Fresh from performing Glastonbury, diminutive Pussy Riot member Masha (Maria Alekhina) is taking the stage to publicise Zona.Media, an NGO and independent voice in the Russian media that Pussy Riot launched late last year.
Zona Media exposes case-by-case legal misjustice and prison abuses across Russia, which is reported to have returned to Gulag-era conditions under Putin’s autocratic rule. Masha and Nadja experienced these conditions first-hand, serving a two-year sentence for playing a gig in a church in 2012 – deemed “hooliganism” – when they were just 22.
As Pussy Riot are returning even stronger to their political roots, they’re also channelling their energy into musical collaborations and support of Russia’s alternative youth cultures. Wednesday night’s show includes sets from Siberian garage-blues band The Jack Wood and post-punk decadence from Moscow’s Scofferlane.
Thurston Moore, veteran voice of the American underground and DIY musical collaborations, will also be performing with his band, having struck up a friendship with Masha and Nadja in New York last year.
Thurston, who’s been speaking out against political oppression recently – cancelling an Israel gig in support of the boycott movement – told us, “It’s an honour to participate with Pussy Riot on this event tomorrow – they’re one of the most radical and uncompromising movements of Punk.”
Pussy Riot presents Zona Media, feat. Thurston Moore, The Jack Wood and Scofferlane, Village Underground, Wednesday July 1 (19:00-23:00)
Tickets available here.
Credits
Text Sharon Thiruchelvam
Photography Bruce Weber
Photography assistance Chris Domurat, Ryan Brinkmann, Jeff Tautrim.
Production Little Bear Inc.
Production assistance Reynaldo Herrera.
Shot in Golden Beach, Florida.