Pussy Riot: Russian protest group on tour in Glasgow and Edinburgh condemn Vladimir Putin

Russian protest band Pussy Riot have spoken out against Vladimir Putin’s regime while on tour in Scotland.

They are currently on an international tour raising money for the children’s hospital in Kyiv – the Ukrainian capital which has come under bombardment since Russia’s invasion in February.

Their next performance in Glasgow on Saturday will chart their movements from their first demonstrations to their imprisonment ten years ago.

Founding member Diana Burkot told STV News: “We are born in Russia, but we didn’t choose where we were born.

“This is not Russia’s war, it is Putin’s war.”

The group brought their combination of protest and music to Edinburgh on Tuesday. Ahead of the show, the band said this was their most important tour.

“We stand with Ukraine,” said band member Olga Borisova.

“We really wish Ukraine to win. We want death for Putin’s regime, and we fight for it together.

“Now is the darkest time for Russia. I left Russia in March and there was already a feeling of despair and darkness.

“It is the darkest time, but people are still protesting, even though if you protest on the street you could go to prison for 15 years”,.

Pussy Riot’s anti-Putin campaign has been running for more than a decade. The group gained global attention in 2012 when five members staged a performance inside a Moscow cathedral in protest at the Orthodox Church leaders’ support for the president.

They spent time in prison before leaving the country and have no plans to return.

“We can’t go back home,” said Olga. “Right now we are in the UK and we are safe.

“We are outside of Russia and the paranoia is not very productive or efficient. If we constantly live in fear, that would be counter productive.”

Diana added: “I really want to be back at home because that’s where my culture and my friends are. We don’t have another opportunity to be safe in Russia so that’s why we left.”

Diana and Olga are touring Europe with Taso Pletner and Maria Alyokhina. Alyokhina spent two years in prison for her part in the “punk prayer” of 2012 and the show is based on her book, Riot Days.

It tells the story of how the artists came together and how things have got worse in Russia since they formed.

The group also criticised state propaganda in Russian newspapers and on television.

“My father, has lived in Moscow for about 40 years. When I spoke with him five or six months ago, we were really fighting. And he told me that I was a fascist.

“He watched television and he really believed propaganda. It’s crazy that I can’t speak to my father because of this.

“My example isn’t the only one. This is everywhere.”