YOUR FAVORITE LOGO TV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

Two Pussy Riot Members Detained For Protesting Ukrainian Filmmaker's Imprisonment

Formed in 2011, the Moscow music collective and activist group rebels against Russia’s authoritative regime and anti-LGBT policies.

Maria Alyokhina and Olga Borisova of Russian punk rock band and activist group Pussy Riot were reportedly arrested in Serbia after protesting the imprisonment of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.

Sentsov, who hails from the Crimean Peninsula, was convicted in 2015 of conspiracy to commit terror attacks. Authorities in Russia sentenced him to 20 years in prison—a move that many saw as politically motivated.

The Pussy Riot members were detained on a road in Serbia near the prison, where they were holding a sign that read "Free Sentsov."

Borisova and Alyokhina were held for "five, six hours" before a court hearing, Borisova wrote on Facebook. After waiting another hour in court, the Pussy Riot members were released.

"They let us go. That's all it is," Borisova wrote.

Formed in 2011, the Moscow music collective and activist group rebels against Russia's authoritative regime and anti-LGBT policies.

The group famously staged a performance protesting Putin at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 2012—which landed two of the group's members, including Alyokhina, in jail on charges of "hooliganism."

The group received ample press in the West, with Amnesty International jumping on board to defend their cause. After serving 21 months each, Alyokhina and fellow bandmate Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were released in December 2013.

Latest News