Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "Putin can kill anyone in a situation involving him." Masha Alyokhina, founder of Pussy Riot, gets straight to the point in an interview with Adnkronos ahead of the return of the show 'Riot Days' to Italy, scheduled for February 17, 2027, at the Arci Bellezza in Milan, February 18 at the Locomotiv in Bologna, and February 19 at the Largo Venue in Rome.
The connection comes and goes, a few words are lost, and then Zoom resumes. Masha Alyokhina and Eric Breitenbach are about to board a plane, and there's little time to talk. So we meet Pussy Riot, with Masha and Eric joined by the other members of the collective, Alina Petrova and Taso Pletner, who are also connected. They talk about the show, but also about war, repression, politics, and the role of art in a world that's changing so rapidly that even a show like "Riot Days" has to change with it.
Created in 2017 by producer Alexander Cheparukhin and Alyokhina, 'Riot Days' has never been a stagnant show.
It's theater, testimony, live music, and archive footage: a story of resistance built on Masha's books "Riot Days" and "Political Girl," but continually rewritten by reality. The latest transformation came last year, when half the show was cut to make room for the story of the years leading up to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On the other side of the screen, Masha talks about Putin, the murder of Alexei Navalny, and the price of freedom.
With Eric, Alina, and Taso, we delve into the details of the show, its relationship with punk, and the combination of electronic music, performance, and documentary theater it brings to the stage. Because Riot Days, they point out, "isn't simply a punk concert," but a tale of resistance that also questions the European present: from the rise of the right to the silence of artists in the face of war, to the possibility that art can still influence public opinion.
Riot Days was created in 2017, but you continue to refine it to reflect what's happening in the world. How has the show changed since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and all the wars going on?
Masha replies: “There have been many changes. The last one was last year, when we cut half the show. Previously, the show was based on the book 'Riot Days.' It told the story of Punk Prayer, my life in prison, and our trial. It was, essentially, a protest. We cut half the show and expanded it with material from my second book, 'Political Girl.' The reason, I think, is quite clear: the second book covers the period from 2014 to 2022, up until the full-scale invasion. We wanted to show what we call the Road to Hell, the road Vladimir Putin forced Russian citizens to take. It is, essentially, a story of repression. The first invasion of Ukraine. The story of Alexei Navalny. A mosaic of many things that, fundamentally, led to the war. And the war led me to leave Russia.”
Masha, in your book 'Political Girl,' you say that in today's Russia, anyone can be killed at any time. Since the beginning of this large-scale war, how has your perception of this risk, of the fact that anyone can be killed at any time, changed?
Masha: “Basically, since Alexei Navalny's murder, Putin has made it crystal clear that he can kill the most protected, the most well-known person, in front of everyone, and no one will do anything. It was a punch in the gut for a significant portion of Western leaders, who said that if Putin killed Navalny, there would be unprecedented consequences. But there were no consequences. Nothing happened. From that moment on, it's clear that anyone can be killed in a situation involving Putin.”
How much of the Soviet Union is still left in today's Russia?
Masha: “It's no secret that much of life in Russia is still deeply connected to Soviet Russia. It's the Soviet Union. Putin continues this tradition.”
You're bringing 'Riot Days' to Italy and Europe. How do you view the far-right movements that are growing today? And do you think you can do something, including through your work, to speak openly about what's happening?
Eric replies: “I think left and right are just another way to divide people. We're not afraid to be in a room with people who have different opinions than ours. I think it's normal to coexist. And to people who don't know our history or who have different ideas than ours, we'd still like to say: come see the show. Listen to us and see what we have to say. Maybe you'll like it. Maybe you won't. But you can't know until you come.”
Masha replies: “Putin is invading Ukraine with his army and bombs. But in many European countries, his state is using soft power, and essentially, a huge amount of money from oil and gas is being pumped into your politics to collapse your countries from within. It's dangerous. This isn't news from this year; it's been happening for a long time. If we're talking about Italy in particular, Alexander Dugin is the ideologue behind Putin's crazy explanation for the wars he's waging and the occupations. And he's very, very well received in Italy. His daughter, who was killed, has become a sort of heroine in the books you find in your bookstores. She's quite well-known, as far as I know.”
In Italy, we have a very strong tradition of anti-fascism. Do you think this tradition is still present?
Masha: “If people put heart and soul into something that's already part of history, it would be a lie to say it no longer exists. And I see people who disagree with what's happening. These people exist. So why shouldn't they be a good starting point against the current situation?”
Speaking of the show, this year also marks the 50th anniversary of punk. Do you consider yourselves, in some way, children of that punk revolution?
Eric replies: “Yes. Punk, as an art form and musical genre, has been a part of me since I was a child. It raised me. That's how I found my friends, and I grew up organizing DIY concerts. So, absolutely. But we're not a punk band playing a concert. The show is a theatrical form that combines archive and documentary footage, musicians on stage. It's part concert, part theater. It tells a story based on the two Masha and the Bear books. There's no show like it.”
What message do you think people will take home after seeing the show?
