Still relishing provocation three years after their release from a Russian prison, the punk rockers Pussy Riot are reviving their challenge to President Vladimir Putin in an action-packed autobiographical theatrical piece. Maria Alyokhina, one of two key members of the group who went to prison, has taken Pussy Riot in a new avant-garde direction in … Read more
Russia put a blogger on trial Monday on charges of offending religious believers and fomenting hatred by posting a video online that showed him hunting Pokemons in a church. Ruslan Sokolovsky, 22, faces up to seven years in prison over the YouTube video of him zapping Pokemons on a smartphone in a Russian Orthodox church … Read more
Russian punk provocateurs Pussy Riot are branching into theater to tell their story as they headline a New York festival that explores women’s empowerment. Spring Revolution, which opens Wednesday at Brooklyn’s year-and-a-half-old experimental music hub National Sawdust, will also feature a jazz interpretation of Argentina’s celebrated protest singer Mercedes Sosa. Pussy Riot became an irritant … Read more
Russia’s media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has blocked access to two of the world’s largest pornography websites. Internet service providers had until Tuesday to implement the ban. The sites now redirect to a message explaining they have been blocked “by decision of public authorities”. In 2015, the authorities banned 11 popular pornography websites, saying many failed to … Read more
A Russian blogger arrested after posting a video of himself playing Pokemon Go in a church in the city of Yekaterinburg has filed an appeal, according to the local court. Ruslan Sokolovsky is reportedly being held in prison while he awaits trial. He has been charged with mockery of religious beliefs. Investigators and church officials … Read more