Maria Alyokhina, the leader of the Russian activist band Pussy Riot, has fled house arrest in Moscow and reached safety in Lithuania after a seven-day trek through Belarus. Alyokhina, who achieved global notoriety with her fellow Pussy Riot band members in 2012 following an anti-Putin protest at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral, has been repeatedly jailed over the past decade and was expected to be sent to a Russian penal colony after her time under house arrest had expired.
Disguise
Alyokhina explained to the New York Times how she managed to outwit Moscow police by disguising herself as a food-delivery courier, before abandoning her mobile phone to avoid being tracked. Then, having reached Belarus, she collected travel documents which had been smuggled into the country by an Icelandic artist; it was these documents that enabled her to reach safety in Lithuania.
Alyokhina, comparing her escape to the plot of a “spy novel”, explained, “I was happy that I made it, because it was an unpredictable and big kiss-off to the Russian authorities. I still don’t understand completely what I’ve done.”
She continued, “I don’t think Russia has a right to exist anymore. Even before [the invasion of Ukraine] there were questions about how it is united, by what values it is united, and where it is going. But now I don’t think that is a question anymore.”
Berlin gig
Tens of thousands of anti-Putin Russians have fled their homeland in recent months following the invasion of Ukraine. These include Alyokhina’s partner, Lucy Shtein, who last month also disguised herself as a delivery driver to evade capture by Moscow police and eventually reach Lithuania, together with the other members of Pussy Riot.
Alyokhina and her Pussy Riot bandmates are now heading for Germany where they are hoping to raise money by performing on tour, kicking off with a Berlin gig tomorrow 12 May.
