Pussy Riot's cat fight?
Riot of Their Own
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina of the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot are at the top of the world right now. Last week they were introduced by Madonna during the Amnesty International concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, in front of lots of American stars, and Iman was there! Every single prominent American woman wants a piece of them, from Yoko Ono to Susan Sarandon, and as a result, I heard there were a lot of talking and not a lot of singing. Anyway, the two girls have turned rock stars, and this doesn’t seem to please their other bandmates. They posted a long letter on the band website, and if I don’t speak Russian, a lot of people who do have taken notes. The letter, signed by Cat, Garadzha, Fara, Shayba, Serafima and Shumakher, slams Nadia and Masha, reproaching them to have forgotten about their first aspiration:
‘We’re a female separatist collective. We never accept money for our performances … we only stage illegal performances in unexpected public places’, says the letter noting that selling concert tickets ‘is highly contradictory to the principles of Pussy Riot’.
Also, a man performing in a balaclava, whereas the group is strictly a feminist group only made of female members, didn’t look well to the rest of the band. They continued: ‘Unfortunately for us, they are being so carried away with the problems in Russian prisons, that they completely forgot about the aspirations and ideals of our group — feminism, separatist resistance, fight against authoritarianism and personality cult, all of which, as a matter of fact, was the cause for their unjust punishment.’
They are also furious at them for still using the moniker whereas they have said to have departed from Pussy Riot:
‘They have said in every interview that they have quit the group and no longer represent Pussy Riot, But all of their appearances are announced as appearances by Pussy Riot.’… ‘It is no secret that Masha and Nadia are no longer members of the group, and will no longer take part in radical actionism. Now they are engaged in a new project, as institutionalized advocates of prisoners’ rights. But such advocacy is hardly compatible with radical political statements and provocative works of art — just as gender conformity is not compatible with radical feminism.’… ‘Yes, we have lost two friends, two ideological teammates, but the world has acquired two brave human rights defenders — fighters for the rights of Russian prisoners’.
Beside the last sentence, that’s pretty harsh, these two women went to jail and endured horrific conditions, they have all the right to enjoy a bit of celebrity status right now! Do the other members fear that their first intentions will be hijacked by the American imperialism demonstrating that Russia is the bad guy? But Russia has a really bad guy for president right now, so where is the problem? It’s very sad that Pussy Riot got divide this way, this is what Putin wants after all, but may be Nadia and Masha got a big ego after all, may be they think they are now royalties, as the rest of the statement seems to tell us: ‘Unfortunately we cannot congratulate them in person because they refuse to have any contact with us. But we appreciate their choice and sincerely wish them well in their new career.’
It is true that some of the other members also visited the US last year and nobody heard about them, they kept a very low profile and didn’t even reveal their identity. Now they see these two strutting with Madonna and the New York elite and embracing the star system, they feel betrayed. According to Slate, Fara, one of the other Pussy Riot, declared: ‘Statements by popular musicians were a great support and we valued them a lot because it attracts a bigger audience. We are against commerce, not against those people. … We are against corporations using us as a brand or trademark. We’re not selling anything.’
And this is not going to help their reconciliation. US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, after meeting the 2 band members, has even offered to join them! It was all over her twitter feed: ‘I can’t sing, but if #PussyRiot will have me, Amb Churkin, I say our 1st concert is for Russia’s pol. prisoners. #LiveFromMatrosskayaTishina’… ‘Ambassador Churkin, I’d be honored to go on tour with #PussyRiot — a group of girls who speak up & stand for human rights. Will you join us?’
Please could someone inform Power what’s going on in the Pussy Riot world before she and Madonna join the band?
