Masha Alekhina and Lucy Shteyn of Pussy Riot have been detained and sentenced to 15 days in prison in Moscow, this time on grounds of “promotion of Nazi symbology.”
Alekhina, the group’s lead member who already spent nearly two years in jail for a performance, posted on Instagram moments before being held: “Right now, I’m leaving the apartment building. I’m going to be detained, transported to the police station, and given 15 days.” For what purpose? For naught? For a 2015 social media post with [Aleksandr] Lukashenko.”
According to her lawyer, the allegations stem from her instagram stories of 26 November which are actually the repost of a 2015 photograph of the Belarusian tyrant surrounded by swastikas. A snapshot on MediaZona gives a visual representation but obfuscates the swastikas, as their display may result in charges against the magazine.
Alekhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova established MediaZona upon their release from jail after their 2021 “punk prayer” performance at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral against President Vladimir Putin.
“I am considering Lukashenko being a true fascist; no one disputes it after the last year,” Alekhina stated in an Instagram post announcing her impending arrest. “As a result, I’m going to the detention facility with an unshakable conscience.”
Shteyn was arrested soon before Alekhina. He is a municipal representative in a central Moscow area. In a tweet, she shared the picture due to which she was prosecuted, in which she is represented wearing a Nazi officer’s hat and branded as a “fascist.” Ironically, she classified it as “fan art” and stated that she shared it in 2018 after taking screenshots from YouTube.
Shteyn and Alekhina, who married in 2020, spent months behind house arrest while awaiting trial on allegations of promoting violations of Covid-19 restrictions after a 23 January rally in favour of imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.
Alekhina is waiting for the formal commencement of the year long sentence with harsh limitations on her freedom of movement following a September judgement. Shteyn got the same sentence in August and was arrested on Thursday when she attempted to enroll with the correctional office in accordance with her sentence’s requirements. Some members of Pussy Riot fled Russia in 2021 due to the mounting arrest threats.
Alekhina accused the authorities of delaying the start of her sentence in a “new spiral of hell” and a “sort of Kafkaesque piling on of additional months of limitation of liberty” in her Instagram post.