Mariya Alyokhina

In the winter of 2011, after a controversial election, Vladimir Putin was reinstalled as president of Russia. In response, hundreds of thousands of citizens rose up all over the country to challenge the legitimacy of Putin’s rule. Among them were a group of young, radical-feminist punk rockers, better known as Pussy Riot. Wearing colored balaclavas, tights, and summer dresses, they entered Moscow’s most venerated cathedral and dared to sing “Mother Mary, Banish Putin!” Now they have become victims of a “show” trial.

In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.

Pussy Riot: The Movement embarks on the odyssey of the girls who rocked a country and continue to fight for human rights throughout the world. Documentary follows Masha Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich through their harsh two year sentences for playing music to their freedom. What started as a punk rock collective has catapulted to a world movement for human rights.

Russian activists Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samutsevich decide to separate from the well-known activist group Voina and create their own group named Pussy Riot that would express their ideas of female independence, combining activism, feminism, and punk rock music. Their defeat in court becomes their moral victory, as Pussy Riot are cheered on by thousands of their new-found fans.

A two-part documentary film about the state of Russia’s prisons today. In-depth interviews with former inmates of all stripes, including those convicted of political, economic, and violent crimes.

"Puss Riot and other sins" - The Putin system is taking on more and more features of the Soviet system. The big fear and paranoia returns.

When Maria Alekhina and other members of the Pussy Riot group were tried for an action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Orthodox activist Dmitry Enteo strongly advocated punishing the girls. Now Alekhina and Enteo spend a lot of time together. Last week, with activists from The Other Russia, they went to the Ministry of Justice to conduct a public Bible reading — as a demonstration of their constitutional right to read the Holy Scriptures (and any other books) in public — without permission from officials.

The documentary project The Term was conceived in May 2012. When the directing trio commenced mapping the Russian sociopolitical landscape, Vladimir Putin had just settled into the Kremlin for his third term. The original experimental format of “documentary bulletins,” which were published daily online, allowed for wide-ranging content; in the feature film version, however, the filmmakers focused solely on the members of various opposition groups. Nevertheless, the work’s neutral position remains and viewers have to interpret the objectively presented situations for themselves. The main characteristics of this strongly authentic movie include close contact with the protagonists, precise editing, and an effectively controlled release of information.

Riot Days is an inventive and shocking performance based on the memoirs of Maria Alyokhina from Pussy Riot. With this performance, one of the main art groups in the world traveled to more than 200 countries in Europe, the USA, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. The performance received many prestigious awards, and also gathered an enthusiastic press.

“I want to show things how they are.” Meet Maria (Masha) Alyokhina of the Russian activist movement Pussy Riot, who has been protesting against the regime of Vladimir Putin through public, colourful and non-violent actions for over a decade. “The system pretends to have a serious face. That’s how they want the fear to go inside you and paralyse you. And we believe that the smile and humour break this fear.” Maria Alyokhina describes today’s Russia as a totalitarian regime and the development since 2012 as “the road to hell”, reaching a low point with the attack against Ukraine in 2022.

This chronicle of Russian musical group Pussy Riot explores how they morphed from an obscure feminist protest band to an international cause celebre.