Russia has officially labelled feminist protest punk band Pussy Riot as “extremist,” a designation used to outlaw critics of President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.
A Moscow court upheld prosecution requests on Monday, banning the band’s activities across Russia. The ruling comes nearly a decade after the group first gained international attention for a 2012 protest in a Moscow church.
Since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has intensified crackdowns on dissent, banning dozens of organisations and media critical of its policies or military actions.
Pussy Riot’s lawyer, Leonid Solovyov, told independent outlet SOTAvision that the ruling is “another action that shuts up those who speak out of turn.”
The band, long-standing opponents of the Kremlin, had anticipated the decision. In a social media post last week, they said the law is intended “to erase Pussy Riot from the minds of Russian citizens.”
The “extremist” label criminalises any interaction with the group in Russia, including sharing or liking their content online, effectively banning the band within the country.
Founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova, who served two years in prison for the 2012 church protest, said on X that authorities have been planning the move “for years – since at least 2012.”
Pussy Riot activists, many of whom live in exile, have consistently criticised Putin and campaigned against the war in Ukraine.
Russian authorities already block access to thousands of websites deemed “extremist,” including Islamist content, pro-Ukraine media, and platforms owned by Meta.
The country’s list of banned material also covers fictitious groups like the “international Satanism movement” and the “international LGBT movement,” as well as over 5,000 web pages, books, artworks, political slogans, and music albums.
