Support The Moscow Times!

2 Pussy Riot Members Reunited in Krasnoyarsk

Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova walking together outside a Krasnoyarsk airport on Tuesday. Ilya Naymushin

The two members of punk band Pussy Riot who were released from prison on amnesty Monday, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, were reunited Tuesday in Krasnoyarsk, the Siberian city where Tolokonnikova had been incarcerated.

Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, said Alyokhina flew to Krasnoyarsk to meet her group mate and discuss their plans to promote human rights issues in Russia, Interfax reported. Alyokhina was released from her prison in the Nizhny Novgorod region on Monday.

Upon her release, Alyokhina told reporters that the group's social and human rights activities would be "more structured" but gave assurances that its methods would "remain the same."

Photographer Denis Sinyakov, one of 30 people on board a Greenpeace ship who were arrested over the staging of a protest at a Russian oil rig in September, also joined the women in Krasnoyarsk. Sinyakov is a long-time friend of the band members.

Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova will conduct a press conference in Moscow on Friday, Interfax reported.

The women served 21 months of their two-year prison sentence after being charged with hooliganism for performing a "punk prayer" in Moscow's Christ the Savior Church in February 2012. They were released under Russia's recent presidential amnesty in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more