BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The activist of the government-critical Russian punk band Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, has not given up hope for freedom in her home country. She experienced the easing of restrictions in the 1990s and knew that Russians love freedom, that could be wonderful, Ajokhina told RBB after fleeing Russia. But this freedom is fragile and will not exist under President Vladimir Putin. Therefore, she will continue to protest against the Russian regime with Pussy Riot.
Alekhina (33) further said that one must fight against Putin and his crimes like the war in Ukraine and not stop protesting and help the victims like the Ukrainian refugees. For this she wants to go on a concert tour with her fellow fighters. This tour was already planned last year, Alyokhina told Flux FM on Wednesday. That was also a reason for fleeing Russia. A concert is planned for this Thursday evening (May 12) in Berlin.
Despite police surveillance, Alyokhina was able to escape from Russia. With the help of friends, she got to Lithuania via Belarus, as she told the New York Times and the radio stations. In order to escape from her monitors in Moscow, she disguised herself as a food delivery woman.
In April she decided to leave Russia. The police have announced that they will convert their house arrest into 21 days in a prison camp. An acquaintance brought her to the Belarusian border in a car and reached Lithuania after about a week. She was turned away twice by Belarusian border guards, but it worked the third time. An unnamed European country issued her a travel document that gave her a status similar to that of an EU citizen. This document was smuggled into Belarus. Despite everything, she hopes to be able to return to Russia at some point.
Alyokhina was sentenced to two years in a prison camp with her bandmate Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in 2012. She had protested against Putin in a Moscow church. At the end of 2013 they were pardoned and released. However, Alyokhina was repeatedly targeted by the Russian law enforcement authorities, for example in connection with demonstrations for the imprisoned Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny./rab/DP/eas