Rage, rage, rage

Pussy Riot releases new music video in support of Alexey Navalny and all political prisoners

The Russian performance art and activist group Pussy Riot has released a new music video dedicated to political prisoners, including jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny and Pussy Riot activist Maria Alyokhina, who is currently under house arrest. The video, which stars Pussy Riot co-founder Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova, includes footage of police officers disrupting the shoot on the grounds that it constituted illegal “gay propaganda.” The video ends with a call to “free political prisoners.”

Pussy Riot has released a new music video for “Rage” — the title track of their album that’s scheduled to come out in May 2021.

Both the video and the song are dedicated to Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina, and all political prisoners. Pussy Riot activists are demanding their release, in addition to calling on Russian police officials to stop using violence against protesters.

Alexey Navalny was arrested and jailed last month after returning to Moscow from Germany, where he had spent five months in recovery after he was poisoned — allegedly by the FSB — with a Novichok-type nerve agent. Maria Alyokhina is currently under house arrest on suspicion of violating quarantine restrictions during a protest in Moscow opposing Navalny’s detention.

The “Rage” music video was filmed at the Lenfilm Studio in St. Petersburg in February 2020. At the time, the police disrupted the shoot under the pretext that the video allegedly contained “gay propaganda” and “incited hatred.” The pavilion where the shoot was taking place had its electricity and heating cut off. Law enforcement also detained 13 people involved in the shoot.