Masha replies: “I want them to come with an open heart, open eyes, and an open mind, and to listen. But I don't want it to be a voyeuristic experience, where people just listen to us. I want it to inspire them to go their own way and do something on their own. To speak out against what they think is wrong. To realize they have a voice. Pussy Riot wasn't always famous. Some of these actions lasted 40 seconds. No one knew if they would be significant or not. But that wasn't the point. I want people to understand that they too can use their voice. And maybe change the world.”
At the end of 'Riot Days' you ask the audience: "Are you free?" Do you still think freedom is something we can achieve or something we must constantly defend?
Alina replies: “The thing is, freedom can be taken away very quickly. It doesn't depend on where you grew up, what your background is. It's not that people, simply because they live in a certain place, are more accustomed to authoritarianism or anything like that. It's all about indignation and what governments transmit to people. We've seen it in the history of Germany, or even Italy, for example, and Spain. There was a long, terrible period, in the mid-20th century, when everyone was extremely aggressive towards others. In Russia, there was the Stalin era, and Franco in Spain. And yes, freedom can be taken away very easily. That's why people have to defend it. Otherwise, if you decide, 'OK, it's none of my business, it's not my problem, I don't have to vote,' then… Being a citizen of any country is a job for everyone.”
Many artists today don't want to speak openly about what's happening in the world. They refuse to do so, they don't want to address it on stage. Do you think artists should speak out and take a stand on what's happening in Gaza and other wars?
Alina replies: “Art is inevitably political. We live in the real world. And ignoring politics is still a political act. Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. And I'm not just talking about Gaza, but also about Iran. For example, everyone gets so upset because it's not a black-and-white issue. These people deserve freedom… And everyone who talks about Palestine stays silent about Iran. There are many wars around us. Wars that have even reached European countries, because there are refugees arriving from those countries. These are not distant wars. They are here.”
Are you also worried about what's happening between Putin and Donald Trump? About their relationship?
Taso replies: “Yes. I tell Europeans to listen to what people are saying. And slowly, people are starting to wake up. And yes, we are worried. How could we not be?”
You paid a huge personal price for what you did, for speaking out. Looking back, is there anything you wouldn't do again? Or, conversely, anything you wish you'd done differently?
Alina replies: “I speak for myself. I can't say I would do anything differently. There's nothing I'm ashamed of. It was very important for me to speak out, to spread my opinion, and to make it visible and audible. When they tried to silence me, it really made me angry. I went crazy. But at the same time, I find it ridiculous that I received such a heavy sentence just for expressing an opinion about my government. And I don't understand why it should be punished with a sentence. At the same time, I deeply regret that it's almost impossible for me to see my parents. And I'm truly afraid I'll never see them again. It causes me a lot of pain. But I feel like I did the right thing. It has so many consequences, and I have to live with them. If you ask me, 'Would you change anything about your past?' I'd say no. Everything has a price. And we paid ours. But now we're trying to live with what happened. Ours is split in two, like a broken reality. And half will be forever dead.”
Putin has been in power for so long that for an entire generation of young Russians, this situation is normal. How do you break this normalization? How do you talk to the younger generations?
Alina replies: “I think I should talk to European children for the younger generations. Because European children choose their beliefs as if they were a starter pack. They don't ask questions. Because if you live in a dictatorship, when you're 11 years old and in school, and you have a general line based on a single opinion, you start asking questions. And then, once you find the answers to those questions, you can't take them away. But it's not my job to teach anything to the young Russians who are in Russia today.”
What can punk do in 2026 that traditional politics can no longer do?
Alina: “I don't think Pussy Riot is a punk band. I think there's some kind of misunderstanding. We've never considered ourselves a punk collective. And if you use an electric guitar, it doesn't automatically mean you're making punk music. Or if you make loud music, or if you behave a little differently on stage, it doesn't exactly mean you're punk. Because punk is a culture, it's a very specific way of showing yourself. Pussy Riot is a group of political activists who also make music. And I don't think you can put them in a box and label them by saying, 'This belongs to this musical genre.' I can't say punks can change anything. But artists can. They can change things. You can also see that politicians often try to silence artists. And they try to control what artists produce, what they sing, what they write, and everything else. Artists can change things and influence people's opinions. We use a different kind of language to reach people's minds. And art is something which directly affects people's hearts and minds."
What message do you want to convey to Italian audiences with your show?
Taso replies: “Everything is political. Even if you play classical music, it's political. So just come and see the show.”
Alina: “I don't know Italians very well politically, but I've been there several times. I'm very curious to see what kind of people will come to see our show. And it will be very interesting to see the faces and ages of the people. The last time we performed in Italy was a really long time ago. I know the context a little and I know that the political sensibilities are predominantly right-wing. Russians and Italians are two peoples close to each other. Perhaps because we have the same way of understanding the world. I'd simply like to ask the audience to come and share their opinions after the show. Because this will help us understand what's really happening in Europe and also in Italy.”
Taso: “So come listen to our story and tell us yours.”
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