‘Never ask a Russian woman how she is’

A Wednesday morning in early September, 9 am. A video call with five members of the ‘Riot Days’ ensemble is scheduled. The group led by Pussy Riot activist Maria ‘Masha’ Alyokhina tells their story in the show of the same name – from the famous protest at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, through imprisonment and repression, to their escape from Russia. But at first, no one appears.

Then the first person joins the call. The camera remains off. The name displayed: Alina.

Good morning! Where did you wake up this morning, Alina?

Alina Petrova: In the town of Wehlen in Germany, near the Czech border. I’ve been an artist in residence here for a while.

What are you doing at ‘Riot Days’?

Alina: I’m a composer and multi-instrumentalist. I open the show alone on stage with my violin. I’ve been with Pussy Riot since 2022, when I left Russia.

And tomorrow?

Alina: Tomorrow I have to carry on to Berlin. My residency ends here. I’m actually always on the move. I don’t have a home anymore. Until last year, I was married and lived in Barcelona for almost three years. Then my husband left me. For the past nine months, I’ve been moving from one place to the next. To be honest: it feels absolutely rubbish. And I can’t go back to Russia. In 2025, I was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.

Why?

Alina: Among other things, because I joined Pussy Riot. That was a conscious decision, and I don’t regret it. In Russia, I’m now considered a terrorist and an extremist. The Russian Embassy won’t issue me with any more documents. I can’t even get a certificate of civil status or a criminal record extract. Physically, I exist, but on paper I practically no longer do.

How do you cope with that?

Alina: Those aren’t even my only problems. I have multiple sclerosis. All of this together is a bit much for a girl weighing 37 kilos. But what can I do? So much of it is beyond my control.

What helps you to carry on?

Alina: Sport. I do calisthenics and go bouldering.

Three more participants join the call at the same time: Maria ‘Masha’ Alyokhina, Taso Pletner and Eric Breitenbach.

Auf deinem neuen Album legst du dich mit den Techkonzernen an. Was stört dich an ihnen?

Wie abhängig wir von ihnen geworden sind. Wie viel Privatsphäre wir freiwillig opfern. Wie gläsern wir geworden sind. Und wie hörig wir ihnen folgen.

Du bist als Musiker selbst von diesen Konzernen abhängig.

Ja, nehmen wir nur die Streamingplattformen. Viele checken gar nicht, dass ihr Plattenregal heute bloss noch virtuell ist und sie es eigentlich nur leihen. Wenn sie den Anbieter wechseln, ist es weg. Dann kannst du wieder grübeln, wie der geile Jungle-Track von 1994 hiess. Dafür können wir uns bei meinem hochgeschätzten Namensvetter Daniel Ek und all den anderen Grüseln bedanken, die uns mit ihren Subscriptions an sich binden.

Du könntest dich ja von den Streamingplattformen verabschieden.

Glaub mir, ich habe es mir schon mehr als einmal vorgenommen. Aber dann hätte das natürlich auch Konsequenzen für meine Musik. Ein nicht geringer Prozentsatz meiner Hörerinnen und Hörer würde schlicht wegbrechen. Ist einfach so.

Die Techkonzerne versprechen uns, dass künstliche Intelligenz unser Leben noch einfacher machen wird. Und sorgen schlussendlich dafür, dass die Leute auf der Strasse stehen.

Wenn AI wirklich so gut ist, dann können wir doch die CEOs ersetzen. Dann sparen all die Unternehmer am meisten Geld. Lasst die Arbeiter arbeiten und entlasst das Management! Ich meine: Wenn du irgendeinen an der Migros-Kasse entlässt, sparst du ja nicht gross. Ausserdem fällt dann genau das weg, was das Pöstelen zu etwas macht, was nicht auch ein Roboter erledigen könnte: die Interaktion. Einen Schwatz an der Kasse. Ein gegenseitiges Wahrnehmen. Sonst kann man die Läden ja gleich komplett abschaffen und nur noch online bestellen. Also: CEOs weg, Arbeiter behalten.

Also besser Elon Musk, Sam Altman und Peter Thiel ersetzen.

Vielleicht ist das ja auch schon passiert! Eigentlich müsste man dringend mal nachschauen, ob das nicht längst Roboter sind.

