How wonderful is it to be living at the same time as Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist protest punk rock group based in Moscow, who continuously put their safety and lives on the line every single time they take a stand for what’s right. Founded in August 2011, their provocative guerrilla performances in public places, performances that were filmed as music videos and posted on the Internet, performances that mean something, is almost eclipsed by the fact these are real human beings behind their message. Instead of grumbling when we see something we don’t like, or agree with, we should just be happy that the brave and powerful Pussy Riot exist, that they changed music and politics, that they’re working towards a better world. I know many musicians inspired by Pussy Riot taking up causes like feminism, LGBT rights, and opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin (or, in these artists’ cases, whoever is in power in their own country), to use music as a weapon, their lyrics as actions, and their voice to be heard.
This is why, right now, you need to support them. The group has a few weeks left of their Kickstarter campaign, and once I finish writing this line, I’m going over to the site to donate. I urge you to do the same.
Here’s the interview I did with Nadya Tolokonnikova last week.
