Russian authorities have handed down harsh prison sentences to five Pussy Riot members, intensifying the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent.
Anastasia “Taso” Pletner, 28, was sentenced in absentia to 11 years behind bars after staging a provocative anti-Putin performance in Germany. During her protest at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne art museum, she appeared in a red balaclava, climbed onto a table, and urinated on a portrait of Vladimir Putin. Russian prosecutors later tied this performance and the group’s anti-war video Mama, Don’t Watch TV to charges of “extremism.”
The sentences ranged from 8 to 13 years. Veteran Pussy Riot figure Maria Alyokhina received the longest term (13 years), while Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot, and Alina Petrov were each sentenced to eight years. All five women currently live abroad and maintain that the charges are politically motivated rather than criminal.
Pussy Riot has long been a thorn in the Kremlin’s side. The group first made global headlines in 2012 when members performed a protest inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which led to jail time for several activists, including Alyokhina.
This latest verdict comes at a moment of heightened tensions between Russia and the West. Just days earlier, Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace, forcing NATO allies to scramble jets. While the drones carried no warheads, Western officials described the breach as a test of NATO’s defenses.
Ukraine’s UN envoy Andriy Melnyk warned that if such provocations go unanswered, Moscow could push further. He suggested that strikes on Berlin, Paris, London or even U.S. targets cannot be ruled out if the West continues to show restraint. The Institute for the Study of War also assessed that the incursion was deliberate, designed to probe NATO’s resolve.
For Pussy Riot, the prison sentences highlight how far the Kremlin is willing to go to silence opposition voices. For Europe and its allies, the drone incident underscores the growing risk that Putin could escalate beyond Ukraine if unchecked.
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