Die Täuschung wird sowieso immer perfekter, man weiss ja in der digitalen Welt kaum mehr, mit wem man kommuniziert. Aber was bringt uns diese Technologie eigentlich?

Was hat AI bis jetzt wirklich verbessert? Sind deswegen in der Medizin schon Quantensprünge gemacht worden? Ist das Armutsproblem gelöst? Nein, aber man kann das Bild einer Frau nehmen und sie sich nackt darstellen lassen. Grandios. Man kann einfach besser scammen und besser faken. Ich könnte zum Beispiel während unseres Videocalls so tun, als würde ich in einem Privatjet sitzen, und damit die Illusion erzeugen, dass ich mit meiner Musik Millionen scheffle.

Und zur Überwachung eignet sich die Technologie ebenfalls.

Genau. Schau dir mal an, was in England oder den USA passiert. Überall Kameras, die Gesichter erkennen können.

Is Pussy Riot actually successful?

Eric: The concerts are well attended. I’m amazed at how many people really want to listen and understand. After the show, lots of people come to talk to us. Some have tears in their eyes.

Masha: Nobody knows what will ultimately bring down this dictatorship. But I believe that every single person and every group that carries on in some way makes a difference. People in the former Soviet Union grew up with the idea that their voice is worthless. We were brought up to sit quietly in a corner and obey orders. Anyone who speaks out gets into trouble. And yet I see people everywhere who carry on regardless.

But the majority of your audience lives in the West.

Masha: Yes. But we’re trying to build mutual understanding on a human level. The bridge between the West and countries like Russia has broken down. In the West, these regions are portrayed as dangerous, gloomy places. But that’s not the case. People live there. And for me, it’s important to use our story to help Ukraine. Through the show, we’re raising money for a children’s hospital in Kyiv and supporting an organisation that provides food to people in villages on the front line.

Eric: Our art won’t topple the dictatorship on its own. But dictators invest a great deal of energy in censoring and banning art. Apparently, they, too, believe that art can make a difference.

At the start of the war, it was often said in the West that Russia couldn’t sustain it economically for long.

Masha: Oh really? (bitter laugh) We’re in the fifth year of the war! Navalny and his team had compiled a list of around 6,000 names – Russians who, in their view, should have been subject to sanctions. Nothing happened. And believe me: Russia has the resources to continue this war. They have virtually unlimited supplies of gas and oil. But there is one positive point: the people in Russia have had enough. It’s just that they have no weapons for a revolution and hardly any means of organising themselves. Nevertheless, they are finding ways to show that they want peace. Some Russians have even joined the Ukrainian army.

And what if negotiations take place with Putin to end the war?

Masha: If someone like Trump comes along, negotiates with Putin and carves up Ukraine – do you really think Putin will just stop after that? Nobody gives a shit about Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. To us Russians, it all sounds rather funny.

Back to the action in the cathedral. You’ve been rehearsing it for months. Can you rehearse a revolution?

Masha: (laughs) You’re asking me if you can rehearse a revolution? That’s a funny question. You should ask Yevgeny Prigozhin. Do you remember his march on Moscow in June 2023? He marched from Ukraine towards Moscow with his Wagner mercenaries. Finally, when he was just 200 kilometres from Moscow, the Belarusian President Lukashenko rang him on behalf of the Kremlin and, in his pleasant voice, asked him to please call it off. So they turned back. Two months later, Prigozhin’s plane crashed.

But of course, people do prepare. Nadya and I were released from the penal colony at the end of 2013. Shortly afterwards, we flew to Kyiv. The fires were still burning on the Maidan; people were still in the square. We spoke to them. Yes, they had prepared themselves – but only in response to what was happening. Every revolution is a reaction. People go out to demonstrate peacefully, the state reacts, and they react to that in turn. And at some point, the moment comes when people say: ‘Enough is enough.’ Any experience of political action can be useful at such a moment.

Why, then, do people in Russia put up with so much? Is it fear?

Masha: It’s a fear that has been passed down through generations. People in Russia are afraid of losing their lives. People in the West are afraid of losing their standard of living.

Alina: First you’re afraid of losing your standard of living. Then your life.

Masha: There’s an old Russian joke: a father and his son are taken to a penal colony. The son looks around and asks, ‘Dad, where are we?’ And the father says, ‘I don’t know. I’m not interested in politics.’

‘Riot Days’ at the Dynamo in Zurich on 24 September 2026