary, Banish Putin with her friends at the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and eventually escaped from Russia dressed as a delivery food courier in the face of a new prison sentence. She talks to Oliver Bullough, author of the best-selling Butler to the World and award-winning investigative journalist.
Providing inspiration to a new generation of activists, Alyokhina, author of Political Girl, shares first-hand experiences of the way Russia treats dissidents, emphasises the importance of grassroots opposition and explains how she continues to oppose Putin’s regime.
And as the UK government tightens restrictions on protests, learn from Alyokhina why standing up to state-sanctioned repression is vital.
